The Beach House
Beach House Living
Whether you have a beach house in need of on theme decoration or just dreaming of your future home here are some stylish ideas for getting your coastal getaway beach ready
Want to infuse your home with a little bit of beach chic. Here are our top beach house decor ideas and inspiration boards. You can bring a little bit of coastal living into your home or apartment, even if you’re no where near the ocean. It’s all about the ambience and the how a few simple tweaks can transform your space!
Here’s how: White, Bright & Beautiful
Wicker Accents
Add some wicker, rattan or sisal beach theme décor. Materials like seagrass, rattan and sisal give a room an instant coastal living feel. The materials are rope-like and add texture to the space, perfect for the beach style effect you’re looking for. Bamboo and wicker bar stools or chairs add a coastal cottage feel to any modern kitchen. For the bedroom, headboards, tables, chairs or ornaments can transform the feel and appeal of your room. Woven wicker chairs are lightweight, inexpensive and durable. Group them with other beach house decor pieces like seaglass pendants, a beadboard-finish island and a pale seafoam blue wall colour and you have a modern coastal space. The classic bamboo and wicker hanging basket chair is a great way to add a cool, coastal vibe to a room.
That Laid Back Coastal Living Vibe
Vintage is Versatile
Vintage, recycled or rehomed and reloved, whatever buzz word you use, second-hand furniture, ornaments or furnishings bring an element of authenticity to your space. Whitewashing means adding a translucent stain of white to an item. It’s different from painting the piece because a whitewash is more see through and looks more natural. Choose pale and whitewashed accents for an updated coastal vibe. The look is similar to the tone of driftwood and adds the light and bright effect of a beach house to your room. Recycle found objects like driftwood and bamboo by using them as wall art or as the base of an occasional or coffee table.
Matchy Matchy
Too much or too little. The opinions are divided. Matching everything in your room to a total of 1 or 2 colours can sometimes seem too much, over powering, even borderline obsessive. But it can work well in the right situation. Take this nautical themed blue room. It’s a small intimate space, that has pulled the strong blue limited colour pallet to make a striking impact in an otherwise very uninteresting small space. Instead of focusing on the lack of room you are drawn to explore the space with your eyes, picking up the detail. Would it work as well in a large room? perhaps not. It maybe too much.
Another way to go to keep things bright and light is just adding a little touch of bold colour to an otherwise neutral space. Here the turquoise print and sofa cushions are all that are needed to make this room pop.
Colour Creations
Blue is the quintessential beach theme decor colour. Seafoam, light blue, navy and turquoise are just a few shades you can use.
But for a modern coastal look, give the shade of indigo a try. It’s similar to navy blue, but a little richer and more saturated. Indigo works beautifully with wood tones, whites and black, giving a more modern coastal space.
You don’t have to limit your palette to blue. Pale shades of sand: cream, ivory, beige and soft pink are excellent choices. Natural wood tones, white and tropical prints featuring bright lime green create a coastal living vibe. But you don’t have to stop there, soft greens, yellows, and orange all give that bright light summer feel, that is the essence to beach style design.
Nautical inspirations
Nautical inspiration doesn’t always have to involve knots and boats. You can take inspiration form the sea, from images of water or seascapes. The colours are usually from the blue colour palette but you can play with this to make it work in your space.
Green water pools, yellow sunsets and black and white monotone images are all wonderful inspiring looks to add to any wall and suits any room. Don’t be put off if your accent colour is red. You can get creative and find images of old marooned fishing boats with red hull stripes or focus on a dominate colour in a picture, like the one below. Kayaks are superb subjects with strong colour accents in every shade. You could use any of the dominate colours in this image to compliment your room.
You're not limited to coastal beach themes if you're looking for nautical inspiration. Contemporary styles work well with strong bright colours. Here the rich yellow and green accents colours of the chair and plant is picked up beautifully by the colours in the photograph.
That personal touch
Don't forget those special touches, personal locations you've been, lived or loved. Artefacts you've collected. Sports you adore and places you've been. It doesn't need to all fit seamlessly.
Accessorise
Add a beach-style striped throw to your bed or sofa. For a coastal chic living room, add a large and bold woven striped rug. Layer your everyday bedding for a coastal living vibe with a striped blanket or linen striped pillow.
A simple foot stool in a blue and white stripe may be all you need to add a little beach style to your space. For an easy and relaxed beach vibe, add slipcovers to your sofas and chairs. Cotton or linen slipcovers in white, khaki or beige are the most beach-themed. Finish off the modern coastal living look with some beach-theme pillows.
Decorate your dining table with beach theme décor. The options are endless. Make it your space, make it work for you.
When thinking about table decorations try beach style napkin ring, linen, striped or nautical. Hurrican candle holders, small accent plates in a nautical style. Hand-blown glasses that look like seaglass. A table runner or table cloth in a coastal look or colour of your choice. Aqua and sand can replicate a day at the beach. Layering beach theme décor like netting as a table runner, star fish and coastal inspired plates creates a fun beach-themed table.
Room colours can be two tone. You can paint the walls in two contrasting colours. Or wallpaper the upper or lower half and paint the other one. Or you can add classic, nautical beadboard panels to the lower half of the wall. Beadboard or wainscoting are panels of vertical wood that have been used for years to insulate and serve as walls. Found at most home improvement stores, they can be painted and are easy to work with. You can’t have too many beach theme decor items. There are no hard fast rules.
Enjoy your space, experiment, have fun and make it your own.
