Slow and Steady wins the race...

A tortoise shell hangs on Nate Berkus' wall in his Chicago apartment (via Elle Decor)
Note the striped rug and Chinese Chippendale chairs!

And the finish line is on bookshelves and walls all over.  The tortoise might be the ‘slowest you ever did meet,’ but his shell has kept steady pace in the design world for a few years.  Graphic and bold, tortoise shells are a sculptural accessory that can add texture and a sense of natural history to any space.  (*Genuine, antique shells should be purchased from a reliable source that can document them as a 'naturally shed shell.'  These protected animals should never be killed for their shell.) 

The good news for turtles is that there are resin and ceramic replicas of these coveted shells sold all over.

Tortoise shells as decorative objects on a bookshelf (via Elle Decor)

An antique tortoise shell hangs on New Orleans' Designer
Melissa Rufty's laquered walls .  (via House Beautiful.)

Kelly Wearstler lined the walls of La Marea Restaurant
at The Tides South Beach Hotel with resin tortoise shells.

Designer Mary McDonald creates a vignettte on a console with some mini tortoise shells.

A large Tortoise shell doubles as a fireplace screen.  (image via Elle Decor)

Jonathan Adler's Tortoise shell lamps.

Talented artist Amanda Talley creates masterpieces on tortoise shells. 

Mecox Gardens resin tortoise shell

The moral of this story is: a little inspiration goes a long way, especially when your pockets aren't deep enough for some of these fine accesories (the Mecox Gardens resin shell is $995, and J. Adler's lamps are $695...).  Look what I found at PetSmart the other day for $11.99:

What's good enough for some reptile's cage....

is good enough for my bookshelves.

And you know I've been dying to say this:  Turtle Time!  (if you don't watch the disaster that is Real Housewives of NYC: a. Good for you, 

b. Please disregard the last comment, I'm not really sure what it means either, so I can't explain it.)