Tag Archives: kitchen

How to Decorate in Maritime Style

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Decorating in the Maritime style is a bit rustic, a bit whimsical but also very practical in an old-fashioned way. Any home can be decorated in this style but it really does suit homes that are on a waterfront the best.

Stripes say “nautical” as do anchors and any motif with whales, manatees, dolphins or other ocean life on it. Decorate your bedroom in striped white and blue fabrics. You can get beautiful natural blankets and linens with a lateral blue and white strap as well as sheets with anchor imagery on them.

Another interesting nautical theme is bluebirds. For years bluebird tattoos were boasted by sailors as each bluebird tattoo symbolized an ocean vogage. Bluebirds look great painted as motifs on door frames and other places. You can also buy curtains and pillows that have this theme.

Anything with an anchor on it will give the idea that you are expressing the Maritime theme. On your dining table be sure to have plates with crown and anchor motifs. You can also buy place mats made out of rattan and rope baskets to drive the point even further home.

A cute touch are photographic frames that look like life preservers. There is a company called Mariposa that is making these out of recycled aluminum. Also nothing says “Maritimes” more than the classic sailing ship trapped in a bottle sitting on your mantel. Model ships, both antique and modern, displayed on shelves or hanging from the ceiling also express a nautical theme.

In the kitchen hang a nice big chalkboard in a battered frame in a color like sea foam or a buttery yellow. Look for key holders, cork screws, tea towels and other accessories in aquatic colors with sailor or ocean motifs.

Anything made out of rope emphasizes the maritime theme. You can buy mats made out old recycled lobster rope that come in different brilliant colors. You can also buy doorstoppers made out of a classic monkey fist knot. A company called Uncommon Goods makes a very nice example of this.

A bronze outdoor lantern hanging from a chain helps keep the front porch looking friendly. These lights tend to be coal colored frames that hold bright white glass shades encasing a clear shade encasing a sheer bulb. Even in the thickest of fogs this type of touch will make your visitors feel welcome.
Finally anywhere in your home you see fit to put collections of sea shells or sea glass will help you achieve that nautical look.

How to Decorate With Stylish Chandeliers

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When it comes to lighting effects, not all chandeliers are alike. Here is a run down 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.

If you would like to see a large selection on chandeliers , then visit a site like Chandelier Center. If you end up ordering from them be sure to pick up a Chandelier Center promo code from Promo-Codes.com to get a discount for your order.

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.