Creating the Coastal Look

“Smell the Sea & Feel the Sky

Let your soul & spirit fly.”

– Van Morrison

My thoughts and dreams are never far from the sea.  We live up on a hill and just below is Scituate Harbor and the lapping waves of the cold Atlantic.  My style is very much coastal inspired and I thought it would be fun to share some ways for creating the coastal look in your home!

First let’s start with things we think of when we think of the coast – soft muted colors in blues, grays, tans and whites; natural elements like seashells, driftwood and fish; texture, wicker, seagrasses, woven grain sacks, gauzy cotton, galvanized metal and finally coastal elements like oars, stripes, bunting, buoys.

I’ve used all of the above to create the coastal look.

Stripes

There is ticking striped bedding and curtains in my boys rooms (and nautical penants).

I’ve also carried this out on a few pieces of furniture with a  grain sack stripe:

This piece is currently available at Kjeld Mahoney Gallery in Scituate Harbor.  You can read more about it here.

Painted Furniture

In our home dark and dreary furniture has been painted to give it a coastal look.  A childhood toy chest gets painted in Fusion Mineral Paint’s Lamp White. Click here to see the makeover.

A simple bureau gets a coat of Paris Grey chalk paint and a little vintage sailor.  Conor is in love with this dresser I created for him. Click here to read more about it.

His room is very, very beachy.  You can see more about it here.

Adding Texture

Woven chairs in our sunroom add a bit of texture and visual interest.

As do the striped pillows trimmed in sea grass.

Soft wool runners with a trellis pattern create a coastal effect in our upstairs hallway. Click here to read more about them:

Coastal  Treasures

I love all things nautical!  Oars adorn our walls in the sunroom. I painted these old wooden oars in white and added some stripes.  I often get asked how to hang them you can find out a few ways here.

A boat hook acts as a curtain rod between the boys’ rooms:

Glass buoys are a favorite to decorate with in any season:

I always use shells in my decorating:

I have to admit to you, when we moved I had 5 boxes of shells that was almost two years ago.  I’ve collected more since…

I also love to decorate with sea glass.

I even made my own sea glass bottles last year.  Click here for the tutorial.

I hope this helped to give you some ideas of decorating in a coastal way! If you’re looking for more check out my board on Hometalk:

It is filled with LOADS of amazing crafts, DIYs and room ideas to achieve that oh so beachy look!  Happy Friday, everyone! x