I can't seem to find blogs about bc decor. Lots about cottage, mcm, atomic ranch and on and on and on but what about active blogs. I check out Ralph and Tommy but I wish I could find my peeps! Suggestions anyone?

Love those photos, thanks for sharing ideamom.

A few pieces of rattan or bamboo furniture can ramp up this look. I also like golds and tans for walls that are trying to head B.C. While ceiling fans with palm blades can help keep it going, many of us have our ceiling fans already and don't want to lock the fan into a particular style. Throw a rattan table into a corner, add a large fern or a palm frond in a jar, maybe even some carved wooden animals on a table top and you have a bit of a start, even without buying all new furniture.

Red

Thought I'd bump this old thread since it's such a nice one. Anyone want to contribute?

Another breezy room

http://www.hansgrohe-usa.com/us_en/26219_31353733355F32375F3530313235.htm
Flip to find the MB photo. Looks better in person. Favorite Vacation condo in Key West.

Here is a link that might be useful: Athomeinkeywest/bananakey

Sorry, what a snafu!
Check out this perfect Master Bedroom at the condo we rented in this tropical paradise. The MB is the yellow one. It has the Lane National Geographic furnituter throughout the condo. Perfect choice of colors, linens and furniture.
http://www.athomekeywest.com/banana_key.htm

Sorry if this link has been posted.

For those who missed it, the link is from Island Living Digest Magazine, per my previous post.

For inspiration, view the complete photo spread online.

Posters: Make an effort to include photo credits where applicable.

Here is a link that might be useful: Island Living Digest Magazine

I Love this style...and tropical style in it's MANY incarnations!

Sunshine...I have a blog where I often will find and post some great Island places...If you go back to some older posts you may find some nice inspiration pics...

Here is a link that might be useful: Lime in the Coconut blog

Wish I could post pics....but here is a favorite of mine...
The turquoise floors are so unique...the whole breezy vibe.

(just scroll down a bit...and you can click on the pics to make them bigger)

Here is a link that might be useful: The Fustic House...Barbados

WOW. I am so happy to have come across this thread, even belatedly! Now I have a name for my style! It is inspirational to see the many variations on this theme. I would love to see more photos and ideas... Any takers?

Loved this thread and wanted to contribute. I hope to create West Indies/Plantation theme in my bedroom. Here are a few inspirational pictures.

From the "British Colonial" series of Williams-Sonoma Home

From Cost Plus World Market,

The Evanson resort in Thailand, thought we needed a little mosquito netting in this thread. They have mosquitoes in the West Indies right?

A few more to keep the inspiration flowing...

These are from the Todos Santos Inn in Mexico

this is from Ballard Designs...

Just found this post. Thanks all for the pics. Want to do the MBR in this style. Anyone have books to recommend besides the aforementioned? I buy used books online and at a store near me, and its time to go shopping.

Hi, any books to recommend besides the aforementioned? I'm redecorating the MBR. Thanks

bump

Books I can recommend are Island Life and Cuban Elegance
I've been lurking here for a while and decided to do a little re-decorating. Great stuff here!

Hi all,

Just an FYI: The previously mentioned mag Island Living Digest is now www.caribbeanislandliving.com. Prior links no longer applicable.

Happy decorating!

Here is a link that might be useful: Caribbean Island Living Magazine

Is there a coastal breezy plantation photo gallery pertaining to this thread?

I am redecorating my home. I finally found my style. For years I have been searching buying pieces. Never quite knowing. My great grandfather had a beautiful historic house with old mahogany furniture. We are lucky enough to have the furniture from my husband's famliy. That was handmade by his great great grandfather. Two chairs and a small table. We have his family bibles. I guess my style comes from history of my family and I didn't realize it. I hope this thread picks up. I will try to post pictures. Try to look at linen and velvet and look for the dining room in the clients home under feb. 2010 on the left side of the screen blog with the slip covered chairs and the beautiful drapes and table. The chandeliers is to die for. kids friendly and elegant. I will try to post our dining room and living room in progress.

Lots of good stuff in this thread!

Red

What a great thread & so nice to come across tropisol's blog!

I love this look...will be doing my dining room in this style (eventually.) Here are some more inspiration pictures.

{{gwi:1586618}}

{{gwi:1586620}}

This thread is so inspirational! We're just starting on a plantation style bathroom, and I have the pre-project jitters. The vanity (Restoration Hardware "Shutter") has louvered doors. My problem is that I love a particular 6x6 floor tile but worry that it will be too busy looking with the shutter doors. Another worry is that the tile looks kind of Craftsman rather than resembling any natural stone. (Don't know how to do the link, but the tile is Jeffrey Court, Casual Elements in SeaMist.) Any comments or advice? Thanks in advance.

I got so inspired by this thread that I ordered some books and they are just wonderful with fabulous pictures.

This one is my favorite and really a great investment.

Other books I purchased that are also great.

joycevoices...hope this is the tile you were speaking of...it so I think it is beautiful and don't think it will look too busy...it is a nice color. Are your walls going to complement the tile?
{{gwi:1586624}}

At almost 3 1/2 years is this one of the longest running threads ever?
Many happy returns, "Coastal Breezy"!

I am so glad it is here...it really supported some ideas I have planned for my home. Sadly threads don't last long here...seems to me at a certain number they automatically close.

Here are some more pix...

{{gwi:1586625}}

{{gwi:1586631}}

vampiressrn, the tile photo you linked to is exactly the one we want to use. We did a mockup, and the tile/vanity combo looks pretty good with the tiles turned diagonally. The photos you posted are gorgeous--I think they show how British Colonial differs from "beachy." Did you scan them from one of the books in your earlier message?

Glad that was the right one. There is a difference between British Colonial and Coastal Decor...still has the same light breezy ambiance, but the West Indies look is more formal and uses darker woods...I love that look. I actually Googled all those pix. But if you want to get a book, that first one I posted is awesome. I actually loaned my books to a friend who is from Trinidad and her home is to die for...very eclectic with a great British Colonial feel to it...she loves the books. Her home could actually be a spread in it...LOL. I wish I was a good house plant supporter, but plants commit suicide at my house. I think palms are so key to the look as well, so I have to go for the quality fakes...LOL

I want one of each!!!!!

Those pics are pretty cool. Personally, I love tropical interior or traditional Asian style.

Here is a link that might be useful: Japanese Interior

Ah, the island fantasy. Speaking as someone who has lived on a tropical seacoast plantation, the pictures with upholstered furniture cracked me up. You don't have overstuffed furniture in "breezy" coastal places unless you live in an air-conditioned building.

In hot climates cushy upholstery only makes you feel hotter and stickier, which is why cane, rattan and wooden furniture, perhaps with squab cushions, is what is used.

Furniture and beds with floor-length skirts aren't too popular, either, because all sorts of mean beasties from scorpions to kraits can hide underneath. Not to mention that in most tropical houses I've ever lived in the floors were damp mopped every day, not vacuumed.

And mosquito nets have to be loose in order to easily tuck under the mattress securely every night.

L

LOL liriodendron, maybe we could move into a reality phase and post real pictures from the tropical climates and we could call it the SWAMP LOOK. Instead of a lazy spinning banana leaf ceiling fan, the room could be built around a dehumidifier. The furniture could be still have that tropical look of a bamboo couch without cushions. We will use those fabulous citronella candles for ambiance. The SWAMP LOOK...I think it is a style that will really catch on. ;-)
~~~~~HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE~~~~~

bump

Just bumping to see if anyone has any IRL pics to share of their projects.

I'm toying with the idea of going this direction and just wanted to see what colors you chose.

I am gunning for this flooring when (crossing fingers) we buy the house we're currently leasing:

...or at least a quality laminate (which may stand up to DH's 300lb wheelchair better).

I think it would make a great choice for this look. I tend to lean towards more of a Spanish colonial look but because our house lacks the basic bones of a Spanish colonial (namely the arched windows & niches of our previous 1929 Spanish colonial), I'm thinking that I could pull off an Asian style with touches of European colonial influences (thinking Indonesia, Philippines and West Indies).

Hi binsd, that hardwood floor looks great! Here are a few photos of our "coastal, breezy" home. It leans more towards British Colonial with dark mahogany floors but I hope the pics help. Hopefully someone else will post some photos to inspire you. Good luck! Please don't forget to post the 'befores and afters'!

Ellen Kennon's "Pumice"

Ellen Kennon's "Gustavian Grey"

BM's "Woodlawn Blue"

BM's Hillsboro Beige"

sis3 - thanks so much for posting your photos. All the rooms look great but I especially love the first one with the white chairs and blue accents. It reminds me of the Bacara in Santa Barbara (where we got ready & had our wedding reception) - which would definitely fall into "coastal, breezy...".

I think you've just given me inspiration for our master bedroom. THANK YOU!

I've found my kitchen inspiration in GW member beekeeperswife's beautiful kitchen:

{{gwi:1576995}}

My dining room inspiration is currently this:

{{gwi:1541223}}

I love orange, brown, lime/bamboo, vibrant reds and blue with white. As our main rooms are pretty much visible to one another, I'm starting to think that I need to pick a color (in this case Valspar's Italian Leather) with a crisp white and then add color through accessories.

I will definitely post pics as I get into this project.

This thread is AWESOME! I am orignally from the West Indies, by way of Trinidad and Tobago, and for the longest time I have shied away from decorating based on my heritage. (When you grow up with something it looses its shine !)
However we just downsized and moved into a new house and I wanted something different and I am thinking about using something like the pics being shown.

My 2 cents though- a hammock is a must!

My fave thread :) I grew up in a coastal town in India with a strong British Colonial influence, so this is very close to my heart....My design sentiments def. lean towards this type of decor...I can spend all day looking at this :)

Just found this thread... throwing in my two cents -

You might check out the Ernest Hemingway collection from Thomasville. Also, Tommy Bahama.

Ooh, I love this one (from Home Interior Design Themes)

I just stumbled upon the Home Decorators Collection "Julia" line of furniture, mostly for the bathroom, which has that bamboo look. I wish it came in a dark color in addition to white, although I love the white too!

Here is a link that might be useful: Home Decorators

I think it's cool that this thread started in 2007 and still lives, and thanks to all for keeping it alive, it is very inspirational. This is going to be a long post, so sorry about that.

I'm sick, so lots of couch time yesterday, and I finally caught up on a few decorating mags. April's Elle Decor has several homes that sort of qualify as coastal, breezy, etc., though with more of a multi-cultural flare than the strict British Colonial. There is one beach house in Brazil that is nicely done; casual, quirky and fun.

Even though we live at the 44th parallel, and as I write have ice on the pond and snow on the ground, I love the styles posted in this tread and the combo of having some time to think and seeing this thread again has given me an idea for our screened porch.

We built this house 5 years ago, and 3 years ago finally screened in the porch (on the east side, we have a SW exposure and get hot afternoon sun, even up here in NNY, the porch is respite from that). The flooring and ceiling are lyptus, and we have wicker furniture, some white, some dark green with white and green striped cushions. Classic, yes, but we already have a lot of green, house exterior, LR, entry way, MBR, and while they are all different greens, I wanted something different. So, I sprayed the wicker dining table base a tomato red, sprayed the dining chairs purple and had new cushions made for the dining chairs in some Sunbrella fabric I have toted around for umpteen years. It's a very crisp stripe; yellow, green, purple, red, aqua, blue and white, and since I'm not a crisp gal, it was bold move for me. In the porch seating area I sprayed the white chairs a deep, glossy brown and painted the desperately faded cushions an ivory color. And while it looked OK, I could not put my finger on why it didn't feel right.

Seeing this thread again has helped me to diagnose the problem, the look, while cute, is too cottagey, and the porch is more coastal. Aha! So, once the weather breaks, I'm going to spray the dining table base and chairs a deep blue (pulled from the stripe in the cushion) and probably paint the green wicker the deep glossy brown. Then I'll bring in some white and a lighter, but still strong, blue (sort of the colors Target is featuring in their latest collection of melamine plates, navy, white and indigo, I think, I'm not sure what color the lighter blue is called). I would also paint the currently green house walls that are the back of the porch the color of the trim out there now (BM Sailcloth) and maybe get a sisal rug. The wicker couch has been moved out, it wasn't working in the space, and in its place we brought in 2 smaller, vintage chairs, one wicker, one sort of 1950's porch furniture, with wide arms and a wooden frame. I'll need new cushions made for the wicker, not sure of the print, will paint first, make cushions later (I paint and paint is cheap, I don't sew and cushions are $$$).

Here are a few pics of the porch, what do you think? Would that work or am I kidding myself that a porch in this style would work in the far north? I should add that we are on the water, so that does add some legitimacy (she says hopefully) to the "coastal" thing. The pics are 3 years old, and don't reflect the brown painted furniture, but hopefully it gives you an idea of the space.

Dining area:

LR area:

Thank you for listening to my ramble, hope I haven't bored anyone to tears-

sandyponder

I wanted a gallery for us, so I uploaded photos to Flikr:

British Colonial - West Indies Decor

I have not had time to explore all the links that everyone posted or pull photos from there, so be patient with me. :) Also, I don't think I missed anyone who posted photos here, but please let me know if I did. I tried to give credit where credit was due!

I also started a set specifically for suggested reading materials:

BOOKS on British Colonial & Island Style

How fun to see a thread that has lasted so long, and keeps getting revived. Love the coastal/breezy/plantation look and the pics here are wonderful eye candy. I live in Alaska, where it definitely is coastal, and breezy... not so tropical. My bedroom is British Colonial and a decade later, I still love it. It all started with my mission bed. I like the bed, though it isn't my dream bed, but really did not want a mission style room. After pondering for years, I found an inspirational BC bedroom in a magazine and my solution was found. Paired with lots of white linens, an iron half-canopy on the wall over the bed cascading with white muslim tie-tops, bamboo bedside tables, linen walls, a touch of black/white toile, a small shaded chandelier, butterfly and botanical prints framed in bamboo, and an Asian-inspired black/bamboo dresser, the bed works but has a soft, breezy, time-traveled feel.

I still love it - though it is about time to repaint. The colors are so neutral, I may just change it up with adding a bit of color to the walls this time. I'm on the fence about that, though, because this has been one occasion where white walls work.

Here's hoping the thread stays alive.

Colonial/West Indies is my preference too. I had been searching Caribbean hotels and looking at their photos for ideas. This is my dream bedroom. Just click on the bedroom thumbnail in the middle.

Woo! So happy to find this thread, and there's other ppl out there with the same ideas. I can't believe this thread started in 2007. I have wanted a Caribbean Plantation bedroom for years, and I think there have been pieces of things gathering to make the whole all the while. My room is definitely leaning more colonial w/dark wood and formal insipired. The last few weeks, I have finally made my start.

I have a semi-lg room, and bought the Keytown panel bed. I'm having some issues with it though, we also bought a night stand and 2 of them have had defects. The delivery of the bed has a mashed end and ALSO,you can see on the top of the footboard you can see where someone signed off on it..and it shows underneath the stain! I was very disappointed, but in 20 yrs I've never found a bed I liked this much - so I'm willing to give the furniture store one more try on the delivery. If that goes badly, there may be some wailing and gnashing of teeth...

I will try to post pictures later as I go. Rt now my room is in disarray from moving back in from having red oak floors installed, and there are paint swatches painted everywhere.LOL For a few years I thought I wanted blue walls, but no.

The bed is a dark red/brown almost black and I'm staining my dresser to match. I've bought a gorgeous large ceramic dish that is a palm leaf - my plan is to keep my dresser as clean on top as possible w/the excpetion of the dish and two blue and silver candle lamps. For the walls, I've chosen a green with a tan tint, I call it sea rush green. I think I will do offwhite trim. I am using lt aqua blue or sky blue accents on tables/dresser and a braided rug from LL Bean in dusty blue and tan. I only have 7 ft 3 ceilings but I might use 2 mini chandeliers.

I also have a grand plan to cover two of the mirror closet doors and make them appear like you are looking out french doors out onto the ocean or garden. I saw the same thing doone on DIY. You can get a picture done thru a graphic design shop blown up to fit the door size. A photographer also told me to check wallpaper mural shops too..then you use very thin laminate mdf to build the cross framing that mimics the doors, paint them and apply over the picture.

So, there's the dream. It's started with the acquiring the bed, which hasn't worked out so well yet. I'm hoping thats not an indicdator of the end project. LOL

Here is a link that might be useful: Keytown panel bed