Coastal Home Furnishings & Decor Ideas

Coastal Home Furnishings & Decor Ideas

Coming up with coastal wall decor ideas can be tricky. And, once you have ideas in mind, you still have to track down decor that actually fits your vision. It’s a lot of work! As experienced realtors and lake homeowners ourselves, we’re more than happy to share some tips and inspiration to make the decorating process a little easier. Here’s a deep dive into coastal design!

The Elements of Coastal Interior Design

Unsurprisingly, coastal design draws inspiration from the water. It’s light, breezy, laid-back, and sometimes playful. It’s very similar to beachy design, but can be a bit more refined and less whimsical. 

The aesthetic can range from a more rustic feel that celebrates imperfections to a more luxurious feel that’s polished and pristine. The great thing about coastal home furnishings is that you can really let your personality shine!

Regardless of your approach, there are some common elements that are found in coastal homes. The color palette is strongly influenced by nature, with soft shades of blue and green dotting neutral tones, such as white, beige, and brown. 

To get inspired, simply look out your front door! Coastal design is heavily influenced by water, sand, wood, and plants. The goal is to bring the tranquil beauty of nature into your interior space, creating a seamless, harmonious transition between your indoor and outdoor areas.

Beyond color, coastal design often features nautical themes and motifs. Think boats, anchors, paddles, buoys, starfish, and seashells. Coastal home furnishings often have natural textures, such as wood, rattan, jute, wicker, rope, and linen. 

Now that you understand the style, let’s talk about ideas!

Create a Cohesive Theme

An end table with shells, driftwood, and other coastal-themed decorations

Coastal design is a very specific aesthetic, so try not to stray too far from it. Choosing lake house wall art is a great place to start. Once you have some amazing coastal wall decor ideas, you can build off that theme. 

For example, let’s say you adore the rustic look of wooden-style signs. From there, you could add other wooden accent pieces, such as boat paddles, a wooden clock, and decorative driftwood.

Or, let’s say you want your coastal home furnishings to have more of a fun, laid-back vacation vibe. Vibrant pops of color on the walls, nautical stripes, seashell motifs, decorative sea glass, and coral sculptures could all create more of an upbeat feel.

Another option is to lean more into the upscale side of coastal design. You could choose artwork with clean lines and geometric shapes. You could use whites and beiges as the primary color, and then dot it with deeper coastal colors, such as navy blue and forest green. 

As you can see, coastal design can go in many decorations! Start by determining how you want the space to feel, and then choose a theme that sets that mood. The goal is to narrow down your options so you can select complementary coastal home furnishings that work cohesively together.

How would you describe your dream home? Formal? Whimsical? Elegant? Rustic? Extravagant? Beachy? Tropical? Nautical? Nostalgic? Minimalist? Maximalist? Vintage? Modern? Choose a few keywords that best capture your vision, and then seek out decor that can be described accurately with those keywords.

Opt for Timeless Pieces

An interior space with coastal home furnishings

Whether you’re brainstorming coastal wall decor ideas or choosing your first set of lake house furniture, it’s best to avoid fleeting trends, instead opting for time-tested pieces that will never go out of style. 

While there’s nothing wrong with updating your decor from time to time—and that can be a great way to keep your environment interesting—we think it’s better to choose coastal home furnishings that you’re going to love for life. You can always get more playful with artwork and accents, like lamps, that are easier to switch out.

After all, this is your dream home. With each passing year, your decorations will be part of beautiful memories. Invest in pieces that will be part of your story, not just for the immediate future, but forever. 

Shop Our Expert-Curated Collections

The easiest and most effective way to nail the coastal design style is to simply buy lake home decor that’s hand-picked by experts who adore the look! Here at Lake House Must Haves, we offer a wide selection of contemporary home decor and supplies that perfectly capture everything there is to love about coastal design.

We carry coastal home furnishings for every room in the house, including living room home accessories, bathroom decor, kitchenware, bedding, and so much more. Don’t forget to browse our outdoor lake decor and essentials, too!

At the end of the day, the best coastal wall decor ideas are the ones that make you happy, so don’t feel obligated to follow this guide to the letter. These aren’t rules, but suggestions. Let your heart be the ultimate guide. Shop timeless coastal decor now, and enjoy the journey!

Chrissy Harsin

Chrissy Harsin is the co-founder of Lake House Must Haves—the ultimate one-stop shop for high-quality lake house necessities. As a realtor who owns a lake house with her husband and business partner, Chrissy brings unmatched expertise and experience to the table.

Her passion for helping people turn their lake houses into homes shines through in Lake House Must Have’s lovingly curated inventory, as well as the in-depth guidance she so enthusiastically shares with the lake homeowner community.

Lake House Must Haves has proven to be an incredibly valuable resource for new and established waterfront property owners. The future is bright!

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