Outfitting your Beach Home: The Dining Room

Hi Hi Hi!!! 

Living on the East Coast, we have the benefit of living extremely close to the water. A lot of people either choose to live on the water year round or they invest in homes a bit more removed from the hustle and bustle of city life. Whether you own a summer home, live on the beach in Connecticut, New York or New Jersey, or just visit a friends family home, there is almost always a theme throughout the decor in these coastal homes that is special and unique to our region. 

We always joke about how popular blue and white is in Connecticut; textile patterns, paint palettes in homes, kitchen designs and more are often done in this serene combination. We love finding unique antiques and vintage pieces that meld well with the feelings a summer house is meant to evoke. One space that can often get tricky to style is the dining room. When you’re beachside, things tend to be a bit more relaxed. That does not mean that people aren’t going to need a few meals though!! Whether you have a pool or are right on the water, wet bathing suit bottoms tend to be the enemy when it comes to indoor furniture. One thing we recommend is having your seating done in a water resistant or Sunbrella fabric. The new technology that is available to preserve fabric is amazing and well worth it! Perhaps you choose iron chairs rather than wood, with removable cushions that can be washed. This simple choice allows you to relax, and to let the people in your life enjoy without getting too worried about ruining your space! 

Another fabulous way to spruce up a dining space on the coast is to bring the outdoors in with you. The quickest way would be trimming some  fresh flowers from your garden (or maybe the farmers market) and styling them up in beautiful vases. A more permanent way to bring nature inside the dining area is to choose artwork that represents the beauty of the world around you. Whether its photography, sculpture, or paintings there is some stunning artwork of the east coastline available at the Antique and Artisan Gallery, as well as through some of our good artist friends who specialize in pieces that represent the region we live in. If you are interested, please reach out so we can connect you! 

If you aren’t decorating your own beach home, because I (Kelly) certainly am not, you may find yourself a guest at someones! Its especially kind to bring a gift that the host can either incorporate into their decor pretty easily, or use at once. One cute idea is gifting a vintage set of Brass salt & pepper shakers with a mother of pearl inlay— available in our booth at A&A. A small, functional, and beautiful gift like this is great for a host you know quite well, or have visited on more than one occasion. 

xoxo

Kelly & Margaret