How to Design a Nautical Theme: the Most Important Things You Should Know

Face it: it's time to replace your home's current decor with some tasteful nautical decorations. You may not have necessarily been bitten by the interior design bug, but that doesn't mean changing up your home's decor isn't the right thing to do. Nearly half (47%) of Americans haven't updated their home decor in the last five years. Meanwhile, only 20% of Americans reported feeling happy with their home decor, and 14% even went so far as to say that their home furnishings make them feel gloomy and stressed.

Replacing your current decor with nautical home decorations may just be what you need to do. Here's how you can nail an awesome nautical theme.

Getting the Colors Right
In order to make a nautical theme work, you need to have the right color scheme in your home. Most interior designers use white, navy, and/or khaki as the primary colors, and red, black, and yellow as secondary colors. These secondary colors should only be used as accents, and should not dominate in any sort of way.

Choosing the Right Nautical Items
Having the right color scheme is only part of nailing a nautical theme. To really make it work, you're going to need to have some tasteful  nautical items decorating the place. Consider hanging an anchor, a map, or even some rope up on the wall. A strong centerpiece on the mantle will also do wonders, too. Something big like a replica diving helmet will really tie it all together.

Avoiding Mistakes
There are two main mistakes people make when doing a nautical theme. First, they don't stick to the color scheme. Bright, neon colors do not work in a nautical theme in any way, shape, or form. Choose more subtle shades or navy, white, khaki, red, and yellow. Second, people sometimes go overboard with the nautical items (pun not intended). Try to make sure each room is balanced.