I love decorating with natural elements and am totally smitten by the look of turtle (or tortoise) shells in home decor. There are so many gorgeous faux shells out there! Let’s take a look at a few ideas of how to decorate with turtle shells and then I’ll share where to buy them too (post includes some affiliate links)!
How to Decorate with Faux Turtle Shells
One of my favorite ways to use faux turtle shells is hung on the wall as art. I love the look of a single shell hung on the wall behind a grouping of objects on a console beneath it:
Or surrounded by a variety of different art pieces hung on the wall such as in this beautiful gallery wall over a fireplace mantel:
or this one over a sofa:
They also look stunning hung on the wall as a large grouping of shells. I adore Kelly Wearstler’s use of hundreds of resin shells to line the walls of (the now closed) La Marea Restaurant at The Tides South Beach:
Doesn’t the variety in sizes, textures, colors, and patterns create a stunning display?!
Since large turtle shells create such an impact, you can also hang one alone on the wall as a beautiful statement piece! Another idea is to place them in an unexpected spot, such as this tortoise shell that rests on an antique director’s chair:
Where to Buy Faux Turtle Shells
If you like the beauty of tortoise shells and are thinking about using them to decorate your own home, please buy faux shells! If you must have a genuine shell, make sure you are buying from a reliable source with certainty that the shell was naturally shed with no turtle having been harmed to obtain it. There is really no reason to buy genuine turtle shells when there are so many stunning faux replicas out there! Here’s a few sources:
I love the look of this resin turtle shell sculpture (found {here}) that can be hung on the wall or used as a tabletop piece:
and if you’re looking for a lighter one, the white shell I shared at the top of the post can be found {here} and this resin turtle shell (found {here}) is another beauty:
And believe or not, you might even get lucky stumbling upon one at HomeGoods – I found this beauty there fairly recently:
Another option is to buy faux tortoise shells on stand – they make beautiful art on bookshelves! You can find this pair and several other options {here}:
Hope that gave you some good inspiration! If you love the idea of decorating with turtle shells, you’d love my post on decorating with other natural elements {here} – hop on over and check it out!
After stopping at 3 Targets, I finally got my hands on the white Nate Berkus shell!! 🙂
I got to our Target a few hours after it opened and that shell was long gone! You were lucky to find one – have you decided what you’re going to do with it?
I just bought a cream one yesterday. It’s on the wall in my living room. Love it.
I’d love to see a picture of that gorgeous shell in your space! If you get a chance, post one on Driven by Décor’s FB page!
Got 2 of the nate cream ones… do I need them? not sure!
I was lucky to score 2 white ones at Target for my shelter space! Now I wish I had kept them!!!
Typical Target nonsense. Saw the Nate Berkus resin Turtle shell in Country Living Magazine. Dec/Jan issue. NEED this for a beach house project. No where to be found . . . frustrating beyond words!!
That’s so frustrating. Did you try doing a search by zip code for it on Target’s website? Most of our stores here still have them!
Found a cream one at a Dallas store today marked 50% off in clearance area.
Thanks for the tip – haven’t been to Target for a little while – will try to get over there tomorrow!!
Well clearly I am late to the game and cannot find any of these – Berkus or otherwise- available on any site. Any new sources??
I’ve seen these at flea markets and at HomeGoods over the past year but unfortunately don’t know of any new online sources to point you to.
“If you must have a genuine shell, make sure you are buying from a reliable source with certainty that the shell was naturally shed with no turtle having been harmed to obtain it.”
Turtles do not shed their shells. The shell is part of a turtle’s skeletal system, thus it is impossible to have a “genuine” shell without a turtle dying in the process