Posted by
Leah Weber
Thursday, July 30, 2009 2:58 PM EDT
If you’re like me, you’ve taken great delight in collecting seashells and have brought them home, only to have them sit in a box tucked away. Apart from simply displaying them on a windowsill or shelf, what can you make with seashells?
While searching for nautical-themed homeware, I found this fantastically crazy oyster shell chandelier by Currey and Co.(below left) and loved how they used shells in place of crystals. Oly also makes seashell chandeliers that are a little less over-the-top (I like the way they’ve combined a traditional chandelier form with a non-traditional material, below right).
The inspiration from left:Currey and Co. Oyster Shell Chandelier; Oly Jenny Chandelier
Inspired by these, I thought I would try sprucing up a plain bathroom chandelier by adding seashells to it. Admittedly, there is an element of kitsch to decorating with seashells and it brings to mind the ornate mirror frames and jewellery boxes from the late 1940s and '50s that were covered in all types of seashells. I think the trick to staying on the right side of tackiness is not to attach hundreds of shells to a chandelier, less is more, and to use shells that are relatively the same size and colour. How perfect would a seashell chandelier be for a cottage or seaside retreat? I’m imagining this one in a cottage bathroom with white-washed paneled walls.
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