Mary Emmerling's Beach Cottages: At Home by the Sea

. . . until I can have my own beach house someday. I love this book--not only are the photos gorgeous, but Jill Kirchner Simpson's text is the perfect match for it--playful, creative, and inspiring.

The ocean seems to recharge anyones personal battery when they visit the beach, Ms Emmerlings approach shows some fresh ways to think about the experience while smelling the wind off the water,loved it.

I love this book. Beautiful pictures and interesting stories for each home described. A must if you dream of someday having your own beach cottage.

I live approximately 60 miles from the Oregon Coast and nearly 900 miles from Malibu and Santa Monica, California...three of my favorite places in the world! I simply can't enough of "beach" and coastal themes in my decor, my attire, my art, my music and my life...

So what's a self-described "beach girl" like me to do when she's stuck inland and can't go to the beach whenever she wants? She decorates her home in that style, that's what!

Well, today I went in search of books with ideas on how to decorate with my favorite style of design, and saw quite a few available. Yes, I saw the really nifty set of books by Rachel Ashwell on the "Shabby Chic" design style and even that lovely book by actress/artist Jane Seymour called "Making Yourself At Home" but the one that really captured my eye this time around? The one I took home? Mary Emmerling's Beach Cottages: At Home By The Sea.

I really enjoyed the pictures of the various beach cottages in her book. There are some AWESOME, unique and very colorful pictures of home exteriors and interiors from various beach communities all over the USA. You can enjoy the view of the sea from Nantucket, MA to Miami, FL to Galveston, TX and of course, good ole Southern California! There's also some great pics of the "Shabby Chic" queen Rachel Ashwell's home in it.

Now I must admit I was a bit miffed that Ms. Emmerling had overlooked the Pacific Northwest to feature in her book. There are some spectacular and beautiful beach homes on the Oregon and Washington Coast (including the San Juan Islands) that would've fit in very well in this book. However, when I saw that she listed some cool Northwest shops, then I decided all was forgiven lol. Maybe she can remember us in the PNW for her next edition? hee hee

I really appreciate the fact that there's none of the uber-perfection obsessed Martha Stewart-y mess in this book. All of the ideas are so easy to do and not too overly expensive, either. Even if you're smack dab in the heartland someplace, this book has all sorts of cool and user friendly practical tips on how to make your place "beach cottage" worthy. This book is a welcome addition to my library, so I'm recommending this book to all of y'all to check out and enjoy, too.

Love, love love Mary Emmerling. I have ALL of her books. I always get tons of ideas form her special books & this one's no exception. Pictures are beautiful.