8 Great Ideas for a Shabby Chic Surf Shack

For most surfers, the ocean is their "home away from home." If this is you, here are 8 tips to make your home feel like your "home away from home."

1. Let's just get the obvious out of the way: Use your surfboard as decor! Mount a surfboard wall rack as not only a functional way to store your boards but also to add your personal flair to the room.

2. If you're artistic, paint giant crashing waves on your wall. You could even have them breaking overhead on the ceiling.

3. If you're not artistic, fake it. Use pre-pasted wall murals or borders to simulate the beach in your room. Wallpaper, murals and borders let you have so much creativity in the theme of your room. And most of them are not that sticky, impossible-to-remove wallpaper anymore. Many are simply peel-and-stick!

4. For a creative, and definitely laid-back touch, reupholster your dining room chairs with beach towels. Mix and match complementary designs and colors for the coolest dining room around.

5. You can use a small or medium sized beach ball in the corner of a room for a splash of color and creativity. But don't go overboard - one is enough. If you want to put it on a shelf, use a piece of tape to keep it from rolling off.

6. Recycle your old boards by turning them into furniture. Surfboards make great coffee tables or shelves and you can buy the wood and brackets kits to make the legs at most home improvement stores. Or, if you don't have the time, but do have the money, you can always cheat and buy a high-quality handcrafted wood surfboard coffee table.

7. Add some natural appeal with some bamboo shelves to hold books, mementos from your surf trips, or all your favorite surf DVD's.

8. And last but not least, the quintessential piece of surf shack decor - the surfboard rug. These now come in all colors, sizes and price points so you'll be sure to find exactly what you're looking for. The most popular ones are the striped ones available in numerous colors to match your decor. If you're looking for something a little less traditional, surfboard rugs now come in a host of cool new designs.

It will never replace the ocean, but with these tips you can make your home your second favorite place to be.

For these and other great beach decorating ideas, check out OceanStyles.com - Beach Decor