Staycation Paradise—Living Room

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Beachy365 has rebranded the staycation! We’re not zillionaires, just people trying to enjoy life 365 days a year, not only during our annual vacation. We love going anywhere beachy, so we gathered the beachiest things we own to begin creating a living-room oasis. The goal was something vaguely along these lines, with plenty of fun, personal touches: 

(Image by Style at Home By: Sara Cation Source: Tessa Neustadt)

When we ran out of items we already owned to decorate our oasis, we turned to the friend of every quarantined person: the internet! After all, we’d saved a bunch of money by not going on our vacation; why not invest a little of that surplus into items that would transform the place where we spend all of our non-vacationing time? We wanted every day at home feel like a beach day—fun, relaxed, and carefree! 

Our favorite beachy places are filled with light. We have lots of sunny windows, but our curtains needed an update, STAT. So we ordered these sheer babies. They were a good deal, although one set didn’t provide enough privacy, so we got two and used a white-in-back/sea-mist-in-front combo for ample light with enough privacy.

With all that light, the next step was greenery. Luckily I had tons of plants scattered around the house. I collected all the ferns and arranged them in the living room for a lush tropical vibe. Now it’s a lush, tropical vibe plus a carpet of dead leaves on the floor, but I don’t mind vacuuming. If you’re ambitious (I was not), try hanging a plant or two! To keep the ferns healthy, I ordered two humidifiers. These are small enough to semi-hide behind a big fluffy fern, unlike the sad plant specimens below. Use your imagination! 

It’s best to put plants and humidifiers on a tile-top or other water-resistant surface. A few tables in varying shapes, colors, and heights give your room interest at many levels. Beachy beachy is totally subjective; as long as it makes you happy, it’s perfect. You can mix up the tables and get different designs, which I do for fun, or order the same design for each. This yellow knockout adds a fun pop of color; it’s available in other colors if yellow isn’t your thing. 

We’ve covered some easy basics. Now it’s time to step it up. When the sun sets and it’s time to come inside, you’ll want to keep the good vibes going. That means a kick-ass sound system to play your favorite trop rock or Latin music. This Bose system lets you either stream your music or go old school with CDs and radio. Be sure to check out our YouTube channel for a mix of good-time playlists! 

Old school does not have to be embarrassing! In fact, it can be pretty damn cool. If you prefer something simpler than a Bose system, pop your phone into this portable speaker made out of repurposed skateboards. It will amplify your tunes and your street cred with your cool nephew (just don’t brag about your “street cred”—trust me).

Looking for a place to rest your feet? Try a plush, custom-made velvet ottoman. Or two: one for your feet and one for your wine! 

Not your style? Try a jaunty coffee table made from those reclaimed skateboards. 

Of course, you want to be able to chill in your oasis. Dress up your sad old couch like we did with a removable and washable cover, or spring for a porch swing that would look great inside too.

(I’m giving my covered-up couch the side eye as I write this; that swing is fantastic.)

It’s so pretty I want to see it from another angle.

Have a little fun with these ideas! Some items here may “speak” to you; others may not. That’s totally okay. Anything that gives you a beachy beachy feeling every day is the very best thing you can own. Trust me on this, too.