Top Ten Tropical Decor Tips

By Sonya Alvino

It doesn’t take lots of money or endless amounts of time to bring some of the ‘beach’ home with you. See some of our simple home decor tips to transform your palace into a tropical paradise fit for any deserving island-lover.

Almost anything that is typical of the sun, sea and sand can inject that tranquil feeling of being on a perfect beach and being soothed by swaying palm trees or an ebbing ocean.

1. Soft fabrics in bold, Caribbean prints can create a tropical feel to drapes, upholstery, throws, pillows, lampshades, table settings, trays, or even bedding. Have a look at Bahamahandprints.com for some exciting tropical print designs in uniquely fresh hand printed fabrics, and an island-inspired selection of home accessories to add to your lifestyle.

2. Bamboo blinds add an earthy, natural element to windows and come in a variety of styles (roller, roman, fold top) that are all fairly inexpensive.

3. What beach is complete without palm trees and there is a fabulous selection of indoor palms to give luscious focus to your tropical themed room. Try out these for size.

a. Areca palms – grow to around 6 foot indoors and do best in bright sunlight
b. Kentia Palm – is one of the most tolerant indoor palms and although it does better in bright sunlight, can also tolerate shady conditions.
c. European Fan Palm — this dwarf has silvery palmate leaves and likes direct light to grow to its maximum of around 3 feet.

4. Colours – think natural tones of the ocean, sand and tropical jungle for walls; tans, aqua’s, light greens, creams and bright white with accents in either pastel shades reminiscent of the Colonial era, or bursts of vibrant exotic fruit colours to make featured areas ‘pop’.

5. Shells and drift-wood collected on vacations, then washed and displayed in wicker baskets provide fabulous summery centrepieces. You can even decorate shells with bows, glitter and craft jewels and hang them on your x-mas tree!

6. Sisal rugs can do wonders to an otherwise mundane floor covering and come in a selection of natural colour tones.

7. Bamboo, rattan, straw fans are easily available on the market and invoke a humid atmosphere.

8. Plantation style furniture in the typical deep, dark hard woods offer a colonial look to rooms although these rare woods do come at a price these days....a lighter and cheaper alternative would be rattan or bamboo accent pieces so popular to southern porches and so indicative of outdoor living.

9. Table place-settings can add colour and spice to a room, and you have the option to switch them out all the time. Bahamahandprints.com offers a selection of tropical fabric napkins, place mats, pot holders and now a range of laminated trays, bowls and salad servers in bold prints and colours.

10. Soft furnishings that add tropical colours and textures to your space ie. Cushions, throws and lamp shades

Have fun with layers, and accents, and your home could become the tropical paradise you’d previously only visited once per year.

Sonya Alvino is an online marketing agent for Bahama Hand Prints - designers of fabulous resort wear essentials and tropical fabric prints ideal as upholstery fabric, drapery fabric, or apparel fabric. Check out their sophisticated and glamorous collection of resort wear essentials.

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