Beach Decor

When done right, beach decor can give you some beach therapy everyday. The relaxed and soothing feel of the beach and of beach towns inspires a specific decorating style. Beach décor strives to recreate the natural feel of the weather worn beach buildings and to transport us back to our vacation spots.

In the hustle of our everyday lives, we deserve to have a relaxing space to call home. By incorporating beach style into your decorating you can get a little beach therapy on a continuous basis. But how to achieve a beach look without crossing the line into tacky or confused? I have experimented and researched over the years and will share some tips and tricks for creating your own beach décor.

Initial design steps:

1. What is your budget?

2. Identify the functional needs of the room. (Write these down to keep your focus)

3. What must stay? What might stay? What is not going to stay? How does each piece fit into your new beach decor?

4. Analyze the colors you want to use in a room. Think of the colors you associate with the beach and how they might fit into your plans.

5. Revisit your budget and revise plans as necessary

Spend some extra time on the colors. I feel strongly this is the key factor to really achieving the “beach look”. Happily, color is also an easy and inexpensive addition to a room. Artwork and decorative accents will round out the look for you but your color palette will define your beach decor.

Because beach style is essentially an attempt to bring the outdoors in, I feel that beach décor is enhanced by a clean and almost minimalist approach. Think open spaces and lots of light.

SIDEBAR: If you are not blessed with windows for lots of natural light, invest in very high quality light bulbs that are designed to imitate natural light. Yellow, low wattage bulbs will sabotage your efforts to recreate a beach feeling.

There is much overlap between beach décor and “nautical” themed décor. By consciously choosing one or the other the final product will be better defined and more pleasing to the eye. The key here is to focus on creating a beach feeling in the room, rather than creating a ship’s cabin (closed spaces, dark, organized). Boats and lighthouses are a part of a beach scene so do not hesitate to use these elements; just remember to focus on their exteriors, not their interiors.

SIDEBAR: A well known, but underused decorating tip is to create focused groupings. Don’t scatter shells around a room because they will get lost and just become clutter. Instead create an effect by putting shells of different sizes, shapes, and colors together on a shelf or side table.

A great place to pick up some bargains and find vintage or vintage-look beach items is eBay. You can even save a favorites search for beach decor and get emails whenever something you may be looking for is listed.