Whether you live on the coast or are landlocked in Nebraska, you can turn any home into a beach house by incorporating shells into your decor. Shells are one of the ocean’s many gifts: tiny homes washed ashore, previously inhabited by a variety of marine animals. As an adult, I began a habit of collecting shells from every beach I visit. Of course, if I find the rare whelk with a snail still inside, I toss it back into the water, but empty shells make magical beach souvenirs. Shells are sold in beach shops everywhere, but it is easy to find your own while walking the surf. With a sizable collection, I began to look at my boring furniture and decor and thought, ‘why not stick a shell on it?’ Why not, indeed!
What You Need to Craft with Shells
The only materials you need to ‘beachify’ your things include shells (optionally bought but found for free at most sandy beaches), the actual things you plan to decorate, and glue. I previously used super glue but found that super glued shells do not hold up well over time. Any flex or jolt to the object will cause the shell to pop right off, and it gets annoying having to glue them back on. Plus, super glue dries out so quickly that it really isn’t ideal for larger projects. Rubber cement is more flexible, but the bond isn’t as strong. I have heard good things about gorilla glue, but I recently discovered my now-go-to: glitter glue. Glitter glue does not actually contain glitter but it dries clear so you can add glitter to it. Most importantly, it has a strong bond and is easy to work with.
If you don’t have any shells, then perhaps a beach trip is in order! Of course, that depends on whether you have the time and money. If you cannot travel to the beach anytime soon, you can buy bulk shells online for a reasonable price. There are many vendors who sell a variety of types. You can buy glitter glue online or in a craft store. As for your choice of furniture and belongings to decorate, make sure you are confident about your decision. The last thing you want is to change your mind later. A table covered in dried super glue where you removed shells is not attractive. If there is nothing you own already that you want to use, visit a thrift store or vintage shop for cheap items. They don’t even have to look that great since you will change how they look anyway!
Prepare Your Workspace
Set aside a workspace where you can lay out your shells for inspection and select the ones you want as you work. If you don’t have a large elevated surface like a kitchen table, make sure the area you use is not accessible to pets and children (unless you wish to risk an interesting mess). You’ll also want to gauge how much time you’ll be able to work on it. If you’ll only have a few hours of free time on the weekends, your project might take several weeks. You won’t want to use a space that you need very often for other tasks; otherwise, you’ll have a constant mess to live with and work around. Find an area that doesn’t need to be used for anything else for a while, unless you have a project that you can finish in one day.
Plan and Arrange Your Design
Designing is the fun part! If you are stuck on ideas, search for inspiration online or on a visual search engine like Pinterest. You could also peruse shops that happen to sell beachy decor (among other general styles) for some ideas. I bought a gorgeous wall hanging from a local crafts vendor at a festival downtown several years back. His work inspired me to eventually create something of my own.
Make sure you have a finished design laid out on your work surface (or, at least, planned in your mind) before you start using your glue. Glitter glue, for one, isn’t something you just casually use as needed. After every session of use, you need to clean out the tiny metal nozzle of any residual glue. It helps to do this as few times as possible by gluing many items in bulk. The best way to accomplish that is to have your design totally finished in advance. This is why you don’t want pets or children around to scatter your un-glued shells everywhere!
The Final Product: Endless Shell Decor
My first major shells project several years ago transformed a cheap cardboard/plastic framed mirror into a delightful piece.
I also salvaged a cheap broken mirror (is it just me, or do handheld mirrors seem to want to jump out of your arm and shatter?) by affixing shells around the jagged glass edges. The mirror’s black plastic frame doesn’t lend itself to glamour and I haven’t gotten around to re-gluing the shell hanging off the edge (rubber cement: flexible but not as strong), but it’s fun and funky (and beachy!).
I once acquired a star-shaped metal wire basket that I didn’t really want but didn’t want to just throw away. So I tied a bunch of shells to the top piece with twist ties and stuck it on the front door. It’s another modest piece, but cheerful nonetheless!
As I mentioned, super glue is not an ideal adhesive, especially for items that will be handled in any way. For instance, my baby happily discovered that he can pull shells off of this table (it looked a lot nicer with complete rows of shells).
I found this dark wood jewelry box at a small consignment shop. I wanted a legitimate jewelry box to contain my jewelry since my previous ‘storage’ arrangement involved small open cardboard boxes that left silver and other pieces exposed to oxidation and plenty of dust. My jewelry box find was cheap, plain, and perfectly suited to a shell makeover.
Last year, a beautiful songbird flew into one of the sunroom’s screen-less window panes and fatally broke its neck. This made me very sad, so I buried the bird in the ground where he fell and created a decoy to hang in that window. Over the years, I saved many small ribbons kept in a sewing kit with other craft supplies. These I tied onto shells like a flower chain until one ribbon strand was long enough to cover the majority of the window’s height. I then tied the shell chains to a strand of bells strung up across the top of the window. This ideally creates enough of a visual presence for birds to notice and to avoid flying into the glass (thankfully, I have not found any casualties since).
If You Don’t Have Time to Craft with Shells, Shop for Inexpensive Coastal Decor
While I have covered many belongings in shells, I have also bought many beachy items at thrift, vintage, or consignment shops. I never spend much money on these things. If you keep an eye out for coastal decor in any secondhand shop, you will discover plenty of affordable finds.
I have also bought the occasional and inexpensive new item from a chain store.
I go through a lot of tissues. Apparently it’s rhinitis that causes a chronically runny or stuffy nose after eating or drinking. This is not something I can change, but I can do something about my tissue box situation. While most of the cheaper tissue box designs leave something to be desired, covering the boxes with decorative tissue box covers provides a much more pleasing aesthetic. So I found a few beachy ones online.
If you enjoy libations, a fun and easy way to decorate is to save pretty bottles that fit whatever theme or look you enjoy. It isn’t difficult to find beachy labels on bottles of delicious wines or rums.
SeasideColor: The Product of a Passion
As much as I love to buy beachy decor, I realized that I may as well make my own decor with shells in order to save money and maintain a more sustainable decorating habit. That is what prompted me to use my blank canvases and paints to craft playful wall hangings with shells.
After creating the canvas shell collages, I decided to create a multitude of smaller pieces for others to buy and to cultivate their own beach house. If you love shell decor, too, be sure to visit my Etsy shop, SeasideColor! Besides two larger canvas shell collages, the majority of the items are 4”x4” tiles covered in shells.
No two tiles are alike (and no two shells are alike, for that matter). Not only are smaller pieces perfect for smaller spaces, but they also create a lovely gallery when arranged in a group over larger wall spaces. If you prefer standing decor over wall hangings, you can prop the tiles on easel display stands on a shelf or table. There are many options online, from plastic to wood to metal. I liked these easel display stands.
The Takeaway: You Can Bring the Beach Inside
Beachside or landlocked, you can make your home what you want it to be. If you want a beach house, make it a beach house! Get some shells and craft away, scavenge whatever beachy finds you come across while shopping, or support independent crafters by seeking out their own wares online. All processes can be deliciously fun when you make or discover anything that brings you joy. If the beach continues to steal your heart, then create your own beach atmosphere at home.