How To Do Totally Tropical Decor — Manchester Lifestyle Blog

If you're new to this blog then I need to say this... Hello! I'm Beth and I love pineapples and palm trees.

If you're not new and are an avid reader of Dotty Dishes and follower of my interiors focused Instagram @dottysdecor, then you will most likely be thinking I am stating the bleedin' obvious right now.

Our home and my Instagram is awash with all things tropical and I love it. For me, a love of tropical interiors has never been because it's 'on trend'. I'm sure a lot of people who follow me wonder what I'll do when pineapples, palm trees and leopard print go out of fashion - actually scrap that, leopard print could never not be cool (I mean!) - but really, I don't care if they're trendy or not, I just love the tropical look and have done for a long time. It all started with a retro pineapple ice bucket my Mum bought us years ago...

Our retro boat bar with the pineapple ice bucket...

It makes me happy, it makes my heart sing and it makes me smile and right now, I really don't think I'll ever get bored of it. But, that is what is important in your home - to love the interiors you come home to, sit in and look at every day. It's YOUR home and it should reflect YOU.

Our tropical snug...

For me the tropical look is great because of the glorious patterns, the bright colours, the fun shapes and the fact it kind of works with anything. Leopard is a neutral as they say and well, this is coming from someone who has clashed a snow leopard stair runner with hot pink pineapple wallpaper (check out the look in our hallway here)...

But seriously, I think you can either go all out or dip your toe in with tropical style. And that's the beauty of the look.

Images: House of Hackney

You can decorate a whole room with patterned wallpaper and differently patterned soft furnishings, coupled with brass homeware and statement lighting and it doesn't appear overkill. House of Hackney prove that look works time and time again. One of my favourite Instagram accounts, @Erica_Davies, has an actual life-size faux palm tree in her kitchen/diner along with lots of bright colours and fun patterns and it works a treat.

Image: Erica Davies

Or if you're less about the eclectic in your face look, you could introduce a pineapple lamp, a palm tree cushion or have one wall with a statement wallpaper, along with a few choice homeware items to expand the look into the room further. It's easy to mix tropical decor with other styles such as retro, boho and even scandi, as shown in our bedroom below.

Our bedroom - you can see the room makeover here

A downstairs loo is the perfect place to experiment with tropical wallpaper as it really lifts a small space and adds a bit of fun and a touch of the unexpected for guests. The downstairs loo in another home I love to follow on Instagram @suszi_saunders showcases this look perfectly.

I know I am not alone in this love of tropical decor, as is apparent with lots of the interiors accounts I follow on Instagram and it's a style that doesn't seem to be going anywhere on the British high street and dare I say it, it remains a 'trend' for 2018.