Nautical Trend Spotting with the L.A. Times

Anchors and Nautical Motifs Are Sailing Into Home Decor

Happy Tuesday, my home decor trendsetters! It was just this past spring that Cutting Edge Stencils had spotted anchors, ships, and other nautical themed accessories popping up in women’s fashion.  From anchor jewelry to anchor shirts, it was hard to miss that anchors were in!  Image found on MomFabulous.com.

And like most trends, as soon as this nautical theme cruised into women’s fashion, it also sailed over to home decor.  In fact, about a week ago the L.A. Times wrote, “Nautical motifs — anchors, ship’s wheels and rope accents — were big at NY Now, the nation’s leading trade show for decorative accessories, which closed last week at the Javits Convention Center in New York.”   Here are a couple of anchor-themed items that were spotted at the show.

From left: a new cast-iron door knocker ($16), a best-selling rush mat ($49) and the just-released, 2-foot-tall driftwood anchor for your wall ($75).

The best part about this trend is that the L.A. Times  predicts that you’ll be seeing this nautical eye-candy popping up in boutiques in September and October!  But why wait to see it in stores when you could easily craft it yourself and for a fraction of the price?  Not too long ago, Cutting Edge Stencils launched an entire line of Beach Decor Stencils that would make crafting your own nautical home decor as easy as 1, 2, 3.  Let’s take a deep dive into some FAB nautical stenciled projects…

Throw Pillows: Here is a gorgeous example using the Coral Stencil (front) and Coral Craft Stencil (on the left and right).  Combine this beachy stencil with a rich, reliable fall hue like Benjamin Moore’s harvest moon 2167-30.  Stenciling a throw pillow is easy peasy.  Just check out this great tutorial we wrote on how to stencil fabric and create a pillow.

Lampshades: Give new light to an old lampshade using our Anchors Away Craft stencil.  Anchors are likely to be as hot this fall as they were this past spring, so you can’t go wrong with painting these anchors.  Before you begin your stencil project read some tips and tricks over here.

Table Runner: Lately, we’ve been talking a lot about spicing up the dining room (read our dining room makeover story,) so there’s no surprise that we think stenciling a table runner is a fab idea.  Use the simple Starfish Craft pattern in a neutral, earthy hue like Benjamin Moore’s revolutionary storm CW-155.  Our blog partner, Lemon Tree Creations has the step by step process for stenciling a runner featured on their blog.

Painted Furniture: We love painted furniture.  It gives new life to an old piece and introduces the nautical trend at the same time.  Here we used the fun Seahorse Stencil on the front of this pretty blue dresser.  Choose a bright blue hue like Benjamin Moore’s aquarium blue 2058-50.

What do you think of the Nautical inspired home decor trend? We’d love to read your thoughts in the comments below.

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Thanks for reading, and happy stenciling!
Michelle and the Cutting Edge Stencils Crew