Incorporate elements of seaside style for fresh decor
If your favorite sight is watching waves roll in along a sandy beach and you enjoy listening to the music of the water and the birds, and breathing in the sweet, salty sea air, a home along the coast is your bliss. Life by the water has its own special aura, colors and textures, and homes situated in this sublime environment display a love for these nautical elements.
Author Sally Denning is an interiors stylist and creative director who has penned a style book that explores these homes and urges her readers to take inspiration from the beauty of the coast. Her book, Relaxed Coastal Style, published by Ryland Peters & Small, shows how to bring the positive elements of the sea inside, wherever and however you live. The expressive photography by Benjamin Edwards invites readers into each featured home.
For Martin and Jane will, owners of The Old Coastguard House, the kitchen is the hub of the home. Situated in the center of the open- plan ground floor, their kitchen features deep- blue cabinets and white metro tiles that create a contemporary vibe. Old floorboards add a rustic touch, and the zinc-topped dining table is surrounded by an array of midcentury and Shaker-style chairs.
When working through the renovation — which is ongoing, as most renos are — the Wills adhered to a relaxed palette of soft grays and inky blues. They combined vintage furniture with bare wooden boards and nautical items throughout the home.
Fabric choices are essential to the rustic, laidback coastal design. Washed linens and faded cottons, striped fabrics, blue-and-white ticking, and canvas evoke memories of easygoing summers by the water.
In the sitting room shown here, Elana Columbo has used an eclectic mix of woodclad walls, painted wooden floors, mix-andmatch colors and fabrics, and her own personal treasures in her welcoming home by the water. A midcentury daybed is upholstered in deckchair stripes and adorned with cushions in contrasting and complementary coastal prints.
Paint plays a key role in Columbo’s decorating scheme. Walls throughout her home are painted pale blue-gray with fresh white trim, all grounded by shiny ink-blue floorboards. Each room has a dash of bright color that weaves touches of energy into the calm space. A richly colored Indian bedspread and a threadbare Oriental carpet provide vibrant accents in the bedroom.
The homes showcased by Denning in Relaxed Coastal Style share a hands-on rustic appeal, where fussiness is never seen. Comfy sofas, padded seats, beds layered with plump pillows and softly textured linens bring the lilting sway of the ocean inside. And when it’s time to sit back and take in the views, picture windows frame the scenery.
Personalize your rooms with maps and photographs or artwork that connect you to the sea and traveling adventures. Utilize a thick rope to hang a lamp from the ceiling, line up a collection of straw sunhats by the door, or make room for vintage tables, chests and seats with history that radiates from timeworn finishes. Nautical hardware and fittings are details that never fail.
Debbie Travis’ House to Home column is written and produced by Debbie Travis and Barbara Dingle. Email decorating questions to house2home@debbietravis.com. Follow Travis at www.instagram.com/debbie_travis or www.facebook.com/thedebbietravis, or visit her website, www.debbietravis.com.