tropical decorating

Dave and I have just been looking at rentals online for the area we'll be moving to. We can't really inquire about any of them yet - it's still too early. But I have emailed a little with some property managers that have listings that I like. I've let them know when we'll be arriving and asked if they have any similar listings to the ones I like that might be available then. I've sort of made friends with one super nice lady - she lives on Oahu and has several listings around Waimea on the Big Island - she's offered to introduce me to all her friends there when we arrive.

Looking at all these empty homes has got me thinking about how I'll decorate when we get there. My decorating here is kinda Coloradoish (except Maici's room which is "surfer girl" already). I've been looking online at lots of pictures of tropical decorations and color schemes. I don't want to do the traditional "nautical" theme with blue, white, red, lots of stripes, ships anchors and seashells. I like alot of the brighter colors: turquoise, yellow, lime green. I like lots of white with accents of bright colors or brightly painted walls. Lots of blogs I've checked out seem to post decorating pictures from magazines so I thought I'd do the same and show you some of the ideas that I like.

I don't usually like black/white decorating - it's a little too formal for me. But I really liked this room, the large prints seem more casual and I love the light blue wall.

I like the fun feel of the multi-colored chairs and pillows and the lights strung from the shelf.

Super fun handmade shell chandelier.

LOVE the garage door style wall!! We'll be renting at first but if we buy our own place I would LOVE to do this.

I just think all these colors are so sunny and airy looking. Very different from what I've had in the past but I'm looking forward to doing something new!