So while on a trip to L.A., for a part-family, part-business-trip, I stayed at a couple of lovely boutique hotels – the Huntley in Santa Monica…..

And the Hotel Sofitel in Beverly Hills…..

In case you couldn’t tell from my post on New Orleans, a stay at a boutique hotel can inspire and intrigue this Nashville interior designer for days…..

So the intriguing question for me was:  How do they create such marvelous coastal-nature-inspired interiors?

Well one obvious answer is – the ocean is right there…..

…..as seen peeking out from behind this beautiful woman (my sister!) at the Huntley’s penthouse restaurant.  A clean palette of white leather chairs, white paint and sheer white drapes completes the nautical resort feel…..

…..which continues a theme from the lobby:  White plaster fish serve as the backdrop for this chic furniture setting…..

But at the Sofitel Hotel restaurant lounge, real coral, seashells and other flotilla were found in the mirror-glass niches behind the seating, which at night lent an underwater effect…..

But the design inspiration didn’t stop with boutique hotels…..After all, there was the rock shop my Dad insisted on visiting – Wonders of The World…..

When I saw all of these gargantuan crystals dramatically grouped together on the counters, I realized if Dad just got out all of his gargantuan crystals he’s collected over the years, and arranged them on the coffee table – that would just make his living room totally rock…..

So imagine my surprise when I saw this very concept on display at the Mimi London showroom in the Pacific Design Center (those of you who watched Top Design will remember the PDC as the place where the contestants used to shop.  It’s also where real designers shop….. )

Love the woven rope back chair with these brown crystals above (coffee table looks a lot like Dad’s!)…..

…..Love the white crystals with this hide drum table and sculpted wood thing (is it a pipe holder?  or maybe just a nut dish?)……

And at Donghia, one of my perennial favorites, these glass base lamps evoke a stream of water or melting ice…..

But really the highlight of my trip was meeting this rock star of resort hotel (and beach house) accessorizing – including the Sofitel! – Shannon Colburn…..

There she is with one of her most popular items, a white coral…..

But these glass hurricane lamps bound with vine-like wooden strips, lit within by candles, really caught my imagination…..

More seashells, fossils and coral set against fantastic distressed wood and leather chests…..

What would it be like to decorate with shells like these?  I think I would have died and gone to heaven…..Shannon does it all the time, for resort hotels around the world – such as the one I stayed at (Hotel Sofitel).  She’s currently working on one in Maldives.  I don’t know where that is (she’s not sure either), but I’m sure I would like to go…..

Happy travels