Coastal Home Renovation
The term ‘coastal style’ seems to be on everyone’s lips and social media feeds at the moment. For an enduring trend, it is certainly peaking in popularity again, even in those hilarious ‘coastal grandmother aesthetic’ memes doing the rounds – inspired by Diane Keaton as the ultimate coastal granny in the movie Something’s Gotta Give. But what is coastal home decorating? And how does it differ from Hampton’s style?
For the most part, coastal home style is part of an aesthetic look, which is also heavily lifestyle driven – think year-round walks along a windswept beach, chilled out living, slow cooking, gardening… you get the drift. The best part is that it is perfectly suited to our beach-worshipping, relaxed Australian lifestyle.
The main décor features we see in coastal home interiors are white walls, off-white accents, pale blue painted furniture and linen sofas, pale and natural timbers, rattan, and jute. It can be confused with Hamptons style; however, Hamptons is much more formal and stitched up – the furniture is less relaxed, in both style and materiality, and the gardens are much more formal in design and layout. True Hamptons style is aspirational and luxe, whereas coastal style is more easily achieved on a tighter budget.
Here are my top tips for creating a coastal vibe in your own home – even if you live in the city and just crave those relaxed seaside vibes.
1. Select flooring in pale timber tones.
Perfect options for this include Carpet Court’s Precinct Oak in ‘Sandstone’ or Refined Oak in ‘Stearling’.
2. Use rugs to create relaxed zones within rooms.
My picks are Carpet Court’s Arabella jute rug or the gorgeously textured oval Bondi rug in Navy.
3. Use sheer curtain in S-Fold or S-Wave to catch those ‘ocean’ breezes.
Carpet Court’s Seattle S-Wave curtains in ‘Sky’ are perfect, as are the Bali S-Wave curtains in ‘Pearl’.
4. Look for loose covered furniture.
This will give an instantly relaxed vibe to a room design.
5. Use a few decorator items that suggest coastal living.
Don’t go overboard though, as it may start to look kitsch – like conch shells, soothing coastal photographs, rattan occasional chairs or ottomans.
6. Paint your exterior in white or natural white if possible.
7. Create a calm and composed dining area.
If you’re planning a kitchen renovation, try to incorporate a big working bench with room for stools on the other side, for relaxed dining options.
Now, let’s take a look at these three beautiful rooms which to me perfectly encapsulate the coastal aesthetic.
1. In the dining and living room, see how the limited colour palette of white, pale blue and timber create a relaxed vibe? And the loose covers on the sofa make it so inviting and comfortable – it wants you to relax!
2. The bedroom is beautifully resolved, but there isn’t a lot of embellishment or decoration going on. It is calm, and the bedlinen is layered in a very relaxed style. Again, pay attention to the strictly limited colour palette.
3. In the living space, the big windows look out to a perfect coastal sky – but you could create this look with a large-scale coastal print in a white frame. Also, the furniture styles are mixed – painted rattan chairs are used with a rustic timber bench, and a stunning, deep, loose-covered sofa is situated to look out to the view.
Good luck with creating your coastal home – no matter where it may be!
H x
