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

Beach Theme Rugs to Accent Your Tropical Decor

What better way to bring together your home's beach decor than with a coastal or tropical theme area rug? Often overlooked, floor coverings are a unique and fun way to accentuate your beach house style. These rugs come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors to suit any room in your house.

When shopping for an area rug, there are several factors to take into consideration to make sure you find the perfect choice. Style, color and shape all play a crucial part in making sure your rug blends seamlessly with your beach decor. There are so many options that, with a little research, you will be sure to find something ideal to fit your needs.

Style - Think about the room that you are decorating? What is the main concept? Do you want your room to have the feel of a surfer's sanctuary? A tropical paradise? A coastal cottage? Your last family beach vacation? The options are limitless!

For a room with cool, laid-back surfer style, consider the ever-popular surfboard rug. Available in different sizes ("longboard" or "shortboard"), colors and patterns, these rugs could become the centerpiece of your room. If you prefer something a little more traditional, shape-wise, you can choose from several other surf theme area rugs.

Do you prefer your decor to have a more subdued, coastal feel? Highlight your floors with casual rugs in patterns of seashells or nautical stripes. Pair these rugs with white walls, light furniture and breezy window treatments to make your home feel like a cottage by the shore.

Color - Depending on your taste, the color of your rugs can range from bright and splashy to understated and sophisticated, all while still maintaining your beach decor theme. Choose from vibrant floral patterns in rich reds, blues and greens for that island feeling. For a seaside retreat, choose more muted shades of aqua and tan reminiscent of sandy beaches and clear blue waters.

Shape - Area rugs now are available in all shapes and sizes. Smaller rugs are great in the bathroom or even as welcome mats at the front door. Larger rugs can be used to bring the furnishings and other accents in bigger rooms together, such as the dining room or living room. Long surfboard rugs can be used as hallway runners, and whimsical odd-shaped rugs can be a conversation piece all on their own!

So many elements go into interior design and floor coverings play an important role. You can find a great rug to match your current beach decor, or choose your rug first and then pattern your room around it. No matter what order you go in when you are decorating your beach house, remember not to leave out what's right under your feet!

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

Bring the Ocean Inside with Coastal Wall Decor

If you can't see the waves crashing on the shore from your front window (or even if you can!), you can still bring that seaside feeling inside your house with some beautifully arranged coastal artwork on your walls.

If you're looking for a New England beach cottage type of feeling in your home, choose art in soft pastel colors that feature images of sand dunes, lighthouses, and breezy summer days spent building sandcastles. For that extra cottage feel, consider framing them in distressed or white-washed wood frames.

Perhaps your style leans more toward the Caribbean way of life. Consider prints with bold colors reminiscent of warm Jamaican nights spent drinking rum punch and dancing to reggae beats. Showcase pictures of bright island foliage and houses, swaying palm trees, and pristine beaches. Frame them with a darker wood or natural fiber frame to make the colors really pop.

Maybe you'd like your home to portray a cool, laid-back, Florida Keys type attitude. Show off images of long piers, calm bay waters, and deep-sea fishing boats. Bright and airy featuring the blues of the sky and ocean, these pictures might be best framed in a light-color natural wood frame. Then relax, put on some Jimmy Buffet music and enjoy a frozen Margarita, all without leaving your house.

Finally, perhaps you're more of a "Surf's Up" type of beach bum, always thinking about that next great wave. If this is you, create your perfect surf shack with vivid artwork depictions of colorful surfboards, vintage woody cars or long barrel waves. For these you can use colored or natural wood frames. Or maybe you'd like to hang them outside on your patio. Many of the same images are available as weather-resistant tin signs for indoor or outdoor use! No framing necessary.

Another fantastic idea would be to put up rustic wooden signs with great beachy sayings like "Beach This Way" or "Gone Surfing" that tell the world just how much you love the beach.

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