Vintage Nautical Home Decor

I live in the mountains of Colorado, so about as far inland from either coast as possible. But half our hearts live in the PNW, so vintage nautical decor reminiscent of our annual coast trips makes me so happy.

If you have the beach house of my dreams, or you would like to decorate in a nautical theme no matter where you are, here are some ideas and items that you may like to include in a gallery wall or for shelf styling. I find I’m most successful with styling when I vary shapes, textures and materials.

The most obvious items to include are artwork such as vintage seascape paintings or nautical paint by numbers.

To add more wall art, but with varied texture, you may consider vintage crewel embroideries or cross-stitch, like this cute one of boats in a harbor, or even some ship string art.

Along the same lines, I love incorporating vintage pennants in any way I can, either hung on a wall or placed in a drawer or draped hanging off the front of a shelf. For a nautical theme, try using pennants from your favorite coastal locations.

To get a different texture in there, brass is always pleasing to the eye. I’ve seen so much vintage nautical brass, including shells, sailboats, dolphins, fish, anchors, ships wheels, and even functional opening porthole frames or mirrors.

A lot of these same items listed above are available in wood as well, and that is always a great material to bring the cozy and organic vibes to your vignettes.

And who can forget the books?! Always include vintage books. This was one of my favorites to curate, a nautical book set with various shades of blues and neutrals.

Since a nautical gallery wall doesn’t make sense in my mountain home I created a display for my vintage booth and I love how all of these vintage nautical items look gathered together! I’d love to see your vintage nautical display!