Tag Archives: bathroom

How to Decorate With Seashell Art

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One of the nicest ways to decorate your summer home or cottage is with seashell art. Seashell art has a rustic, natural serenity that compliments other types of décor as well including contemporary, Swedish and retro fifties, sixties and seventies designs.

One of the most interesting one-of-a-kind wall hangings to come along late is the Starfish embedded in copper tablet. Starfish have a beautiful natural copper bronze color that naturally compliments copper that has a green patina. The patina color comes from the oxidization of the copper.

You can also get beautiful scallop shells that have been embedded into copper in the same way. The scallop has a very elegant shape that is reminiscent of an open woman’s fan.

This type of art looks great outside, as a plaque in just about any room and as unique décor for a bathroom. They would look quite enchanting in a grouping on a tile wall around a pool, pond or hot tub. You don’t have to worry about this type of copper being around water as it is coated with a special sealant to preserve its color.

Starfish and scallops come in all shapes and sizes so you will find that these come in all shapes and sizes as well. A twenty-two square inch example makes a wonderful centerpiece in any home whether it is on the coffee table or hanging on the wall.

Driftwood and sea glass art objects have a pretty, weathered quality that looks great anywhere in most cottages. It is very common to find picture frames and mirror frames made of this material. Some mirrors are dressed up with panels made up of assorted sea glass stones and seashells.

A popular item is the Ocean in a Box which is a “beach scribble” written in sand on a beach and then handcrafted. Words like “Welcome”, “Faith” and “Time” are scribbled in the sand. You can also get symbols like Peace Signs and Hearts. These pieces are handcrafted by Maine artists so you can also get them customized.

There are also many artists who create unique abstracts out of objects from the beach if you like your collectibles to be a little less New Age or kitsch in look.

How to Decorate With Chandeliers

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When it comes to lighting effects, not all chandeliers are alike. Here is a rundown of the different types of chandeliers and the type of light they are likely to cast over your dining room table.

Late Victorian: The late Victorian style of chandelier lighting is very similar to the late seventies style of chandelier. This style consists of stacked circular glass blown globes that are stacked in brass wheels of usually eight and then four tiers. This type of chandelier casts a very soft pearly glow and look best in a dim wood paneled room. The more stark seventies versions with the pure white opaque glass look best hanging over a kitchen table and tend to cast a much brighter light.

Gas Electric: This style of chandelier consists of tulip shaped flutes and is usually made of heavy engraved glass. In Victorian times there would have been candles inside these frosted flutes but now a days there is candle shaped light bulbs or regular light bulbs. This style of chandelier which is usually mounted on a metallic wheel, whether it be brass, iron or metal, are usually very bright and sometimes look better somewhere like a bathroom where you need lots of light and not necessarily in a dining room where something more subtle is required.

Arts and Crafts: You know you are looking at an Arts and Crafts style of chandelier if the glass shades are dangling downwards from the wheel rather than sitting like cups on the rim of the wheel. This is characterized by balanced mobiles that consist of two to four to six lampshades on a rustic looking metal frame that hangs from the ceiling.

Mission Style: If the chandelier has black iron limbs or wheels then it is probably mission style. Mission style chandeliers usually also have square shades made of streaked white or pearly opaque glass. This type of chandelier usually casts a dimmer light then most.

Wagon Wheel: This eclectic chandelier was a common sight in the suburbs in the seventies and basically consisted of a wooden wheel that was topped with miniature lamps shades. It casts a nice, yellowish dim light for a dining room.

Atomic Age: Also known as a fifties revival style, these are the chandeliers that look like metal starbursts from which shoot multicolored Christmas bulbs. This unique style never seems that dated as it looks both modern and antique at the same time and the light that it can cast is often pretty because of the different colored bulbs. It does however cast a dimmer light than most.

Art Deco Chandeliers – These are getting rarer and rarer and cast beautiful soft lights the colored round pendant drops and flower shaped fluted shades that are characteristic of the style. The glass on an art deco chandelier is often green or pink and it can also be frosted or streaked with color.

There are hundreds of more styles of chandeliers, especially if you want to get into discussing crystal pendant chandeliers but the above represents the most common and affordable styles that you can find online or in stores.