The comfort of finding your home amidst the joy of the beach, smooth tides, and sometimes a little angry as the storm covers the sky, but even then, each moment preaches to be memorable. The astral blue, where the dark clouds hover, the sea waves hum, and sometimes gasp with their dominant strength. In the stormy days, the heavy rains crashing on the sea floor create a turbulent sound, accompanied by the rushing voices of the wind. In other days, the sun just kisses your face with the wind over your back. When I dissolve my brain into the thoughts of such living, and as it separates from the rest of the worldly ideas, I see myself having an almost therapeutic lifestyle. If this excites you , even a little, you are truly an abomination for luxuries and a peace-loving soul who wants to escape through style as beautiful and exceptional as coastal interior design. Happens to be the topic I will discuss today in this article. So let’s start without further ado.
What to Expect From This Article?
In this article, I will detail the basics of coastal style interiors, which will help you understand the design and its implementation. The article is written in such a way that someone without any previous experience with interiors planning can also articulate a basic yet beautiful look. Further, I will share seven coastal interior design ideas so that you have an image of exactly what you want.
Today’s Book Recommendation.
Coastal Style: Home Decorating Ideas Inspired by Seaside Living by Sally Hayden and Alice Whately.
If you are someone who wants to look at the best beach houses through the lens of an interior designer, then this book is for you. The authors have shared several tips and tricks to reinvent your home style through coastal interior design, no matter whether the sea is near you or not. For readers who need inspiration for color palettes and fabrics to turn your home into what a beach house looks like, this book is a perfect fit for your coffee table reads.
What Is Coastal Interior Design?
Coastal interior design, inspired by seaside environments, explores the beauty of coastal environments and ways to bring similar value to your interiors. This design opposes claustrophobic spaces and is inclined towards openness, creating a relaxed environment through its design elements. One of the lesser-known aspects of this type of interior design is that it is not only for beach houses but also for an ordinary home. The key is to create calm, natural energy flow and comfortable interiors without compromising aesthetics.
Coastal style has extremely comfortable and practical furnishings with a light color palette in a more structured form. While regular interiors are dramatic and need to follow trends, coastal decorating is for people who prefer natural and nautical elements in their surroundings.
Five Easy Steps to Perfect Coastal Interior Design.
1. Find a Color Palette for Your Taste.
The first and foremost step before any kind of decor is to check colors and then create a harmonious palette. I have seen that many people choose colors absolutely right, according to their visual preferences, but they fail to create a cohesive palette. As I mentioned several times in my previous decor guides, to create a color palette, you need a small cardboard sheet with three columns: floorings, wall colors, and furnishings. Just add colors using the color wheel theory. detailed in our article on interior color palette, and mix and match to see what goes perfectly.
Speaking of coastal style, the color palette is generally inspired by the beaches and seascapes. For instance, blues, greens, neutrals, and whites are the most common colors. However, the best way to choose colors here is to select your picture of a beach or sea and use a color coordinator to extract its colors for your interiors. Now, pair them rightly and you have your color palette.
2. Choose Texture and Material for Soft Furnishing.
Choosing materials and textures is crucial in every interior style. When it comes to coastal decorating, textures and materials are the most fascinating elements to completely reinvent the look. Stripes, woven rugs, breathable cottons and linens, and driftwood textures are some basics to achieve this interior. These textures can be achieved using fabrics, coastal shells, or smooth, polished stonewares, and simple driftwood hanging or a shelf.
For instance, if you have an amber white living room, brown flooring and ceiling, then you can use a rattan wicker, a natural fibre rug, fresh flowers, a mandatory glass jar with shell collection, and a reclaimed wood mantel to add texture in your space.
A coastal-style bedroom can have a neutral color palette with cushions of different shades of blues, a rattan basket, and even a natural fibre chandelier. In the entire coastal interior design, you can add different patterns through soft cushions and pillows, which is why I am attaching a bedroom pillow guide here.
Coming to the living room, the essence is the textured pillows with throws and even small baskets of jute with shells or coral. Sofas with rattan wicker chairs all pair well.
3. Find the Right Furniture That Makes Sense.
For coastal-style furniture, you don’t need to spend more. A Chesterfield or English roll-arm couch with right textiles and some jute baskets can enhance a coastal style living room. The addition of the exposed wooden beams and paneled walls stages architecture in the interior settings, making your interiors distinguished compared to the traditional decor.
For instance, in the case of kitchen and dining rooms, dark wood cabinets with a blue-stained chandelier over the dining table and a rattan bench can create a nice coastal style. The task is to pick spacious and comfortable furnishings that appear natural or unfinished.
Imagine a Chesterfield in white hues with turtle blue, ocean blue, and striped cushions over it. a nice warm brown coffee table and a cactus on the back. That’s what a coastal living room looks like.
4. Improving the Lights and Overall Look.
The most significant part of any renovation and interior is lighting and space. In the case of coastal interior design, you have to choose bigger windows and doors so that there is enough of a view of the outdoors. The first step is to have maximum natural light, which can be achieved by using skylights and sliding glass doors.
Next, incorporate warm ambient light like a jute chandelier, stained glass pendant lights, and even recessed lighting with dimmers. You can also choose to have a hanging glass lamp for this purpose. Coming to task lights, for the kitchen countertops or reading nooks, use adjustable fixture lights or wall-mounted lamps. Finish it up with accent lights, of course, but always use light fixtures that are made from natural materials like wood, rattan, and even brushed metal finishes.
5. Finish Up the Look.
To finish up the look, just add textures for upholstery, for which you can refer to my window decoration guide. You can accessorize it as well through several pieces. A tip from my side here is adding a few coastal elements like coral shells, blue pottery for accent pieces, vintage blue-stained jugs, and glasses to elevate the look. Adding a single plant in a clay or stone vessel can also fill the empty corners. A signed surfboard or calming sea artwork can also elevate the look of your interiors.
7 Coastal Interior Design Ideas: A Quick Look.
1. Eclectic Coastal Style Home.
If you are someone who prefers a clean and eclectic look with more space, then you can draw inspiration from Vacation Home by Nam Dang-Mitchell Design Inc. in HI, US. The home focuses solely on the soft linens with textures, stripes, and black accents.
2. Modern Coastal Style Living Area.
This living area totally focuses on clean lines, a neutral white palette, and an interplay of textures. The teal blue shade coffee table is the center of attraction in this living area. The linear beams, black accents, and soft furnishings create a subtle look.
3. A Cleaner Seaside Home.
This home uses a neutral color palette with a stained glass modern chandelier, modern accent lights, patterned and striped ottomans, and cushions. The airy living area is warm and well composed for its choice of upholstery and balance.
4. Grandma Coastal Style Interiors.
For someone who has nostalgia for the traditional coastal style, Grandma’s coastal interior design is the perfect pick. The warm, puffy ottomans, right artworks displaying seascapes, rattan baskets, natural lamps, and blue hues in the interiors make the area complete.
5. Mid-Century Modern Coastal Interior.
Mid-century can be blended with any kind of interior style, and the result is just wow. This modern space is inspired by mid-century modern coastal style. With amber white walls, brown ceilings, and bigger windows, the living space consists of a dark blue couch and a modern coffee table with the right textures through the soft furnishings.
6. Fusion Coastal Style Interiors.
The surfboard-inspired accent lights, Philippine yellow flowers at the centerpiece, a sand yellow rug, and neutral color couch all pair well in this living space. The brass metallic touch completes the balance in this living area.
7. Creative Coastal Interior Design.
The mix of right art, shiny accessories, rattan furnishings, soft fabrics, and intentional lighting makes this coastal interior more happening and lively.
Final Words.
Coastal interior design can be blended with any other kind of interior, based on what taste you have. This interior style is for someone who loves collecting corals and shells by the seaside, loves writing love letters by the sea, and misses them altogether in their personal space. This style knows no boundaries or hard rules; instead, it just needs harmony with nature, use of more natural elements, and a personified touch.
Featured Image: Logan Killen Interiors and Design Studio.
Frequently Asked Questions.
Coastal interior design is inspired by coastal environments or the seaside and brings similar values to interiors through light, open and airy spaces, and natural furniture and colors that represent similar landscapes.
Beach decor is also known as coastal interior design and beach cottage decor. This type of interior design uses elements that symbolize seaside or coastal environments. For instance, pastel colors such as blue and green, wooden furniture that is raw and natural, and open interiors adoring a comfortable setting.
Some of the essential coastal decor items are blue pottery, raw furniture, interior plants such as palm and ferns, textured rugs, jute baskets, glass, and throw pillows.
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