shells!

Shells are great ways to bring the beach and summer into your house. They are also great accessories to bring neutral colours to rooms and an overall mellow feel.

 In this picture, shells are used to decorate the chandelier. Though we think that in small amounts sea shells would look nice on this light fixture, the complete coverage looks overdone. We think that it looks awkward and even a little corroded. This room does look good with shells though and we would put some in small amounts, possibly on the table.

 We really like this sand and shell candle arrangement. It is unique because the shells are actually the things holding the wax for the candles, not just tea lights placed in shells. Also, we like how not every shell holds a candle because that would be too much light and the beauty of the shells would get lost. We like this just how it is and would place it in a bathroom or bedroom with a beachy feel.

 These candle are a little different than the previous ones, but we still really like them. Unlike previously, the sells don't hold the wax, but instead they are attached to a sandy coloured stone votive holder. We like the variety of shells and the neutral colours because they would go with many colour schemes. We would also put these candles in a bedroom or bathroom.

 This is an example of taking shells way too far. There are a lot of things wrong with the shells in this bathroom. First of all, there are too many of them. there are so many that you lose the detail of the individual shells and it becomes way too busy. This also goes with the second thing thats wrong, the shells are too crowded. Finally, they are too big. IT looks like they might fall off the wall! If we were o changes this, we would use fewer, smaller shells and spread them out more. Also, we would either decorate the mirror or the border, not both.

 We really like this way of using shells. Though it is only a small touch, it brings the beach into your room without overdoing it. The pale coloured bowl makes it so the shells aren't lost, and even though they're large they don't overtake the space.

This final candle holder has a small sea shell touch. The shells are very small and take the place of sand, rocks, or marbles in the bottom of the candle. We like the cream tones in this candle and think it would look good in any room where you would place a candle.

Overall, we think sea shells are a great, inexpensive way of bringing the beach home and giving your room a laid back feel.

-Hayley, Vanja, & Alexandra (*Double Post)