What’s your style? Coastal?
DISCOVER YOUR STYLE
One of my fondest memories from my childhood would have to be the time spent with my family at the beach. Nearly every summer we would spend at least a week in a vacation rental. This was well before the times of Air B and B so we didn’t always know exactly what would be going on. Many times, at best we would know the address and rate. Did you say reviews? Forget it. This was my first introduction to the coastal style of interior design. Many of the home would have basic furnishings with generic fishing nets, sea shells, and nautical items around the house.
Let me start off by staying with that coastal design is more than just Seashells and marine memorabilia. For the people in the back, simple throwing souvenirs from the local gift shop that you purchased on your way home, will never give you a truly coastal design.
What is coastal interior design? In my eyes, it's sophisticated, casual, and elegant all at the same time. Many people aspire to have a beach house to share time with their family and friends. For a lot of us we think that having a home in a highly desirable location will encourage our family to want to spend time with us. With this is mind, I think of coastal interior design as communal. There will be large islands in the kitchen for snacks, long dining tables for great meals, open space for family game nights, and beautiful areas for al fresco dining.
In my design practice, we divide coastal living into a few unique themes. There are many similarities and differences in each of these.
Nautical--usually thought of for the use of bold blues and creams
Hamptons--elegant and sophisticated with rich millwork and trim
Palm Beach--bold almost tropical colors and patterns
California--chic monochromatic color palette with an emphasis on natural elements
My best advice for anyone wanting to create a coastal theme in their new home is to make sure you don’t force the theme. This is a quick way to make sure your home looks artificial and dated quite quickly. Spend some time thinking about your color palette and furniture pieces first.
Do you want a simple black and white theme, navy blue and white, or a more muted palette with coral, seafoam, and powder blue? These are all great places to start. In terms of the furniture, think how do you want to live? Would you like to have a more tailored cohesive look or a more casual relaxed feel? Notice, I said tailored and not formal. In my experience, tailored would be in reference to the loose back sofas versus a tight back. In addition consider, deep slipcovered seating in contrast to tightly upholstered chairs with nail heads.
To close, I want to offer just a few more elements that I consider when designing coastal influenced spaces for my clients. You don’t have to live at the beach in order to have a “beachy” theme in your home. The entire home doesn’t have to be coastal. In fact, many of my clients that love the beach and dream of owning a home at the beach will introduce some coastal influences somewhere in their home to bring a little sand home no matter where they may live. Wanna learn more? Keep reading.
When it comes to flooring, I am always a fan of hardwood floors. Today many people are using Luxury Vinyl Planks. There is a time and a place for this of course. If you have a pool or think of how the sand will impact your floors, this could be a good option. In addition, I love to layer sisal rugs. They are often lighter in color and bring just enough natural elements into the space. Most often they are quite affordable and come in practically any size to fit any space.
Maximize. No matter how large or small your space may be, if it is in fact near the beach, you are gonna want to maximize every inch of the home. You are going to want to host as many people as comfortably as possible. With this in mind, think of large sections, large dining tables, spacious media rooms, grand yet not formal dining areas for people to gather. Finally, don’t forget the outside. If your home has a large front porch, covered rear veranda, or screened porch, always think how can more of my family and friends enjoy this space.
Cohesive finishing touches. If you opt for a more muted color palette it is a good idea to keep your selections of accessories, lighting, and fabrics in alignment. If you have a collection of items that you would like to display in your custom built-ins consider grouping them together by color or size. Make sure your art relates to each other. Remember, all of your art doesn’t have to be beach scenes and nautical in nature. If you are using abstract art with muted colors, stick with that particularly in areas that open to each other.
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