the space between

upcycle, repurpose and reinvent your space

waterside home tour

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Hey hey everyone! How are you? If you’re stopping in from In My Own Style’s waterside home tour, welcome! And if you haven’t been over to see Diane’s house you have to. Diane and her husband just recently bought a beautiful home on a lake and she is working to update every space and make it their own. It is a fun process to follow along with! And, I’m lucky enough to know Diane in person and happen to know she is a true gem.

Now, for our little venture into the realm of home tour and our take on coasting inspired DIY and decor.

I would really like to think that I am the type of girl who decorates with a hint of coastal inspiration.

driftwood crafts

But the reality is that I’m the girl who glues driftwood to more driftwood and hangs it on a wall as art below yet another piece of driftwood. I actually like the visual reminder of where we are (btw, if you’re new here, we live in Aruba (I know!), this little sign reminds me to be so thankful for where we are now and to not take a moment of it for granted because we know this little slice of paradise is not meant to be ours forever. You can check out the tutorial for the driftwood fish here.

As I’ve photographed the current state of our little Aruban apartment I realized my approach is not subtle at all. There is sand and seashells in glass jars and lanterns, fan coral turned art piece, a DIY wooden compass and more baskets and bins filled with driftwood, sea sponges and coral than I care to admit. But I love it. And Joel, my husband, tolerates it so I call that a win!

fan coral art

driftwood

driftwood basket

sand and shell filled jars

The contents of these jars hold memories near and dear to my heart.

lanterns

My Grammie’s quilts remind me of summer days at the lake in Maine.

lanterns in mirror reflection

sea sponges and coral

Turns out I am a bit more of a minimalist than I thought so I don’t have a lot of full room shots because they just looked a bit bare. The details are more fun up close anyway, right?!?!

Here’s a look at our newly refinished kitchen. Last year we gutted the entire space and this is what we ended up with. We are totally in love.

aqua bar stools

open shelves in the kitchen

open shelves in the kitchen

open shelves in the kitchen

open shelves in the kitchen

My sister-in-law brought us that sign about wine, it’s too bad she really doesn’t know us at all.

open shelves in the kitchen

open shelves in the kitchen

open shelves in the kitchen

open shelves in the kitchen

DIY compass

I’d say the coastal influence appears a bit more subtly in the kitchen. It’s less driftwood and coral and more touches of aqua and pictures of us by the water.

Although a space wouldn’t be complete around here without some driftwood so there is a DIY latitude and longitude sign as another reminder of where we are.

But the most dramatic view of our apartment is actually the one of our view. Whenever I’m looking for inspiration I just spend a quiet morning on our balcony soaking this in.

Palm Beach Aruba rainbow

Palm Beach Aruba with the early morning sun - this blogger lives there, so many beautiful island photos on the blog

view-close-up

And every now and again there are the most magnificent sunsets.

aruba sunset

aruba sunset

Thanks so much for taking our little tour with us. Before you go, if you are into DIY, I’ve started a new FB community that I hope to turn into a one-stop resource for DIYers, the avid, the wanna be and the everyone in between. I’m sharing regular inspiration with links directly to the how-to and encourage everyone’s input on what types of projects to find and share. If that’s your sort of thing I’d love to see you over there. You can sign up for the Easy DIY Project Ideas group here and like the Easy DIY Project Ideas FB page here. And there are video mini tutorials for the driftwood fish and the fan coral art. Thanks for checking it out!

Now head on over to DIY Passion for more coastal inspiration! And don’t miss any of the great tours that are a part of this group!

A tour of 16 GORGEOUS homes inspired by nearby waters!!! www.tableandhearth.com

Monday, June 20

Table & Hearth
The Happy Housie
In My Own Style
The Space Between
DIY Passion
Brian & Kaylor

Wednesday, June 22

Starfish Cottage
Family and the Lake House
What Meegan Makes
Migonis Home
Up to Date Interiors

Friday, June 24

Nina Hendrick
Simple Nature Decor
Shabbyfufu
Slightly Coastal
Setting for Four

Comments

  1. I seriously can’t even imagine having all that right out my window, and those sunsets!! What a dream Karah, thanks so much for sharing it with us!!

  2. Karah, the kitchen turned out great!!!!!!!! Always jealous. 😉

    • Haha, glad I could provide you a little something to live vicariously through. 🙂

      • You always do. I am still drooling over your Key West bathroom. I have to redo my kids large bathroom and even though I know what changes I need to do, I am still stuck. Ugh!!!!

  3. I’m so glad that you have completed your kitchen. It is absolutely gorgeous! The before was not very pretty, and the transformation is stunning. Thank you for sharing your home.,

  6. First time I’ve ever visited your blog (came here from In My Own Style) and gee, thanks a lot because now I want to desperately go to Aruba!!! What an amazing paradise.

    • Hi Francy! Thank you so much for stopping by. I love Diane and her blog, so fun to watch her lake house transformation. Aruba is a pretty special place.

  7. I always love your spaces and DIY projects. The kitchen makeover is beautiful and I am totally jealous of that view. My dream is to live in the Caribbean at some point in my life…sooner is better than later. 🙂 Great tour and thanks for sharing!

    • You have quite a nice little slice of water view yourself. 🙂 Hopefully you realize your Caribbean living dream, it’s a really neat experience that I’m so thankful we have.

  9. Your kitchen looks fabulous! You have so many touches that make your house a home. And those views are to die for! Thanks for inspiring me.

  10. Such a pretty place to live. I actually took a trip to Aruba with my family. Your collections of nautical finds have such great texture and colors. Your decorating style is lovely!

  11. What a wonderful piece of paradise you have created at your home. Thats exciting you live in Aruba. I’m really have enjoyed meeting everyone. Its been such a treat. I love drift wood too and living in Hilton Head area we have a ton of drift wood on the beaches. I imagine you have amazing finds on your beach. Have a great week
    Maria

  12. What a dream location! Wow! I think your coastal style is still subtle because you have used so many natural and local elements to accent a lovely, bright, airy home. Love it!

  14. Absolutely gorgeous! We live off the coast of California, and we have beautiful sunsets, but nothing quite like yours. So glad I stumbled on your blog while looking for some inspiration for our coastal store!

    Caron

  15. You’re back!!!

    I love your kitchen! Open shelving isn’t for me, but it looks gorgeous, and it must suit you well. We live near the ocean in southeastern NC, so we have gathered plenty of beach finds.

    We’re working on our house that we bought in September 2015. It’s going slow. We have one room painted, and now all of the contents of a connecting room are in there, because we need to paint the next room. Isn’t it always true that in order to one thing, there are several things that must be done in prep! I think we’ll be painting this weekend, so after that I can start decorating.

    I hope all is well with you. Are you still coming back to the states to run marathons? And, is Aruban life being good to you? I hope so!

  16. Thank you so much for the tour! I have really missed your blog, but it is great to see you enjoying your life in Aruba! You looked great before, but my goodness, all that cross fit training is making you really strong! Good for you! Not to start any rumors, but isn’t it about time for you and Joel to be moving on to a new adventure, in a new locale? Haha! Thanks again for the house tour!

  18. Thank you for sharing such valuable information, Karaha. beautiful home decoration design. Love it.

  20. Thank you for the great ideas. I really like your open shelves in the kitchen. I’m afraid mine wouldn’t be so neat. I envy you your view

    • We ended up loving the open shelves more than we thought we would, I think all the same color dishware helps them appear neat, even when they get cluttered. And when they get terrible, I just look at the view. haha

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