Coastline Treasures

Accent tables are great additions to a bedroom.  Because finding a night stand that is the right size and color can be difficult, using accent tables instead is a great alternative for any small space next to a bed.  In addition, accent tables make great night stands because of their versatility.  Many accent tables include a lamp, therefore making it unnecessary to find alternate lighting.  They also usually have enough room to place a clock, book, glasses, and a drink on them as well.

My night stand is an accent table that includes a floor lamp.  Its perfect because it gives off ample lighting while also giving me a place to put things next to my bed.  The table also has enough room to allow for decoration accents as well.  And, there is a table to mach and fit any room.

An easy way to transform any room in your home into a marine-tastic location is with simple dolphin home décor and other aquatic figurines.  If you have young children, a great place to turn into an aquatic wonderland is your child’s bathroom.  Its easy to transform bath time into fun time with marine friends.

Many children hate bath time.  They run around and stall and do everything possible to avoid it.  So, to make bath time fun for you and your youngster, add blue colored beads to the water to make it look like the ocean and get bath toys that resemble your child’s favorite marine creatures.  By decorating the bathroom in an aquatic fashion, your child will surely feel like bath time is a trip to the beach!

Did you know that dolphins are some of the smartest mammals on the planet?  Their intelligence matches up to humans in many ways.  The way that they teach their young is one of these ways.  Dolphins devise games and scenarios to prepare their young for anything. 

Dolphins also have a lot of courage.  They are natural protectors of the ocean, and of surfers, swimmers, etc, who venture out into the ocean.  Dolphins are sharks only natural enemy, so when they are around, sharks know to stay away.  Dolphins are always constantly alert.  Even when they sleep, they only sleep with half their brains at a time so to remember to breathe and watch out for danger.  Dolphin décor depicts some of the fascinating behaviors of dolphins.

Glass animal figurines make great collectables.  They come in all sizes and species too, so they make the perfect addition to any mantel, cabinet, or table.  They are easy to take care of, and therefore are a great low maintenance addition to any décor.  Even if the animals you have don’t match your theme, they are still great to collect because you can find so many different types.

Often animal figurines come in different breeds of an animal as well.  For example, if you particularly love dogs, see how many different breeds you can find. 

Collecting figurines also creates a fun hobby.  When you are on vacation, or do something out of the ordinary, see if you can find an animal for your collection that is indigenous to the area.  The possibilities are endless.

You just redecorated a room in your home and the way that the furniture fits together, there is a hole.  The hole is too small to place anything big there, but to big to just leave it empty.  This sounds like the perfect place to put an accent table.  Because they are so small, accent tables make great final touches to the furniture in any room.

An accent table is a very versatile piece of furniture.  It can be used just for display of other accent décor, or can be used as a miniature coffee table.  If the table is in the bedroom, using it as a night stand is a great idea.  You can even use it as a stand for a fishbowl if an aquatic pet is to your liking.  The possibility of ways to use an accent table are endless.

Dolphins are some the most extraordinary creatures on the planet.  They are smart, skillful, friendly, and playful.  Not many people have the opportunity to get close to these majestic creatures, most only get as close as Sea World or the dolphin figurines on their mantel.  But a lucky few get to experience these creatures face to face in their natural environment.

Surfers are among the few who have the rare opportunity to interact with these playful animals.  From friends, I have heard stories of dolphins actually surfing alongside of them, and swimming up to them while they are waiting for a wave.  How lucky they must be to have the chance to be so close to dolphins.

Have you ever looked at a dolphin figurine and noticed that even in a statue, the dolphins always seem to be happy and playing?  Just like people, dolphins play games for fun and to teach their young.  Studies have been done on these games to study dolphin habits.  Stan Kuczaj and Lauren Highfill are two among many researchers who study dolphin play and behavior.  In one encounter, they found two adult dolphins, and a young dolphin tossing around a plastic bag like they were playing catch.  What was more interesting though, its the bag was tossed more softly at the young dolphin, and right in front of him, to make it easier.  Years of research have been conducted to search for patterns and purpose to games like these.

It has been concluded that dolphins’ games show extreme creativity and cooperation.  They seem to follow the same patterns as human childhood games do.  They are designed to develop social connections and group cooperation as well as sharpen intellectual and communication skills.  These studies have been compared to studies on humans to draw connections between us and other animals.  It truly is interesting and remarkable to find those connections.  Next time you are out in the ocean, and are visited by a playful and friendly dolphin, carefully engaging with him may not be such a bad idea.  After all, play time is important.

Its a gorgeous coastal day and while sitting at home in your living room, looking at your dolphin décor, you and your family decide to venture out to the beach.  The water is warm and you go wade in and splash around.  While you’re out enjoying the water, you all of a sudden see something swimming towards you and you begin to panic because all you see is a fin.  How do you know if the fin coming towards you belongs to a friendly dolphin or a terrifying shark? 

There are two easy ways to tell the difference just by looking at the fin.  A dolphin’s dorsal fin is rounded at the top while a shark’s dorsal fin is straight.  If the fin is too far away to see, or you are too panicked to notice, pay attention to the pattern of movement.  Sharks swim in a back and forth motion, so the fin will be going from side to side.  A dolphin though swims up and down, so often the fin will go underwater and then reappear again, or it will move in a straight line.  Now that you know how to tell the difference in fins, you will be able to enjoy the ocean safely.

Dolphin home décor can be a creative way of teaching your children about marine life.  One day, while they are admiring the dolphin, ask them what they know about dolphins.  Then, after they answer, amaze, and educate, them with these fun dolphin facts.

Did you know?

• Dolphin clicks are short pulses of 300 sounds per second
• Dolphins can swim up to twenty five miles per hour and dive to one thousand feet
• A newborn calf is about a third in length of its mother
• Dolphins can live up to fifty years
• The Chinese River Dolphin is the rarest species of dolphin
• Dolphins usually have between 100 and 160 teeth but can have as many as 250 or as few as fourteen

Make learning fun with dolphin home décor as an educational aid.

*information from animaltime.net and geocides.com

Everyone enjoys a glass figurine.  These elegantly designed pieces make beautiful additions to a tabletop, mantle, or display case.  However, not all pieces are able to fit in your home for display.  There are glass figures that are so big; they take up almost an entire room in a museum. 

The largest recorded glass structure is called Fireworks of Glass and is located in the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis.  The structure is forty-three feet tall and weighs eighteen thousand pounds.  Building this structure was not easy.  It contains over forty-eight hundred pieces of class and took fourteen days to put together.  The tower has thirty-two hundred pieces, the bulk of the structure.  This amazing figurine was created by artist Dale Chihuly. 

While your home wouldn’t be able to accommodate something quite so large, a small glass figurine is always a great sight to behold in your home.