Using the beach cottage style of interior design makes you feel as though the ocean breezes are wafting through your home all year long. As the cold weather begins to take hold, you may find yourself reminiscing about your summertime trip to the seaside, or about one yet to come. Bringing a seaside theme into your home can help make the winter fly by. Introduce the beach cottage style to your home with these simple design tips.
What is Beach Cottage Décor?
Although most closely associated with the shabby-chic look, beach cottage décor is actually quite rich and diverse. Think soothing, both comfortable and comforting, with an elegant yet approachable touch. Coastal design inspires you to curl up with a good book, feel the breeze and listen to the calming surf. This translates to your home by using an enchanting mix of Victorian, French Rococo and folk art. Colors are muted, like sea glass and clapboard that has endured countless seasons. More East Coast than West, traditional cottage style is reminiscent of a long-past New England summer: casual reflections of days gone by.
Beach Cottage Furniture and Accessories
Wood furniture may be whitewashed, painted in muted or bright tones, or maintained in its natural finish. A variety of periods and styles may be represented, creating the casual feel of a room created over the course of many summers. Whimsy and contrast add visual interest to the space. Mix bright with muted, shiny with weathered, formal with casual. A traditional button-tufted sofa combined with modernist side chairs and heavy, rustic tables come together to create a unique and beautiful space. Choose accessories and throw pillows in pastels and shades of cream. Fabrics are diaphanous, with the look of once-bright colors faded by the summer sun.
Using Coastal Style in Your Home
Bringing the coastal style into your home is surprisingly simple and can be achieved without a full-scale redecorating project. Select a few key pieces to change out first. Add a large carved headboard, wardrobe or a china hutch. Blend in a color palette that mixes natural wood, white or cream and shades of muted blue or green. Group accessories and wall art in what appear to be careless clusters. Clear glass lamps and floor vases, lanterns, milk-glass pitchers, wicker baskets and fresh flowers finish the look. Carry the theme outside the home to enhance the effect. Mix Adirondack chairs with a mid-century Homecrest bistro set. Outside the front entry, add galvanized lanterns and a porch swing or glider. You may not be able to see the ocean from there, but you’ll believe you could, if you only closed your eyes.
In the Salt Lake City area, Guild Hall Fine Furniture has a variety of furniture and accessories to help create your seaside getaway theme. Their award-winning professional design staff can assist you in selecting the perfect pieces to create your very own beach cottage style.
