Tropicana Please

I Don't Wanna Go Home

So, you went to the Tropics and you can't get the sand out of your shoes. No need. You can bring the tropical flavor of your holiday home and keep it with you for days to come by simply recreating the décor in your home. Often, the favorite places to do such transformation are the bathroom, family room and patio.

Don't Neglect Small Beginnings

The bathroom is a great place to start and you can create your own little island get-away without much trouble at all. If you will be working with the bathroom, start by choosing a warm, sunny color for the walls. Yellow or a soft orange bring the warmth and happiness of your vacation into the room. If you buy some bamboo matting, you can staple it to the ceiling or the walls to create a "grass hut" effect. A small palm plant or larger palm tree - real or not - can be added to the room for fun, color and a sense of the tropics. Choose warm tangerine and yellow colored towels and a bright yellow mat for the floor and you've got a warm, sunny hide-away to go to when you need a shot of sunshine. A dish full of seashells and a colorful seat for the toilet not only add to the tropical feel, but are fun additions as well.

Let The Family Enjoy It As Well

Your family room can be a nautical get-away with reminders of sandbars and shipwrecks. A life-buoy on the wall, some driftwood and paintings of tropical shores adds dimension to the room. If the carpeting or flooring is a beige or sand color, you can supplement it with house plants of palms and ferns, creating a tropical beach feel. Paint the walls a warm orange or yellow to remind you of the warmth of the sun and the happy feeling you enjoyed on your trip. Rattan furniture, white gauzy curtains and a ceiling fan all aid in creating that sense of being in the tropics. Tiki carvings and hangings complete the picture. If you have a bar in the room, ensuring there's an ample supply of tiny umbrellas and pineapple for drinks is just another special accoutrement for your island décor.

Let's Take It Outside!

Taking it outdoors is even more fun. You can rope off your patio with nautical rope and use shells and rocks to create visual points. If weather permits, add a palm or two to your garden. Hang a few paper lanterns and some tiki lamps for atmosphere. A hammock and rattan garden furniture round it all out. There are so many ways to create the tropical atmosphere of the Islands with little effort at all. Tall green plants, rattan or willow furnishings, tiki lamps and gauzy fabric are all the stuff of island memories. Hopefully you brought a conch shell back with you when you returned.