Sitting on the beach on a wooden deck chair from the 1930s, finishing another book on WWII as the waves come crashing in,...the salt water soothing my sunburned legs. Does it get any better than this?
Summer vacations, or any vacation for that matter, can provide times of solitude and reflection, times with family enjoying a hot dog roast, and times (more than likely on a rainy day) to find treasures to display in your home to remember a time and a place where alarm clocks retire and diets go into hibernation.
As a decorator, I've been known to use everything from a bottle of seashells to a staged family portrait with everyone wearing white in my clients' houses. I encourage you all to visit art galleries as well as the omnipresent souvenir shoppes when you are on vacation. I've framed many an oil or watercolour that I've found just sitting around in someone's closet. Many times, "vacation art" is delegated to powder rooms and guest bedrooms, but the savvy traveler might have a beautiful painting from a yet-to-be-discovered artist for me to hang perfectly above the fireplace in the family room.
Collections work well in your bookcases. Thimbles. Baseballs. Small statues. Buy a nice hardcover book of photographs from your vacation spot to glace at on that dismal rainy day in the winter.
Arrange photos of annual trips in similar or same frames and display them in a group. Get the picture?
A vacation can provide your home with many opportunities to remember those far and distant places.
What will I have in my home to remember the Summer of 2010? My new Johnny Cash cd, "Six." Driving to the island in my Mini convertible with my 88 year-old father enjoying the tunes as we zip through Georgia, one of us say, "There's not a better voice in the world," as the other smiles in recognition.
It doesn't get any better than that.
