Fresh Take: 9 Twists on Nautical Style
Strip down a themed room for a crisp, classic shipshape look
Becky Harris
May 25, 2015
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected."
I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia.
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe... More
Pardon the pun, but a lot of nautical-inspired designs really go overboard. You know you’ve seen it — a room that incorporates red, white and blue, nautical flags, multiple sailboat models, anchors, ship wheels on the wall. Unless you’re wearing a sailor suit and swabbing the floor, you feel out of place. Nurseries, playrooms, family rooms and children’s rooms are great spots to go full speed ahead with a nautical theme. But for a calmer, updated approach to your living spaces, consider stripping nautical down to its basic elements and giving it a tweak or two. The results will be an updated room with the crisp, classic elements that make nautical style so great.
Mix brass, wood and deep blue. This combination of materials and color is wonderful, especially when mitigated by a sea of white.
Mix expected and unexpected textures. Grass cloth is a soft surprise next to a crisp white shuttered door; a black and white geometric floor plays off the graphic vintage cruise ship poster.
Turn the color wheel a click or two. Swap in cream and tan for white, and orange for red, while keeping the traditional nautical navy. Orange and blue are complementary colors on the color wheel and create a striking combination that nods to nautical without screaming, “Ahoy, mateys!”
Explore more sea-inspired colors beyond red, white and blue. The beautiful seafoam green of these walls came straight from the clipper ship painting.
Limit yourself to one or two overtly themed nautical throw pillows. You’re going to have to pick a favorite or two, and that’s it. Perhaps just an anchor, as you see here, or one whale and one ship’s wheel. Then mix them with nonnautical patterns — think batik, tribal, floral, plaid, geometric and ikat.
This rule goes for other accents as well. The anchor light here packs a playful punch. With it placed between two porthole windows, the theme quota is met.
Rope-framed, porthole-size mirrors add just the right touch of nautical style to this crisp home office.
Choose sailboat images in black and white or sepia. Black and white photography lends a more modern look.
Embrace the versatile style of marine lights. These caged fixtures incorporate a range of metal finishes, from shiny to burnished, brass to chrome. They work with all sorts of styles, from traditional to industrial modern and everything in between.
Borrow boat hardware. These ring-pull latches lend a shipshape feel to the cabinetry at Thom Filicia’s lake house. Note the marine sconces on either side as well.
Throw an overtly nautical room a curveball with an unexpected print. If you’re looking to tone down a themed room just a little bit, make one big change. This children’s bunk room feels like the hull of a ship with its portholes, red, white and blue striped window treatment, lovely teakwood and sailboat model. However, the oversized koi fish fabric throws things off just the right amount.
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Another great article, Becky! I'm from a long line of ship's captains and sailors, so I have incorporated a lot of nods to this heritage in my home. The kitchen has two B&W photos: one of the Middle Bay Lighthouse in Mobile Bay snapped by one of my sisters from the bow of my boat, and the other is a on old photo of my great-grandfather's Bay Boat docked at the old wooden Fairhope Pier (they were used to ferry people back & forth from Mobile to the Eastern Shore before the bay bridge was built). I also have a small hand-colored map of the defenses of Mobile Bay during the Civil War. In the main parlor I have a weathered old nautical chart of Mobile Bay framed, a model of a tall sailing ship like the one captained by my great-great-grandfather, and a bullseye girandole mirror encircled by Empire-style "dolphins". I also have an oil painting of ships in a harbor that was painted by another great-great-grandfather. Finally, just about everyone enjoys looking through an antique brass telescope on a rosewood tripod!
Some of the the other nautical touches I've used include: several framed etchings from the old Harper's Weekly with scenes of Mobile and Charleston from the Civil War as well as the exploits of the CSS Alabama. One of my ancestors from Charleston was an officer on board the Alabama. I also have one of my favorite Audubon engravings of the Osprey in flight with a speckled trout in its talons. I
have an 1850's model naval officer's sword made by Godchaux of NewOrleans on a pier table. I love the knotted rope and stylized dolphins on the hilt and scabbard. The downstairs is more casual. I used several brass ship companionway fixtures and framed lithographs of saltwater game fish. Just got in an antique Federal pier mirror with an eglomise panel of a paddlewheel steamer for the powder room. I framed an old canvas nautical signal flag for thelower parlor. Almost forgot the pendants in the kitchen are replicas of cargo hold fixtures!
@southernpointofview, I love nautical antiques. Your photos make me wish I had touched on them more in the story. They are wonderful!