Bringing Sand Back From the Beach

There is nothing like the feeling of sand beneath your feet.

Back in 2006 a doctor in South London teamed up with Virgin Holidays and transformed his waiting room into an idyllic beach scene for a week - complete with sand, palm trees, sun loungers and the sound of the sea playing over the stereo.

Urban beach bars have also popped up here and there over the past few years. Camden Beach at the Roundhouse in London was very popular this year.

In a survey complied by CheapFlights, Badeschiff, on the River Spree in Berlin was pronounced the second best beach bar in the world this year.

Paris, France has had an urban beach stretching for about a kilometre along the Seine every year since 2002. The idea proved so popular that the Paris Plages as they are known have now popped up in other arrondissements.

Hotels have also caught onto the idea - recreating beach scenes - complete with beach huts, beach volleyball courts and ice cream bicycles at their city or countryside locations.

It seems evident that lots of people want to try and capture the essence of the beach even when they are miles away from one. I really love the look and feel of sand and think it would look great to use some outside at our future bach*. I've gathered a few ideas below.

What do you think? Do you like the idea of bringing the beach home with you? Or does the thought of sand getting all through your house fill you with dread?

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*A bach is a term New Zealanders use to describe a holiday house.

Images: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8