Weekend Inspiration: Karen Robertson

How charming is the Florida dining room of Karen Robertson? An expert forager for shells and other sea treasures in her hometown of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, Karen creates decor that capture the ocean’s essence with handmade creations—from one-of-a-kind decorative flowers made of shells and tinted oversize sea fans suspended in transparent glass to trumeau mirrors dressed with clusters of coral.

A wall of framed pressed seaweed pieces Karen collected while on vacation in coastal New England serve as a backdrop to a mix of antique and modern furniture. “Shell-back chairs with toile accents give the room a Palm Beach Regency-style feel,” she says. A sisal rug she hand-painted in a bright green stripe pattern adds a shot of color to the room. The Coleen & Company chandelier can be purchased here.

Because Karen’s Florida living room doubles as a showplace for her designs, she kept the palette primarily neutral, letting accents of sea lavender punctuate the space. A gallery wall of marine art and sculpture keeps the home strongly connected to its coastal setting. Karen uses both hand-cast and real sea fans that are sustainably harvested from all over the world.

Created using finds from Karen’s personal collection of thousands of shells, this one-of-a-kind artwork is made by double framing a dozen scallop shells between two sheets of glass. Each shell was carefully chosen to highlight the differences in color and shape of one type of shell, making it a truly unique piece.