Monday, June 1, 2015

Make Your Room Hawaiian Themed

Use colorful strands of leis to tie your curtains back.


Hawaiian-themed rooms allow you to bring the essence of the sunny shores of Hawaii into your home. This variety of decor draws inspiration from the many cultures that have called the Hawaiian islands home as well as from the ocean and sand that is everywhere. The materials making up the furniture and accessories tend to be natural and the colors vibrant. Does this Spark an idea?


Instructions


1. Paint the walls sand-yellow or ocean blue. If you'd like to create a focal wall in the room, paint just one wall. Very often the focal wall reinforces another large feature in the room like a fireplace or a large built-in bookcase. You can make a wall your focal wall by virtue of the fact that you've set the wall apart from the walls around it with a coat of paint. If you go with the focal wall option, paint the surrounding walls a different color so that wall stands out. Hang a gallery of pictures or Hawaiian-themed knick knacks on the wall.


2. Set the Hawaiian tone by choosing furniture and accessories like throw pillows that feature a Hawaiian floral patterned fabric. Tropical flowers like hibiscus, bird of paradise or the white plumeria offer a sampling of the types of flowers that are popular in Hawaii. This brings splashes of color into the room.


3. Feature Hawaiian lei tie backs for curtains. A strand of silk flowers sewn on a tie back will work well for this. If you want the tie back to stand out, hang up curtains of only one color and tie them back with the colorful leis.


4. Gravitate toward rattan or bamboo furniture. These building materials are common in Hawaiian furniture. Look for coffee and end tables, storage baskets for the bookshelves and other items featuring these materials.


5. Decorate the walls with seashell covered mirrors or shell shadowboxes. These items bring a bit of the ocean to the space. To make these yourself, glue a variety of sea shells onto the frame of a large mirror or display a number of different kinds of colorful shells in shadowboxes on the walls. You can also try hanging colorful ceramic fish, Hawaiian tribal masks or photos of the Hawaiian islands.


6. Cool the room with a palm leaf-shaped ceiling fan.


7. Create a corner decorative display using Hawaiian instruments like ukeleles and drums. Look for instruments of different sizes and colors. Display them on a special shelf or on a table using instruments stands.


8. Lay down sea grass mats for the floors. These look especially striking on hardwood floors.

Tags: focal wall, furniture accessories, Hawaiian islands, that wall