White Sails At Sunset

The weather being fine this past weekend, I went down to the nearest quay and saw this:

And this:

Have you ever seen something in your daily travels that resonated deeply with you?  There was that ineffable je ne sais quoi that stirred the soul, that deep wellspring of heart gladness.  And you thought to yourself, "If only I could recreate that feeling in my home." 

The sun, the water, that feeling of freedom inherent in those sails made me feel as carefree and joyous as a bird on the wing.  And I thought as well of that spectacular piece of architecture, the Sydney Opera House.  So I raced home and puzzled (obsessed) over how to bring that look and that feeling into my home.  By a fortuitous turn of events, I came across a series of paintings titled "The Sea" by a talented local artist Brian C. Mayer. This one is titled "Sailing":

And this one is titled "Paradise":

Sigh...I swoon.  Now Art, with a capital "A", is so very personal but these paintings come very close to evoking for me that sense of being lifted far and away from the ordinary.  But surely, there must be other ways, simple yet effective ways, of being transported?  And so I did something for the very first time, I hung curtains!  Yes, simple white curtains to soften the modernity of horizontal blinds.

A vintage fan to recreate a billowing shore breeze.

Now, I have had a longstanding uneasy relationship with curtains.  I grew up with stiff net curtains and curtains that were formal and overbearing, the "look but don't touch variety."  But now I think I have reached detente with these simple white sheers.

They hang in the master bedroom, opposite the bed so I see them when I wake.

So now when I see that cascade of white, I have that same incomparable feeling, of sun on dappled waves, billowing white sails, lovers embracing on a ship's deck, that incandescent lightness of being.

Without tooting my horn too much, I was featured on The Thrifty Groove!  I'm so thrilled and pleased!  If you would like to read the featured post, "Green Is The Colour of My Love," go here or read it on The Thrifty Groove, here.

I am linking up to The House In the Roses, A Delightsome Life, A Beach Cottage, Faded Charm and French Country Cottage,