And if Nate said so, then we must get to it. What am I blabbing about? Oh a little thing called sea life essentials. Mr. Decorating-Fantastico-Berkus said that each living space should contain at least one piece of sea life. And who am I to argue with perfection?!?! clarification – decorating perfection. Seriously folks, I am married! And Mr. Easy on the Eyes is no match for my boyfriend 🙂

Back to the post – let’s focus. Our office is kinda seaside themed. And on our last visit to the sea, I was able to pick up some amazing coral, shells, and beachy souveniers. Shells can be found just about anywhere. And it is a fun game with kids. You can even use a guide to find out exactly whatcha found.

When in the Bahamas, I picked up some sand dollars and threw them in a bucket of bleach. I know. I am a horrible person. But on the upside, I was in a place that you could literally kick the sand and three would float up…so I feel like I was helping the natural selection process along 🙂 Don’t judge me.

Also, because our coral reefs are endangered – make sure that if you get coral – it is not living but found on the beach or bright white in the sand. Just make sure that whatever great sea-life souvenier you bring home that you take the time to bleach dip (or throw it in a baggie to stash in your freezer for a few days) to eliminate bringin some unwanted sea critters or sea debri into your home. Eel poo is not something you want to display.

Here is another tip – Mini Pringle containers are the perfect snack on the beach and then reuse as a holder for your cup-o-sand.

I wanted to create a way to display a sand dollar from our most recent trip to the beach. So I picked up a shadow box from Ikea, pulled out some sandy colored scrapbook paper and my trusty glue gun.
The edges of the sand dollar got a dab here and there and WahLA!

Instant art. A classic hurricane held my pink tinted sand and a piece of coral that I picked up and a mucho cheapo art card completed the look.

Now Nate would be proud. I have my office shelves decked out with shells, sailboats, and a couple odds and ends to give that washed-up-on-the-shore feel.

Wanna get some seaside art on the cheap? How bout craving the homemade stuff? Well, it just so happens that I am BFF with some folks that can send you a super chic coral leaf print for only twenty bones. Or check out Etsy for some sea shells under $5 to make your own crafty-craft. And for those of you that do not care for this inexpensive route, (saving money – pashaw!)Z Gallerie has some fantastic faux coral that will put the sea in your ‘See my super-posh, Nate Berkus designed room?!?!’