How to Decorate With Beach Colors & Decor
Beach cottages have a very distinctive and unique look--one you can easily recreate in your own home, whether you live on the beach or not. Tranquility, relaxation and vacation should be the ideas inhabiting your mind when you step into a beach home. Through some basic home decor items and paint, you too can create a beach home for your family and friends. It is time to play in the sand. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Sand
- Seashells
- Light-colored paint (yellow, blue, beige)
- Paint brushes
- Brown linen fabric
- Clear vases or bowls
- Old picture frames
- Old window
Instructions
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Choose a color to match your beach theme: Beach homes feel light and airy because of the subtle, soothing colors on the walls. Choose a light, pale color that soothes your spirit. Pale yellows, blues and beiges can be used in different rooms to further the theme, but be careful not to overwhelm the home with too many colors. Stick to one color per room. Remember the lighter and paler the color, the better.
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Next, place your furniture. To keep with the beach theme, your furniture should be comfortable and casual, in a light or white cotton fabric. Rattan furniture also works well.
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If you do not live on the beach, purchase an old window at a garage sale. Keep the chipped paint look--the more dilapidated the better. Hang the window on the wall, and if you want, you can hang a picture of a beach scene or sunrise behind the window to create the illusion that you are just a few feet away from the ocean.
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Update old picture frames by covering the wood with linen fabric. Either hang a special seashell from the top of the frame, or glue it to the top to make that beach vacation picture really stand out from the rest.
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Cover an old pillow with the linen fabric. You could also use the linen fabric as a table skirt or cloth to continue the theme throughout the home.
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Any room can have seashells laid out on a table for a centerpiece. Take it up a notch by using the seashells in a clear vase or bowl. Line the bottom with sand and place the shells randomly on the sand. If using a bowl, place a pillar candle in the middle to make a unique centerpiece for your table.
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Randomly place additional beach-themed items on your walls and around your rooms, as a finishing touch.
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Tips & Warnings
To add some unique touches to your beach cottage, paint a sign on a piece of old wood saying "Beach Home" or put your family's name (i.e. "Lauren's Home") on the sign. Other sayings might include: "What happens at the beach, stays at the beach" and "Life's a Beach." Create your own signs to save money and personalize the idea. Always remember to decorate in numbers of three. Never combine more than three items together, or you risk overwhelming your look. Remember, less is always more.
