In this post, shopping at two gorgeous beachy home decor stores, plus coastal decor ideas from San Diego interior designers featured on Homeworthy, and a few seaside decor books for summertime inspiration.
Happy Memorial Day! Thank you to those who have served our country with honor. We are grateful for your sacrifice.
As we prepare to make the trek back to the Bay Area this weekend, I realized that the clock is ticking if I want to visit some local shops one last time. I hopped in the car and headed down the coast on a drizzly gray day to the neighboring town of La Jolla to check out Mood Indigo. I first learned about this cute shop from watching a Homeworthy episode featuring the two owners and designers, Patrick Wade and Dave DeMattei. They have a modern beach house in La Jolla overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It is stunning! Patrick also shares a lot of great interior design tips. You can watch the episode here.
Photo: moodindigolajolla.com
Mood Indigo
First of all, the two of them could not be nicer people. Dave welcomed me into the shop and we chatted while I browsed. Patrick came out of the back of the store while I was looking around. (I was too shy to tell them that I am a fan of theirs from Homeworthy.) They have an adorable little Dachshund named Penny who kept a close eye on me (from a distance). I did snap some pics of the store, which really don’t do it justice. Their shop is brimming with beautiful items ranging from dishes and kitchenware to furniture and art. As the name would imply, the color blue is featured throughout. I will need to go back when I have more time because I spotted a couple of things that would look great in our SD home. It’s too bad they don’t have an online store because I would love to be able to order some of the rugs and accessories for our Bay Area place too. Unfortunately we just don’t have room in our car to bring a lot of extra stuff with us when we go back and forth because our sweet border collie Belle takes up space in the back seat and we tote our golf bags back and forth along with everything else. (I’m still figuring out how to pack lighter.)
However, I couldn’t leave without buying something. I spotted the perfect market bag with their brand on it to bring with me when we travel. I have another bag from the same brand, called Apolis, that I got at the Enchantment Resort in Sedona last spring. Their bags are well-made with leather handles and a spill-proof lining which makes them great for carrying around all kinds of things. This one will be super handy for our trips between the Bay Area and San Diego or as a cute beach bag. I’m looking forward to stopping by Mood Indigo again this fall when we’re back in town.
Tadah
On the way home from La Jolla I stopped in at my very favorite shop in Solana Beach, TaDah. Great name right? I usually stop by this shop multiple times every time we’re down here. I love all the neutrals and textures and the displays are always beautiful. The shop is run by a mother/daughter duo and opened in 2004. You can find everything from coral and shells to lots of pretty baskets, wall art, textiles, cookbooks & design books and more.
As you can see, natural elements rule in her displays. I usually manage to find something small for our place down here whenever I stop by. I wish I could take it all home with me. Maybe I’ll just move in. The shop also has a nice selection of gift items, like candles, handmade jewelry and witty & funny (and sometimes naughty) trinket trays and tea towels. I like to bring friends here to shop when the come stay with us because it’s such a perfect “beach” decor shop. It’s another business that I wish had an online store so I could still shop there when we’re up north. I may just need a bigger car…moving van maybe?
Homeworthy
If you’re not familiar with the site Homeworthy, it’s a website and YouTube channel featuring tours of beautiful homes given by their owners. If you love interior design, it’s definitely binge-worthy. As I mentioned previously, that’s how I found out about Mood Indigo. In a previous post about California style I shared a Homeworthy video featuring another home in La Jolla, owned by interior designer Leslie Martin of M + M Design, that’s elegantly coastal, classic and cozy. Her Instagram account is just as beautiful.
A new video recently caught my attention because it features a young couple sharing their first home in tiny Cardiff-by-the-Sea which is just up Highway 101 from Solana Beach.
Cardiff has a beautiful beach, plus great restaurants and one of the best fancy grocery stores around – Seaside Market. We love to go there to get specialty items when we have guests staying with us, especially their marinated tri-tip, nicknamed “Cardiff crack”. Yum. But I digress…
Photo: Homeworthy
The couple featured in this episode, called “A Nancy Meyers-Inspired Home in California”, a young couple have created a chic multifunctional home with the same softness and comfort and elegant style that are the hallmark of the sets in Nancy Meyer’s films. Many people are huge fans of this style made popular by two of my favorite feel-good movies “Something’s Gotta Give”, set in the Hamptons, and “It’s Complicated” set in Santa Barbara. There’s a great article in Architectural Digest about Nancy Meyers sets if you’re interested in learning more. You can read it here.
Photo: Architectural Digest
Book Browsing…
One easy way to reset your home for a new season is to change out the types of books you have on display. I have an ever-growing collection of design books which are not only great resources but also pretty to look at on a coffee table or bookshelf. You can change the look of your displays by rotating your books to spotlight more summery subjects like the beach, gardens and travel for example. Since we purchased our place in San Diego I’ve been focusing more on coastal decor books. Here are a few coastal design that are currently in my Amazon cart.
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I think these would look great stacked on our coffee table with a sea salt candle, a small vase or some wooden beads, and shells or pebbles found at the beach.
I hope you had a fun and relaxing Memorial Day Weekend. I just got back to the Bay and I’m looking forward to sharing more about our plans for the summer. If you missed my last post Mother’s Day Trip to the Flower Fields and Fun Summer Reads you can find it here. Enjoy your week!
