room by room: Follow your theme as far as you're comfortable with to inspire decor

Then, there are land lubbers and salty dogs. This particular salty dog loved the seas so much, he wanted his home to look like the inside of his dream yacht.

So, my partner, Matt Fox, and I went to work creating his dream. We started in the kitchen, and had a great time. The projects were fun and easy to do, and it was mostly the color choice and accessories that made the dream become reality.

We started by researching the insides of yachts. We went to our local bookstore and bought a couple of beautiful picture books about the yachting life. We saw the gorgeous teak boards lining the insides of the cabins, and the brass trimmings and fittings that added sparkle.

Often, the furnishings were in nautical blues and crisp whites to pick up the view out the portholes of cool seas and soft whitecaps. These elements, repeated in nearly every photo we saw, were the basis of our design in the kitchen.

We started by creating the teak backgrounds with our own reasonably priced teak colored bead board paneling. So as not to make the room too dark, we decided to carry the paneling up two thirds of the wall, cap it off with a nice piece of trim molding, and then paint the wall white above.

We cut the paneling down using a guide and the circular saw. Paneling adhesive was a must, to hold the panels flush against the wall, and we matched the paneling nails to our specific teak color.

In preparation for the panels, we painted stripes of brown on the walls where the seams would come together. This was a precaution, as paneling will shrink and expand with temperature changes, and this way no one would ever notice.

Once the dark paneling was up, the dark wood cabinets, which were about 15 years old, didn't look as nice as they should. So, we painted them. I selected a nice bright red for the base cabinets and a white for top cabinets, keeping with the yachting and nautical theme.

By replacing the antique brass hinges with polished brass, and changing out the handles to brass drop pulls, we altered the entire feeling of the room. We even found a brass plate at a boating store that read, "galley," which we mounted to the panel directly in front of the sink.

Of course, we had to bring the nautical blue into the space, and I found a crisp navy with a light white grid on it for window coverings and chair slipcovers. The navy looked great on the teak dining chairs, and then by creating box-pleated valances, we brought the blue up higher in the room to balance the distribution of color. The only other color in the room came from a variety of blue, red and white plates we mounted to the soffit, and an area rug used near the sink that was woven with a nautical compass symbol.

Accessories in the room included actual white lifesaving rings used on boats to throw to folks who fall overboard. A variety of brass items like a ship's bell, a sign pointing the way to the lifeboats, and a double lantern chandelier really brought the theme to life. We hung framed nautical maps, and antique sign pointing out the naked beach and a couple simple lighthouse prints, and the room was ready to be enjoyed.

Following a theme as closely as this might be a bit too playful for some. But that brings us right back to the notion that we all are different. This was a bit of fun, whereas others prefer to be more serious. Either way, I recommend you bring a little decorating into your life. It's a wonderful way to find out who you really are, express that individuality, and at the same time, create a welcoming environment for you and your family.

Shari Hiller writes this column with Matt Fox. They also co-host the Home & Garden Television show "Room By Room." For more information, visit www.hgtv.com. E.W. Scripps, which owns HGTV, also owns the Naples Daily News.