Water-themed decor swims to life
From rugs to wallpaper to abstract art, aqua-based motifs adorn chic homes
Summer for many of us means reconnecting with water — lakeside hikes, paddles in the sea, luxuriant floats in some relaxing swimming pool.
And that connection isn’t confined just to the outdoors, either. Watery hues and motifs are all over home decor.
“Water imagery adds a beautiful dimension to a room,” says designer Ohara Gaetano-Davies of Laguna Beach, Calif.
Her projects include beachfront homes in Southern California and Cape Cod.
In a seaside home in Laguna Beach’s Emerald Bay area, she painted the interior of some open cabinetry a serene pale blue, evoking beach glass. A collection of white coral sits on the shelves. A large, contemporary painting of a woman diving fills one crisply painted white wall.
For a small powder room, Gaetano-Davies went with Phillip Jeffries’ Fade Sea Spray wallcovering, a textural rendition of gently rolling waves in soft blues. (phillipjeffries.com; Canadian showroom locations in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal.)
“The gradation of colour and tone adds beautiful dimension and movement to a relatively small space,” she says.
“Your eye focuses on the movement of the pattern and not the scale of the room.”
For Trove’s new wallpaper collection, designers Randall Buck and Jee Levin used Chilean poet Pablo Neruda’s Water poem as inspiration.
Their watercolour paintings evoke both the serenity and explosive nature of water. In the three pattern Ode to Eau collection, the Drift pattern is a cool horizon of gently lapping waves; Mazu carries us into a tumble of frothy waves; Estuary brings us right to the edge of a thundering waterfall, full of kinetic energy. (troveline.com; visit site for Canadian showroom locations.)
Sometimes a stylized pattern successfully brings the theme home in a subtle way. Momeni’s simple geometric repeat of a wave motif works beautifully on an indoor/outdoor rug at Target. (target.com)
And then there are less subtle renditions of the water theme, drawing on the essence without being overpowering.
For Deny Designs, Las Vegas artist Lisa Argyropoulos’ vivid photographs of sun-sparked oceans, bubbly wave curls and crystalline droplets make dynamic throw pillows. (denydesigns.com; can be shipped to Canada.)
Australian photographer Beata Czyzowska Young’s macro shots of rain, and of dewdrops on plant stems, are the stuff of fairy fantasy. (fineartamerica.com; can be shipped worldwide.)
Contemporary artists explore the aquatic in the abstract at Crate & Barrel; check out prints like Kelly Ventura’s Pool, Lauren Adams’s Deep Water Ripple and Deb Haugen’s Tide Pools. (crateandbarrel.com)
Gray Malin’s aerial shots of beaches filled with sun lovers, and reef-dotted azure waters, are now available on acrylic trays.
The transparent frames give the illusion that the ocean vistas are being held in place by the material (graymalin.com; can be shipped to Canada.)
If you’re ready to make a bigger commitment to the watery trend, consider Luca Osburn’s Tides ceramic tiles, part of Clé’s Watermark collection.
Osburn is a passionate surfer, and his designs are inspired by the changing waves on the Northern California coastline (cletile. com; shipping to Canada available.)
Zazzle’s Water Abstract Sea Tile is a close-up, digital image of a clear water pool, printed on ceramic. A dozen or so might make a pretty border in a bathroom.
Can’t quite dive right into the idea? The image is also available on a mug, pillow, wrapping paper, even a nightlight. (zazzle.ca)