I've never been big into nautical themed rooms, but then again I live in the middle of a cow town and ocean life is just a daydream. That said, my mother always had coral throughout our home growing up and I have a soft spot for these crusty creatures, but seriously, have you seen their prices at the store? Do it on a dime with this unusual home decor resource — the pet store!
Our friends over at Decor Hacks tipped us off to this fun little idea featured over at The Stories of A to Z. Although this looks like coral you'd find at many high end retailers these days, it came from somewhere you'd never expect — the pet store.
Instead of paying big bucks for real coral, these smaller versions intended for use in fish tanks are much more budget friendly. They might have started off funky colors, but after a quick coat of spray paint, they're good as new and unless you tell folks of their origin, they'll never guess!
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Great idea! I have some sea sponges that I used to display in our guest bath (before we had to demo the whole thing, but that's another story) and they came from the craft store! So much cheaper than pricey decor stores!
These are usually made out of ceramic so you can at least be guaranteed that they weren't real coral, either. I don't like buying real coral.
Besides the price and the ecological concerns, I think another reason ceramic coral is sold in pet shops is that real coral and sea shells are unhealthy for certain aquarium fishes.
There are a lot of creative smarties in the world. =)
this is a great example of why I love to read AT.
neat!!
Nice one!
This spam is super crazy. At any rate, love the tip!
We have a nautical nook for our guest room (obviously I don't share the dislike for themed rooms). Maybe we should add some coral. Tiny coral.
http://www.brittanypowell.com/home/the-nautical-nook/
Cyo kawaii!
Can't stand themed rooms, most especially nautical but I love this idea - it's certainly a lot more thoughtful than buying the real stuff. Are there any fake starfish out there too?
Incidently, if anyone is handy with a crochet hook and has some yarn oddments lying around, you could always create your own reef...
http://crochetcoralreef.org/about/index.php
Thank you for this idea! I hope this encourages people to go this route for a nautical flair instead of purchasing real coral... they are so incredibly endangered as it is.
Aaaaaaaand now I'm going to PetSmart..