Tips on Creating a Beach Bedroom Theme

Do you love the beach and surfing? Reflect your passion for riding the waves with a dramatic beach themed bedroom.

BeachTheme Colors & Materials to Set the Mood

To create a beach atmosphere in your bedroom, start by using colors you'd see at the shore. Pastel sky blue and pale-to-deep sand colors provide an excellent base. Build on that with the bright turquoise of the sea and vibrant bold colored Hawaiian prints.

Including natural beach materials in your bedroom design gives the room an authentic seashore feeling. Here are some ways to bring the beach home:

• Seashells: Arrange some attractive shells on a shelf or table, or perhaps display them in a glass jar.
• Sea glass: The muted shades of sea glass work particularly well in glass containers, alone or mixed with seashells.
• Driftwood: Driftwood can be used to make unique lamps, end tables, candle holders and clocks. A mangled piece of driftwood also stands alone as a sculptural accent for your desk, table or shelf.
• Starfish and sand dollars: Hang them in your window or display them with your shells and sea glass.
• Wicker: Wicker furniture gives your bedroom a light, airy beach cottage feel. Try a wicker headboard, chair, desk or nightstand.

BeachThemed Bedding

Your bed is the focal point of your bedroom, and is usually the first thing people notice when entering the room. Reflecting the surf theme in your bed strengthens your overall design, as you enjoy sweet dreams of sun, sand and that perfect wave. Create your surf themed bed with:

• Surfer bedding: Choose sheets, pillowcases and comforters with surfboard motifs in a variety of colors.
• Hawaiian bedding: Bold Hawaiian bedding with bright happy colors and floral, palm or pineapple patterns compliment the surf theme.
• Grass bed skirt: For a bed that looks imported from the tropics, decorate your mattress with a bed skirt made of natural Raffia grass. Or for a more affordable alternative, synthetic grass bed skirts are also available.
• Decorative pillows: Accent your bed with decorative pillows shaped like surfboards, beach balls, life rafts, pineapples and flip-flops, or pillows with beach and surf themed patterns.
• Surfboard headboard: You've got lots of options for a surf headboard. Choose a commercially made headboard with surfboard pattern, paint your own surf design on a plain headboard, or even mount an old surfboard on your headboard.

BeachTheme Wall Decor

Walls are a perfect canvas for your surfing theme. You may want to display:

• Attractive beach towels
• Themed art prints
• Surf signs in metal or wood
• Surf stencils
• Wall decals that look like surfboards
• Surfboard wallpaper borders
• A full sized beach wall mural
• Wall-mounted life rafts
• Surf or beach themed mirrors and picture frames
• Shelves that look like surfboards
• Old wet suits, or board shorts and tee shirts arranged in whimsical poses on the wall.

Beach Theme Windows and Floors

Even if you don't have an ocean view, you can get that beach feeling with your window treatments and decorations. Try adding curtains, sun catchers or hanging ornaments with surf or beach themes.

Natural floor materials work well with a surfing bedroom design. Light washed hardwoods or cork flooring are excellent choices. A decorative throw rug is a fun way to include your bedroom floor in your surfing design plan. A variety of rugs are available with surf or beach patterns, or choose one that is actually shaped like a surfboard, flip-flop, life raft or beach ball. You may also want to spread out a straw beach mat under a chair.

Beach Themed Furniture

You'll feel like you're at the seashore when you can relax with real beach furniture in your bedroom. Some good choices include:

• Folding beach chair or lounger
• Pastel Adirondack chair
• Colorful beach umbrella.

Surfing & Beach Bedroom Accessories

Almost any standard bedroom accessory can be found in a surfing design. Put the finishing touches on your bedroom with surf or beach themed:

• Light switch plates
• Doorknobs
• Lamps and lampshades
• Strings of lights
• Bookends
• Ceiling fans
• Garbage pails
• Clocks
• Garlands
• Draw pulls and knobs
• End tables
• Throws
• Night lights
• Collectible miniatures and sculptures.

To complete the look of your bedroom, you may want to try some of these additional accents:

• Palms:A large, potted ornamental palm plant or artificial palm tree brings the room to life.
• Beach toys: Create a decorative corner arrangement with colorful beach pails, plastic shovels, sunglasses, flip flops, sifters, a Frisbee and a beach ball.
• Ceiling hangings: Cover a dull ceiling with a surf themed throw or beach towel.
• Old surfboards: Suspend old damaged boards from the ceiling or mount them on your walls.

With your new surf bedroom, you'll feel like you never have to be away from the ocean, even on cold and rainy days.