12 Ideas for Nautical Home Decorating

Looking for the perfect items to complement your nautical home decor? Whether decorating a liveaboard yacht, a home by the sea, or simply a home that evokes the feeling of the ocean and the seafaring days of yore, there are a number of high quality nautical home decor items that can add a lot of character to your home at a reasonable cost.

Nautical home decor makes a great gift for boaters, sailors, or anyone who loves the ocean!

One important thing to keep in mind with nautical home decor is that there are a lot of items out there that are better described as kitsch than home decor. Unless you’re genuinely going for that seafood restaurant look, think twice about pirate statues, plastic bullion treasure, fake coral, and the like. Instead, create a cozy yet elegant marine look by choosing decorations that evoke the elegance of classic vintage sailing yachts, or a 19th century lighthouse. Think back to a captain’s home by the harbor in a place like Nantucket or Gloucester. That’s the look that you’re going for!

Some excellent nautical home decorating gifts to look for include brass instruments, antique globes, salvaged parts from sailing vessels, and paintings of the sea. Look for high quality materials like brass and fine woods such as teak or mahogany. The details of high quality woodworking and other workmanship can make all the difference between a true work of art and a chinsy piece of kitsch.

My Favorite Nautical Home Decorating Ideas:

Scoured from nautical gifts stores across the interwebs, here are some of my favorite items for completing your nautical home decorating:

Weems & Plath Gimballed Barometer and Clock
Excellent for people who appreciate quality. Definitely a gift to impress!

Nautical Chart Marble Clock
For the person who enjoys nautical decor in the boater’s home or office, these clocks display a piece of the nautical chart from your favorite boating grounds.

Traditional Weather Station
Combines the beauty of traditional brass instruments with the practicality of always knowing when the weather is right for boating!

Model Schooner
A perfect gift for the lover of model ships.

Brass Harbormaster Telescope
As beautiful to look at as to look through!

Ship’s Wheel
A ship’s wheel makes the perfect gift for a pirate (or pirate at heart!)

Nautical Bookends
Fun nautical decor!

Sailing Knots Wall Hanging
What a fun way to learn sailing knots! Best gift for new sailors learning to sail, or anyone who likes nautical home decor.

Antique style Desk Globe
Sail the world, or give it as a gift!

Galileo Thermometer and Barometer
This is how they told the weather hundreds of years ago– and it was probably a lot more accurate than all that rubbish on the interwebs, too!

Sea Witch Model Ship
Who knew model ship gifts could be so cool?

Ship’s Bell Clock
Classy clock makes a great gift for boaters or anyone who appreciates nautical gifts or nautical home decor!

Barometer and Comfortmeter
For the boater who appreciates fine nautical instruments, there’s no better gift than the Weems & Plath Endurance Series.