Coastal design is a very relaxed, laid back style, that usually incorporates natural elements and bright colours, evoking the breeze of the beach and the warmth of the summer. If bringing some freshness, openness and brightness into your contemporary home is what you are looking for, coastal style might be exactly what you need.
Coastal homes follow contemporary trends and incorporate traditional coastal elements. This means that the style is easy to achieve, which is especially good news if your home already has a contemporary design style. Here are some tips on how you can give your home a serene, summery vibe all year long.
Use the Right Decorative Elements
One of the main characteristics of the design is that it doesn’t feel cluttered. In fact, coastal design is often considered to be minimalistic. Living rooms in this style are bright, open, without too many things, not flashy. If your home is already minimalist, with just a few gorgeous coastal decor items you could bring this design right into your living room.
This, however, doesn’t mean that coastal decorations aren’t to be used in different styles, other than contemporary minimalistic. If you like mixing things up or if you are just looking to add some finishing touches, go ahead and use your mix-and-match skills to bring some coastal vibe into your space, even if your home is in a different style. Though in this style nothing is too flashy, if you wish, you could use items used to accentuate coastal style in combination with vibrant colours, flowers, mixed patterns. However, always try to not over clutter.
One of the first things that come to mind when we think of the style, are seashells. So simple decorations like an oversized sea coral, or a seashell, can make a beautiful statement piece, giving an instant coastal feeling to your space. The most important thing is to not go overboard. Displaying many seashells all around, most likely won’t go well towards your goal to create a serene coastal style.
There are many other coastal decor elements which you could also incorporate to bring the summer breeze into your living room. Summer-themed wall art, round mirrors framed with nautical rope, bottles, as well as vases, lamps, throw pillows, blankets are some of the decorative elements you can use, to achieve the contemporary coastal design. The style also can be complemented with rugs that aren’t too flashy, usually made of jute, straw, sisal or seagrass.
When it comes to the materials dominating this style rattan and bamboo are used very often, and not only for furniture but also for decorative accessories. Find wicker items, baskets, planters, wall hangings, pendants or anything you like. Furthermore, simple non-kitsch nautical decorations can also be used: marine fixtures and classics, such as ocean scenes, seahorses, sailboats.
Take Advantage of Neutral Colours
If you have decided to go coastal, colours are one of the most important things to have in mind. It’s a style that celebrates the natural, the neutral, and the minimalistic without ever becoming to monotonic or boring.
The neutral colours combinations used for this style are usually white, shades of blue, and different wood hues. However other neutral colours, shades of blue, beige, green turquoise etc. are also often implemented. Timber can give the place a nice contemporary look. It also adds some extra natural vibe. So, instead of covering your floors with tiles, opt for hardwood or natural-looking vinyl planks.
Playing with colours is great for achieving a contemporary coastal vibe. For instance, white walls, furniture in soft colours and coastal home decor accessories, sticking with the same colour palette provides you with a consistent, contemporary look. Furthermore, the lack of clutter, both in colours and in objects, will evoke a feeling that there is a flow to the space.
Coastal style doesn’t use very strong colours, even when you are trying to create an accent. So, if you want to pop a different colour, you can, but always stick to soft hues like pastels, while making sure the neutral palette dominates. The light colours give depth to your space, and more importantly, they are a perfect backdrop for the elegance of the coastal home decor.
Simple Furniture in Soft Colours
To evoke relaxation and easiness, coastal style incorporates a variety of natural elements. That can be achieved by the use of furniture, made out of rattan, wood, often white-washed or natural fabrics. However, it’s important that you don’t use too much of the same thing. For instance, many pieces of furniture made of rattan may seem too busy.
The furniture in this style should feel comfortable and casual, and as it was mentioned before, it shouldn’t be too cluttered. The contemporary coastal design needs to feel minimalistic and should evoke wideness, so an open floor plan is great for achieving this. This includes the furniture as well. However, you don’t have to stick to any rules about arranging the furniture. Go ahead and try unusual furniture setups. Since the style is about relaxation, make it comfortable for yourself.
Furniture in blues and white, or other neutral colours, best complements the contemporary coastal style. If you already have simple wood and fabric furniture, you could get the coastal vibe by repainting it in white and adding wicker decorations, or any non-flashy nautical element, such as some wall art, a rope edged mirror and small decor pieces made of natural materials such as photo frames, table decorations, decorative ornaments etc.
