Guide to creating a Coastal-Style home
Gone are the days of anchors and seashells as the archetype of coastal-style décor in people's homes. Nowadays, coastal design is an interior style in its own right and is more sophisticated and popular than ever. With dedicated coastal design furniture, colour palettes, and go-to coastal-inspired materials, you can easily transform your home into a seaside getaway. With so much to gain from relaxed, coastal living, here are our top tips to help you create the coastal home of your dreams.
What is coastal furniture?
As the name implies, coastal furniture is a category of furniture that encompasses coastal design trends and draws on inspiration from the coastal lifestyle. As the beach and the ocean typically inspire the coastal style, there are a few motifs that coastal furniture tends to lean towards. The core features include earthy tones, natural materials, nautical motifs, and colours inspired by the coast. Designed to evoke the slow, sleepy beach lifestyle, the overall vibe of coastal furniture has a relaxed feel.
How to create a coastal-style home
Whilst there are plenty of ways to create your dream coastal home, here are some of our favourite ways to imbue a seaside feel that we hope will set you on the right track.
Embrace the natural
One of the keys to nailing coastal living furniture is keeping things as natural as possible. Choose furniture made from rustic, natural materials such as wicker, bamboo, straw, rattan, or light, weathered woods and fabrics. Embrace the laid-back, coastal vibe by incorporating plenty of timber – think blonde timber flooring or light timber finishes on your furniture, such as your dining table and chairs.
Keep it light
Letting as much light as possible in your home, or creating the illusion of light, is one of the most common themes across coastal interiors. Start by ensuring walls are painted white, which creates the feel of a larger and brighter space. To let in as much natural light as possible, fit your home with curtains that are a sheer, light neutral colour or even consider getting plantation shutters.
Choose colours wisely
The best colour palette for your coastal-style home is a neutral, soft, white scheme with touches of blues and pale green. Not only do these colours work great with natural light to create a relaxed, peaceful setting, they also subtly reflect the tones of the beach and the ocean. If you like bold touches, draw on bright pops of colour inspired by coral and sea plants for a more exotic coastal style.
Open up the space
The coastal style lends itself to a minimalist design aesthetic favouring plenty of space and open floor plans. To effortlessly achieve this pared-back vibe, avoid clutter by keeping accessories to a minimum and not incorporating too much furniture in one space.
Accessorise, but not too many shells!
Keep things simple and as natural as possible by adding a few seaside-inspired accessories. Adding a few shells, glass vases or bottles, and woven baskets gives a soft, beachy touch, but avoid going overboard or using beachy clichés like anchors or beach prints. A little bit of striping here and there also doesn't go amiss, but once again, don't overdo it. Adding some plants is also a great way to bring the outdoors in and help create that natural, outdoorsy feel.
Remember, there are no rules!
Like the beachy, seaside lifestyle, the coastal style is just as relaxed. This means that at the end of the day, coastal style can be whatever you want it to be and lends itself to endless possibilities and versatility. Coastal-style homes often have a relaxed, mix-and-match use of furniture, collected or upcycled over the years. By following whichever coastal furniture and design trends feel most right to you, you're bound to create the coastal-style home of your dreams.
