Coastline Treasures

Welcome signs are the first way to make any guest feel welcome.  What is your initial reaction when you come across a welcome sign at the entrance of a home?  One feels a sense of warmth.  If you are one who loves a country style home, a welcome sign is a perfect way to create that feel.  These friendly signs date back into the early century, and are continuously being used.  Signs vary from wood décor, to nautical, to rustic, to Indian and more.  With such variety, it is easy for anyone to add excitement to their front door.

With all these decorative decors to choose from, you can have any look you want.  Choose a style that compliments the style of your home; cottage, mission, colonial, cape cod, the list goes on.  Even if you only have room for a small welcome sign it will surely be welcomed by your visitors.

An accent table makes a great little sofa-side coffee table, or, if you prefer tea as your hot beverage of choice, a tea table.  Tea is one of the most widely popular beverages around the world.  And while its popularity is something awesome, tea’s history is even more interesting.  This drink, now served hot or cold and at all time of the day, dates back centuries as a delightful and special drink.

Because we tend to associate tea with high society and posh England, thinking primarily of tea time in the afternoon, you would expect that tea originated in Europe.  However, tea’s origins are actually in China.  Legend states that an emperor demanded all drinking water be served boiling, and one day dried leaves fell into the emperor’s cup, creating the first cup of tea.  From that point on, tea became an important part of Chinese culture.  It was through trade that tea found its way to Europe and the rest of the world.  We can thank China once again for introducing us to one of the finer, and commonly used, things in life.

Whether you have one glass figurine or a collection, keeping them safe is a priority.  Our eyes are automatically drawn to these gorgeous reflecting pieces of glass and the little tikes are no exception.  If you have children or ones that come and visit, be sure that your pieces remain safe.  Set these keepsakes out of the way, or supervise the children, and adults if need be, so that they do not touch them.  Some precious items are very fragile and are crafted with delicate pieces that break easily.

Keeping your collection on a shelf or in a curio cabinet is a good idea.  The advantage of keeping your pieces in a curio is that they will stay cleaner longer and it is less likely that people will touch them.  Another way to keep them safe is with putty sometimes known as Museum Putty or Earthquake Putty.  Just a dab under your figurine will keep it in place should someone attempt to pick it up or bump into it.  Keeping one piece or an entire collection safe is important so not to have a broken heart.

Wooden garden furniture adds a beautiful place to sit and relax outdoors while being very durable and low maintenance.  Wooden furniture has natural chemicals in it that protects it from the weather.  It naturally secretes water that flows through the wood to protect it from water damage in the rain.  Other benefits to wooden furniture are that it won’t splinter or get soggy in rainy situations and it had the ability to withstand insects.

Wooden garden furniture has an interesting history.  Because of its durability, it is one of the oldest forms of outdoor furniture.  In colonial America, the furniture was often built from remittance of ships.  Because the garden furniture was more sought after in these times, having wooden furniture was seen as a sign of wealth.  Today, because the furniture is created from uncultivated timber, wooden garden furniture is a large contributor to the sustainability movement.  Adding wooden furniture to your garden not only adds a great touch to your garden and helps the environment.

Some of the finest china is too priceless to eat off of, and therefore becomes decorative wall hanging plates.  The china must look gorgeous too for all the work that gets put into making it.  China is made from the paste of a substance called kaolin.  Once the dinette-ware is formed and hardened, it is decorated with the intricate painted designs we love to display.

Fine china originated in China in the fifteenth century when the fine porcelain tableware began arriving in Europe.  It was not until the eighteenth century that kaolin became available in Europe and craftsmen could begin creating china for themselves, instead of the less durable soft porcelain plates they were able to make before.  And before the kaolin became available, Europe had not had a long history of making tableware.  While they were known for pottery making, stoneware was not created in Europe until the seventeenth century and was made from pastes made out of clay and coal.  Four hundred years later, fine china is still sought after as an elegant way to serve dinner, or as a beautiful wall decoration.

Last weekend my family and I went to Palos Verdes for a little family getaway at the beach.  It was gorgeous.  The weather was amazing, and the ocean was a crystal clear combination of blues.  It was the perfect getaway location. 

While we were sitting out enjoying the sunshine and fresh air, we watched a pod of dolphins swimming in the bay.  The sight was completely serene.  We watched them jump and flip around in the water, joyfully playing and enjoying themselves just as my family and I were.  The sight made me not want to go home. 

We I returned home, I looked at the dolphin figurine I have on my shelf.  It made me smile and think of the dolphins whimsically playing in the bay.  A dolphin figurine is a perfect reminder of a calming and relaxing trip to the beach.

Accent tables are a great way to make use of a small space in your home and make great decorations that also serve a functional purpose.  They are perfect to display small pictures, flowers, or little table top figurines. Accent tables are very versatile as well.  They look great alongside a couch or bed, but can also stand alone in a hallway or entry way.  They come in multiple shapes, sizes, and medium, so you are bound to fine one to fit any type of décor.

Choosing the right table for your home is essential.  You want to make sure that the table you choose not only matches your décor, but also does not take away from the room.  Use the table to play up a part of the room, whether it is a sofa or another piece of furniture.  That way, the small table in the corner does not capture the attention and remove from the room’s over all essence.  Once the tables are properly chosen, your room will look neatly put together and make a great place for the family to relax together or to entertain company.

Glass figurines make wonderful gifts, but how are they made?  The process isn’t easy.  They start out being made the same way that any glass is, with hot rods.  One rod is used as support, and the other is used to add glass.  Pressure is added when necessary to flatten the glass.  Once the desired thickness is achieved, the glass is removed and shaped into the desired figure.  However, this must be done quickly and in a hot environment or the glass will cool and harden.

Making colored glass figurines is done much in the same way.  While adding glass in the first step, colored glass is added to certain areas that will tint the glass when molded.  If the entire figurine is colored, colored glass can be added as tints as well.  If you would prefer a clear figurine, gold or silver accents can be painted on once the glass is cooled.

Indoor koi ponds can add a beautiful and authentic feel when you have fishing home décor.  But when adding an indoor koi pond to your home it is important to consider several factors to keep the fish alive and thriving so that you can enjoy your beautiful pond to the fullest.  Place your pond in an area that will receive optimal sunlight for the fish, and the plants.  Metal halide lamps are also a very good source of light to sustain the life in the pond.  They are required for ponds sixteen inches deep or more.

Unfortunately, koi ponds can be smelly.  So, to avoid foul odors in the home from the pond, make sure to maintain the filtration systems and change the water when necessary.  An aquarium filtration system will work for an indoor pond, but weekly water changes depending on the number of fish are crucial.  An indoor pond will give your home a great new feel.

It’s always nice to spend a lazy afternoon lounging and swinging in a cotton hammock.  But these comfortable swinging loungers began with a much more practical use.  The origin of the hammock is credited to ancient Greece with a student of Socrates named Alcibiades in 450 B.C.  While he used the hammock as a relaxing and comfortable bed, hammocks were a means of survival in other parts of the world.

Tribes in South America relied on the hammock to protect themselves from the dangers of the jungle at night.  By hanging above the ground, the hammock kept the tribal people away from predators and killer insects, as well as the moisture on the ground that comes with jungle evenings.  Now a means of pure relaxation, the hammock started out with a very practical function.