Simple Ways to Add a Beachy Feel to Your Home
A few weeks ago I had the honour of being a part of an amazing Waterside Home Tour series organized by Emily of Table & Hearth. And if you’ve been reading for a while, then you know that home tours are my fave. I love house stalking!
One thing I noticed, as I toured through each of these waterside home {or homes with decor inspired by living nearby the water}, is that coastal decor really can be interpreted in so many different ways.
I often call our lake house decor “coastal” because our decor style in this home has definitely been inspired by it’s lakeside location.
But what does “coastal decorating” mean? And how can you do it without being too theme-y??
Despite the different interpretations that people make of coastal, there are definitely certain essential elements to the style. I’m highlighting these elements by sharing some of the vignettes and styles I noticed through the waterside tour series.
Decorate with Blues
Nothing says coastal as much as decorating with watery blues and greens. These beautiful colours reflect and complement the watery tones outside your doors and windows when you live in a waterside location.
Our home is full of various shades of blue, and our newly updated gallery wall featuring art from Minted is no exception. I have tried to repeat similar tones of blue throughout our home. Recently I have added shades of navy and indigo to complement the teal and aqua that we already had.
We carried on with the same blue tones in our kitchen. One of my favourite features is our DIY planked peninsula as well as our DIY wooden hood fan. Take our most recent kitchen tour here.
I absolutely loved the Aqua cabinetry at Brian & Kaylor in their bathroom – and the ceiling painted out in blue is stunning! What a great, unique way to add a coastal or beachy feel to a space in your home.
I love the crisp navy and white at Migonis Home. It gives a preppy East Coast feel to their new office and den area. Adding in hits of navy and indigo has also been a favourite of mine this past year, and I’ve been inspired by Jen’s gorgeous hits of navy throughout their home.
A simple way to add some waterside feel without painting your walls is through blue accessories. You can even do this in your kitchen with pretty aqua jars and dishes like these at Meegan Makes .
I love the fresh coastal feel of this living room vignette at Slightly Coastal. Painting out an old dresser as a media piece is one of my favourite tricks for any decor style.
Add in Some Natural Textures
Wicker baskets, sisal rugs, rustic wood tones, driftwood, and cedar shingles are all natural elements that give a beachy or waterside feel to your decor.
One of my favourite new additions to our living room is the bamboo shades. Natural textured window treatments, along with the sisal area rug and wicker baskets and trays sprinkled throughout this room definitely bring in a beachy, waterside feel.
I also love mixing in baskets and plants. And a simple decor trick if you have a black thumb, like me…. use fake plants to add in a natural feel and some “natural” textures. My favourite source? Ikea! I shared this beachy shelf display during our summer living room tour.
These simple wicker chairs at Family and the Lake House definitely give this corner a coastal feel, and I love the way that these natural tones are picked up in the bookcase vignette.
This twine and rustic wooden lantern combined with the table runner, chargers, and driftwood bowl give this stunning tablescape at In My Own Style a perfect summery, waterside feel.
Nothing cries coastal like a shingled exterior, and this gorgeous shingled exterior at Simple Nature Decor Blog has been complemented by the coastal light fixtures and garage doors. The warm tone of the painted shingles is picked up in the lovely herringbone brick driveway.
Beachy Decor Elements
I love added fun beachy or lake inspired elements – specifically paddles or oars, floats, rope, and waterskis. Some of my favourite finds came from a garage sale I visited right after we moved into our lake house. This waterski hangs on the wall you see when you go from our entry hall into our living/dining room space.
Driftwood pieces, including my DIY driftwood tree, add a beachy feel to our dining room console table. The driftwood wreath & fish, the rustic vintage paddles, along with some free printable summer art round out this display.
A simple and fun way to bring in a waterside feel is on your dining table, like this giant clam shell centrepiece at Shabbyfufu. I wish I could get my hands on a piece like this for our home!
I love all the sweet little coastal elements that Heather added to her living room at Setting for Four. Lanterns, coral, and candles all work together to create a summery waterside feel on her home tour.
This gorgeous rustic compass DIY sign from The Space Between Blog is the perfect way to add a fun touch of coastal to a corner of your home. I’m already trying to figure out where we might be able to fit one of these at our house. I think it would make amazing outdoor art, as well.
Shells. The most simple and classic way to add a little bit of a waterside feel. I love the way that these shells at Up To Date Interiors have been strung together to create a simple garland.
And if you are near the water, you just might be doing some fishing. Nina from Nina Hendrick Design shared this beautiful idea of Fish Tracing Paintings that decorate their family lakeside cabin.
Paneling
One of my favourite parts of many waterside or coastal style homes is the addition of paneling.
While shiplap is very popular right now, there are several types of paneling to choose from that will bring in a beachy feel. We installed board and batten in many areas of our home, including our dining room/kitchen/hallway
As well as in our master bedroom and ensuite…
We love the shiplap that we added as a feature accent wall in our boys’ shared bedroom.
And we added shiplap to our peninsula in the kitchen as well…
Emily at Table & Hearth went with a dark grey shiplap in her guest room – I love the contrast with the white bed and nightstands.
This shiplap accent wall at Starfish Cottage stands out so beautifully sunk into the alcove – how amazing is that Marlin too?!?!
And classic white painted wainscot paneling like this space at DIY Passion always give a home a beachy edge.
So adding a beachy feel to your home can be as simple or involved, theme-y, or relaxed as you like.
You can go full-on and add paneling throughout your home, or keep it simple and just add a few beachy pieces, decorate with blues, and some natural elements during the summer months.
Because who doesn’t love to feel like they are at {or near} the beach?!?
Hello. Love your style! Can you tell me where you found the round table with the glass top? I have been searching for over a year and can’t find one similar (round, glass, with storage space-you used a round basket-clever!) Thank you.
Hello! I actually bought it on Craigslist and then painted it in a colour called Aegean Teal. It used to be a terrible 80s shiny oak! Check online second hand sites…
I feel so fortunate to live by the beach here in Santa Barbara. I don’t live on the water, but I don’t mind the 3 minute walk! Adding some coastal vibe is something I want more of… without my home having a “beach theme”. Thanks for the inspiration.
Best & Bisous,
Michelle from Simply Santa Barbara
Hi Michelle! I totally agree – I love a beachy vibe without it being too over-the-top theme-y! A three minute walk to the beach in Santa Barbara sounds heavenly! I would love to holiday there:)
What a super amazing post. I love all the beachy elements in everyone home, its just so eye catching and lovely Thank you for featuring my garage.
Thanks Maria
Your garage and exterior style have my totally inspired! We want to redo our siding (our house is about 20 years old and they put vinyl siding on it -ugh!!). I’m thinking of a shingled look and love the beachy light fixtures and garage doors you have used – it all adds to the look so beautifully!