COASTAL INTERIOR DESIGN STYLE: A COMPLETE GUIDE

Easy-breezy seaside vibes – that’s coastal design style in the nutshell for you. Emerging from a lifestyle tied to serene waters and shorelines, coastal decor is all about embracing a relaxing waterfront aesthetic. Whether you live near the coast or dream of being near one, you can bring those misty waterside looks and the feel of a vacation home by embracing this design style. So, not just a Delaware beach condo, a Minnesota lakehouse or a Lake Tahoe pied-à-terre, but even a Las Vegas studio can revel in this sea-inspired tranquility.

A coastal-style home is a comforting haven created with simple sophistication, refreshing beachside hues and seaside motifs. Offering scope to go as classical or modern as you desire, coastal interior design’s timeless appeal and personalized touches make it a perennial favorite of both designers and homeowners. If you too are looking to drench your home in the lazy charm of idyllic seascapes, this blog post is for you. Learn everything about the salient traits of the coastal decor style and how you can invite its rejuvenating energy into your home. 

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Essentials of the Coastal Design Style: Create the Seaside Charm in Any Space

Far from the formal and dressy, a coastal design style home carries tranquil lived-in vibes, that makes the space feel calm, approachable and homely. Its beach-inspired themes and outdoorsy ambiance are an ideal escape after the long grind of the day and the perfect spot to lounge on weekends. Does this  sound like your agenda? If yes, know that whether you’re starting with a bare-bone new house or transitioning midway inspired by your Instagram feed, coastal aesthetic is not hard to achieve, especially once you know about all its ingredients – 

Bright & Airy Space

Part of creating a beachy aesthetic lies in replicating the open and airy shorelines abundantly blessed with nurturing sunlight. So, clients who like to merge modern tastes with coastal themes typically fall upon the open-plan concept of home layout to get larger rooms and fewer walls, giving a nod to the expansiveness of coastal terrains. Large windows or curtain walls blur the indoor-outdoor divide, making the picturesque views of the waters the highlights of the home. In homes that are not close to waterbodies, seascape paintings and photographs compensate with their replications, as best as possible. 

However, whether your approach is sleek or rustic and your windows small or large, the key lies in maximizing the available light. So, many coastal-style homes feature light-hued breezy window dressings that filter in the light rather than obstruct it, helping the room feel bright and airy. Low-profile and woven furniture along with minimal decor items ensures an unhindered flow of light and air, further enhancing the breezy seaside feel of the home.

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Coast-Inspired Light & Muted Palettes 

It cannot be stressed enough that the touchstone feature of the coastal decor style is a palette that points to oceanic surroundings. It is all about recreating the beauty of the golden beach, the serene sea and the endless clear skies by bringing in colors and textures that imitate that bright and breezy ambiance. 

So, the color palette of the coastal decor style typically consist of a soft neutral palette of chalky whites, warm beige and tan, and cool grays, with pops of soft blues and celadon greens. These are enriched by deep and chunky organic textures that throw back to the coarseness of the sands, rocks and seagrass. But, in the modern coastal design style, you will also see lots of metallic accents such as polished nickel, matte black or warm brass offering luster and depth. 

Palette is especially the key element for homes that are not near water bodies because colors, more than anything else, help build the ambiance. When the external surroundings are not supportive of the design narrative, more care is needed to get the palette right. While aquatic life and surfing paraphernalia can look very forced and literal in such homes, the palette does not look outlandish and creates a marine aesthetic convincingly without being heavy-handed.

To forward a light and relaxing visual appeal, patterns are minimized and textures are featured generously to offer depth and interest. Chunky textures of wool and rattan and the rough textures of wood and jute, for example, add character through furnishings and woven accessories. To say that textures are the patterns of coastal design is not an exaggeration at all.

Casual. Lazy. Alfresco.

The coastal home is not designed with precious materials or decor that you cannot afford to stain or break. There is plenty of room for daily carefree use, for frolicking toddlers and pets to have their dose of everyday fun, and for anglers to come home dragging their sandy feet. Because the materials used here are commonplace and hardy; they will age gracefully and even their aging will only contribute to bringing in the aesthetic of the weathered boat hulls to the decor. 

A waterfront home may have multiple open spaces offering access to the views from different vantage points, all furnished with laid-back lounges where you can sit back and soak in the views. Grand-sized patio umbrellas provide a softened shaded area and Adirondack chairs welcome you to recline comfortably and catch a wink. Bistro dinettes offer a cozy spot for enjoying a sizzling barbeque in the evenings with the shimmering waters and a crackling fire completing the ambiance. But, even if your home does not enjoy a waterfront view, lean on this outdoorsy aesthetic by decking up your outdoor space with a comfortable lounge and a casual dining spot.

Natural Materials 

Rustic coastal decor weaves its decor narrative around nature’s pure and refreshing elegance, and therefore, it reflects that aesthetic in its authentic natural materials. Mostly sourced from the immediate surroundings, often pointing to seafaring and surfing, these materials are hardy materials and capable of withstanding salty airs and sun exposure. They are mostly left in their natural state so that their textures and muted colors add to the organic elegance of the grander scheme. However, wooden elements washed with limestone or painted white to brave the sun’s bleaching effect are not a rarity.

Whether you take this rustic approach or the more polished approach of modern coastal design style, the materials used are timeless – wood, stone and seastone, cotton, jute and linen, rattan, bamboo and wicker, to name a few. And decor accents feature materials like driftwood, canvas, sailcloth, leather, ropes and shells that relate to the coastal life’s natural settings and occupational and leisurely activities.

In more rural settings, coastal decor may embrace an unpretentious approach by showing off its patina in the chipped edges, peeling paints and sun-bleached surfaces, giving away a very lived-in, homey vibe. While, in modern renditions, the finishes may be cleaner and refined, however, they still flaunt their natural textures and colors.

Walls and Window Treatments

The walls of a coastal home have much to say about the shoreline surroundings and the lifestyle of its inhabitants. Shiplap and tongue-and-groove wood paneling nod to boats and the many stories of sea adventure wrought in them. In more rugged settings, they are stripped down to their bandsawn textures or weather-proofed with white paint to imply that this humble cottage has aged with its sea-loving owners. Wall-mounted surfboards and shell decor displays act as a candid ode to water sports and aquatic life, pointing to the natural surroundings and the enriching experiences they impart. 

Bearing consonance with the same agenda are the light and breezy window treatments that offer the homely feel of slubbed linen and delicate cotton fabrics, more often than not in the pristine elegance of plain white. Woven wood blinds are also commonly used, especially in outdoor spaces to let in filtered light and cozy up the interiors with its warm colors and natural textures.

READ MORE: ROCK THE COASTAL LOOK WITH BEACH CURTAINS FOR BEDROOM WINDOWS

Nautical Nods – Both Literal and Implied 

The coastal decor style has several versions, each speaking to the specific traits of the local environs where it originated. Therefore, the scope for creative vision is vast – it can be pitched at any level of a spectrum between rustic and modern, waterfront-specific and subliminally beachy. 

Depending on the look you are going for, you can choose between keeping your nautical themes prominent or subtle. There is room for your foraged beach finds, but if you don’t have access to these natural treasures, you can go for sea-inspired representations of starfish, dolphins and anchors easily available in the nearest decor stores. Both nostalgic items and favorite big box store finds can come in handy when you want to lean into the coastal decor style.

But, while a wall-mounted surfboard is perfectly fit for a surfer’s home, such a literal representation will amount to a heavy-handed display in a home away from the coastline. Rather, framed photographs of your family’s beach holiday – surfing, binging on seafood and your kids building sandcastles – can nod to the theme while keeping it relevant to your lifestyle and location. Moreover, it will also carry a personalized touch.

Similarly, vignettes of shells, corals and driftwood make a great treasure to be kept on display. But, in a home that has no proximity to the sea, designers suggest taking an experiential approach rather than a visual one. So, sisal rugs that mimic coastal sand, scalloped chairs that allude to oysters, vases, lamps and candle stands modeled on aquatic life, blue glass accessories rousing thoughts about the sea, and decorative surfboard wall art are some ways to drive in the theme in an ‘implied’ way. 

Drench your Home with Coastal Flair

Once a sea-lover, always a sea-lover! It may have been a surfing expedition, a coastal resort stay, or a maritime profession that introduced you to the sea, and your smitten heart is yet to be weaned. If you’re lucky to stay by the sea, your life is golden, but if not, you can still create that nostalgic seaside charm in your home, no matter where it is – in a concrete jungle or a suburban townhouse. But, for claiming that opulent Hamptons’ beachside moment or rustic Nantucket countryside vibe, you don’t have to take your home into a gut-down renovation; you only need to take a thoughtful approach with your decor style. Indeed, the power of a home’s aesthetic language to transport the mind to another geographical location cannot be more beautifully demonstrated than in the coastal decor style!

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