Even if you don't live by the ocean, it is truly easy to create an ocean-themed bedroom to remind you of your favorite beach-side resort. You can either go bold in your color scheme with a deep navy and red combination or use a more neutral palate including soft blues, whites and tans. For a more literal ocean-themed translation, an ocean-themed bedroom can be adorned with actual items that are used in the sea, like fishing nets, surf boards and sea creatures.
Pale Blue Ocean Palate
Use soft tan neutrals and pale blues to create an elegant and more understated ocean-themed bedroom. A soft blue paint for your walls will serve as a starting point to your design.
Use tan neutrals and sand-color bedding to mimic the colors of beach sand, driftwood and other items found by the ocean. Mirror natural aspects of the ocean by selecting natural jute, seagrass or sisal area rugs to scatter around the room.
Purchase whitewashed furniture, or paint existing furniture white to continue the marine theme. Thrift shops and garage sales are a good source of wood furniture that can be painted white to fit into your ocean-themed bedroom.
Keep lampshades and curtains neutral with small accents of white or blue. Fill clear glass hurricanes with sand and nestle white candles into the sand.
Have various clear glass vases filled with different kinds of beach glass placed on either your nightstand or dresser. Shadowboxes are perfect for filling with the items found washed up from the ocean, such as starfishes, seashells and small pieces driftwood.
Bold Blue Ocean-Themed Bedroom
Use bold colors such as navy, red and yellow to represent a nautical/sailing/yachting ocean-themed room. Purchase dark mahogany furniture to represent the mahogany furniture used in the 1800s shipped from Indonesia to England. Furniture that is a lighter-colored stain can be sanded and stained in a dark mahogany stain.
For the bed, a navy comforter with crisp white sheets and pillows accented with red and yellow all add to the ocean theme.
Add framed nautical ocean charts and nautical shipping flags for a nod to the ocean vessels that use these flags. These nautical signs can be found at marine stores and yacht club stores. A local frame shop will be able to make a custom frame that will fit these uniquely shaped items. When framing these pieces, stick with dark mahogany frames with crisp white matting.
For the color of the walls, keep the walls neutral with a sand-colored or white paint, or you can go more bold with a deep navy wall.
Keep all metal accents and accessories in yellow or gold to mimic the brass used on ships. Purchase brass bedside table lamps, brass nobs for your dresser and brass anchor door stops to keep the accessories consistent.
Surf Is Up
Items like surf boards, fishing nets and seashells are a way to accessorize a young adult's bedroom with an ocean theme. Hang the surf board horizontally behind the bed to create a strong ocean statement.
Purchase a bed shaped like a boat from a retailer like Pottery Barn to emphasize your ocean-themed bedroom. Use bright and cheery colors for the bedding, like a hibiscus print comforter. Glue on seashells, starfishes and sand dollars onto a fishing net, and hang in the corner of the bedroom with screw-in hooks.
Frame vintage surfing movie posters as artwork. You can even find vintage swimsuits that you can have framed to continue your theme. A muralist can paint an ocean wave on one of the walls. The mural can include seagulls, boats and other ocean-inspired icons.
Tags: ocean-themed bedroom, dark mahogany, bedroom with, clear glass, crisp white, deep navy, fishing nets