I am looking for ideas and places to buy things to decorate my home in a tropical decor. Having a hard time finding bedding. Everything is so heavy looking. Any ideas would be appreciated. Plus I like to do crafts to help decorate my home...tropical ideas again. Thanks to all to help me.

Welcome. The NET is loaded w/ resources and how tos re. tropical decor. I just did a quick google and found the following (a drop in the bucket tho so do spend some time surfing):

http://www.livingislandstyle.com/

Decorating in the Tropical Chic Style

Tropical chic is one of the most popular looks today. It includes comfort, warmth, and a touch of the exotic, using jungle themes, restful colors, and natural textural elements.

It's a style that has fresh appeal with touches of traditional. This is not the multi-colored jungle look you might choose for a child's room. Instead, it might be defined as "lush minimalism" since it mixes lots of texture and intricate pattern with simple details and a few large accessories.

Common motifs include stylized palm trees, large leafed banana plants, monkeys, animal prints, rattan, leather, and grasscloth.

This look is most often used in living rooms and family rooms, but can be adapted for master suites and bathrooms as well. Here are some of the underlying elements and themes of a tropical look room.... For best viewing, open browser window to maximum size


Comfortable upholstered furniture is a must in a tropical room.

Long horizontal lines underscore a casual look and add to a restful mood, while taller elements such as plants, screens, or artwork add a grand scale.

Neutral tones including ivory, beige, camel, tan, deep brown, soft gold, and pale yellows are the foundation of a tropical themed room. Greens are also a major element in shades that range from light sage to avocado and from yellow-greens to a green that is nearly black. Accents might be in dark brown, black, or even muted reds.

Furniture in a tropical room is often large in scale and selected for comfort and utility. Accent pieces in wicker, bamboo, iron, and rattan will also fit well with the look.

Fabrics should be soft and lush. Neutral solid chenilles are perfect for the major upholstered pieces. Pillows, ottomans, and chairs might be done in jungle prints and leaf designs.

Wood furniture pieces and wood flooring fit well into this look. Light woods can be used but add more weight to the room by mixing in some dark tables, lamps, or furniture feet.

The main motifs used would be the tropical jungle look and animal designs (monkeys, elephants, etc.) used in fabrics, accent items, and accessories.

Animal designs figure prominently in a tropical room. Consider using both animal hide designs such as leopard spots and zebra stripes as well as animal images such as monkeys, lions, and elephants.

Large plants, especially palm trees, are a perfect addition to a tropical themed room. Add them in corners and uplight from underneath using inexpensive can lights.

Because island prints, leaves, and animal prints are a feast for the eye, avoid overdoing the room's accessories. A few large plants, lamps, books, and some carefully selected large-scale accessories will usually be enough. Avoid lots of tiny little things and keep it simple and spare.

Windowcoverings should exhibit a natural quality. Bamboo or matchstick blinds, breezy linen panels, or plantation shutters are all choices that will fit into this look.

Grasscloth, baskets, rattan, and wicker in natural tones add another layer of texture to the room. Consider these materials for wallcoverings, cornice boards, folding screens, ottomans, and more.

Flooring might be hardwood, though tile or stone is another possibility. Accent the hard floor with area rugs of natural sisal.

Artwork will look best if it sticks to the color palette of the room -- pale golds, ivory, browns, and greens. Hang prints with stylized leaf designs, exotic looking palm trees, and jungle animals.

Light fixtures can add some whimsey with decorations in monkey, leaf, or jungle accents. Dark lamp shades will add more weight to the room.

Tableware looks might include natural colored stoneware, textured placemats, loosely woven fabric napkins, and sturdy glassware. Accessorize with wooden bowls, baskets, and bamboo.


Another source reads....

To give your Tropical interior decorating theme that finished feeling, you want to find the most suited accessories. Try using fun beach themed decorative items that enhance the fun and cheery ambiance of the beach. Pay attention to wall art, knick-knacks, and pillows to really add ambiance to your tropical style design.

Wall art is a necessity in any room decor, but if you don’t hang it appropriately it might spoil the whole look. When displaying art, think like a gallery and have the center of the piece at eye level. If you have a group of prints to arrange on one wall, work out the design on the floor first to locate the perfect configuration. Using watercolors of palm trees and beaches in colorful frames can help to add ambiance to the Tropical interior decorating theme.

If you want to provide an appealing look to your decorating approach, look at using decorative pillows. Pillows can be used to decorate a multitude of rooms, the living room, family room, den and even the kitchen. In the kitchen or bathroom, a pillow places strategically on a hamper or chair will help to add a whimsical touch. Pillows on your couch or chair can help insert the Tropical home decorating ambiance to the furniture. In the bedroom, mound them against the headboard. To best augment your design style, stick to pillows that are fun and tropical.

Envision adding beach themed items, palm tree knick knacks, and flamingos for more of a feeling of the beach. To ideally benefit your design theme, you should purchase accessories that not only enhance each other, but also the decorating scheme. Stick with on theme accessories purely in order to get the appearance you are striving for.

Finding the appropriate knick knacks to balance your room can be fun plus help pull the room together. To highlight your Tropical home decorating, purchase knick knacks with a fun and cheery ambiance. Arranging shells in colorful bowls or placing a collection of vintage tropical kitsch a display shelf. This is where you can really make the home design your own by acquiring accessories that mirror your individuality. If you are on a limited budget, you might want to try shopping at the local flea markets and garage sales where you should be able to discover very interesting accessories for less money.

Using whimsical pieces with tropical flair can add a professional style to your Tropical interior decorating theme. You should make sure, however, that you don’t go out acquiring things wily nily or you can end up with a jumbled mess. Size matters, so go around the room and figure out the size of your accessories and paintings you would like and buy accordingly. If you decorate with these rules, you’ll be able to accessorize your room with accessories that look most fitting together.

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Froo tips:

Draw scheme and feel/theme inspiration from fabrics. For easy DIY projects think sewing simple pillows, framing posters including travel type, doing fern rubbings or pressing flowers, doing sea shell mosaics, snapping photos of ocean scapes/beach scapes, stenciling or stamping items to evoke the tropical feel, draping netting for a bed canopy, doing floral arrangements using tropical flowers and greenery, gluing bamboo or grass cloth to picture frames or as wainscote, turning driftwood into a tablescape, painting some furniture pieces including wicker in a beachy hue, etc., etc..

Other sources for inexpensive tropical accessories can be found in party stores, greenhouse nurseries, import shops, museum shops, resort shops, ebay, etc..

RE. bedding:

Tropical bedspreads bring the islands home



Tropical bedspreads can bring a touch of the islands right into your home. Whether you have bamboo furniture or traditional furnishings, tropical bedspreads will fit right in and bright up the bedroom.

There are tons of choices in tropical bedspreads from comforters to lightweight spreads for the bed, all with tropical themes. Let's look at a few of the many selections.

Victor Mill Linens has created Bermuda, a beautiful comforter and bedding line. The comforter acts as the bedspread in this bedding and features tropical tones in darker shades to add a sense of drama to the room. When this dark bedspread is added to a room with lighter tones, the drama is only increased. Using russet, ochre, and midnight, this great tropical comforter is available with many accessories to complete the overall look.

Southern Textiles Capri bedding line will create a lush, tropical look on any bed. Using a gold background, rich tones of currant red, olive, and maple blend to create a scene any beach-going sun worshiper will simple adore. The comforter is made of 100% polyester and matching linens and accessories are available.

Thomasville, known for bedding products as well as fine furniture, offers the Bird of Paradise line which features tangerine, raspberry and kiwi, lime, yellows, pinks, and cherry shades. This tropical bedspread depicts the gorgeous Bird of Paradise blossoms common to the topics and islands. This bedspread is great for a summer look or to chase away the doldrums of winter. The bedspread has a face of 100% cotton and must be dry cleaned. You will find this design available separately or as a set and matching linens and lots of bedroom accessories are available as well.

Another offering from Thomasville, Ferngully, uses shades of red, pink, emerald, kiwi, and grass on a yellow background to create a bold print of fern leaves with scattered hibiscus blossoms. This great tropical bedspread will make you feel as if you are in the jungle on a deserted island. The blend of colors in this bedding selection will fit with most any bedroom color scheme. Add the bed skirt in a basket weave pattern, and matching linens and accessories or mix the tropical bedspread with accessories you already own.

Arley offers Under the Sea, a tropical bedspread and bedding line that makes you feel as if you are a part of nature, swimming in an underwater tropical landscape. Great for using in more modern, contemporary rooms, this tropical bedspread features coral reefs and dolphins playing. Using shades of blue and touches of other colors, this tropical bedding is fun and inviting. Accessories and matching bed linens are available, including window treatments so you can build a bedroom seascape second to none!

Croscill Kauai bedding hasn't missed out on the tropical bedspread popularity. This fresh design uses soft shades of salmon, coral, peach, wheat, sage, and olive on a cream background to create a scene of flowers including orchids and hibiscus and greenery. Perfect for a beach house, a guest room, or a master bedroom that needs an inviting, airy feel. Linens and accessories that match are available in this great tropical bedding line from Croscill. Use the tropical bedspread alone or with all the accessories to create just the look you want simply and easily.

http://www.kohls.com/kohlsStore/bedandbath/drapesandval...ding+Coordinates.jsp


http://www.horchow.com/store/catalog/prod.jhtml?cmCat=s...itemId=cprod32430019

http://www.domestications.com/Dept/Search+Results/0/Ne/...ge2.x/11/Image2.y/12

http://girlsthemebedrooms.com/exotic/tropical-jungle-be...ecorating-ideas.html