Difficulties of a beach themed room

Boy is it great to be home. While soaking up the sun and 85° weather on my back patio (it's ok to be jealous; not everyone can live in Texas) I have been thinking about how I've spent my time and money during the last month. 

I've definitely used my downtime to search for some cute additions to our home decor and after spending way more money than I'd care to admit, I'm happy to announce that we're all set decorationally in our Master bedroom and the kids' rooms! 

The hardest part of the entire search was finding beach or nautical artwork for the master bedroom. Is it really that hard to paint a picture of the sea instead of snapping corny computer-desktop style pictures and printing them in bulk?! 

We never found any decent large pieces so we opted for 3 smaller pieces framed next to each other. We also found a couple more small ones for the master bath. Then we ran into problem number two. Frames. I love all of the detailed dark-wood frames in the stores, I do. I have purchased many of them for the maps and artwork in our home. That being said, they just don't match a beach theme! After stalking, then stomping down aisle after aisle of frames I complained, 'This is ridiculous! I know exactly what I want- I could MAKE a better beach frame than these stores offer!' 

To which Matt replied, 'well then why are we still here? Just make them.'

I hate it when he calls my bluff...! 

But I did have an idea of what I wanted so we bought some plain, unfinished frames and I set out with my white paint and a plan. 

I mean how hard is it to make a frame look like beach-wood? A little paint, a little distressing and it should be perfect! Worst case scenario I have 5 ugly frames that I can sand the paint off of and store them for a future home/holiday craft. 

Thankfully it was even easier than I anticipated and a thin coat of paint made the wood look beachier than any distressing I could have done! 

Hooray for something actually being simpler and cheaper than I envisioned! 

The artwork along with my new Tommy Bahama sheet set have renewed my hope for creating a good beach themed master bedroom. Thank goodness because I was beginning to think that I would have to go to the beach and break-in to some cottages to achieve the look!  

Moral of the story? Don't settle for something you don't like if you can try to make something better. If your attempt turns out horrible, laugh about it and feel free to settle :) 

Until next time, I'll be out here enjoying the sun with this oddball.

Weirdest. Dog. Ever.