The heart of coastal design

When you’re playing with the idea of going coastal with your home décor, there’s a lot of ‘inspiration’ to be had out there – with all sorts of tips and tricks as to how you can bring your vision to life. You’ll find plenty of it here, that’s for sure. But this month, we wanted to step away from the whimsical and get a little bit more practical; focusing instead on what coastal design and décor should be all about.

At its core, escaping to beach living for most is about shedding the trappings of modern life; opting instead for simplicity and a pared-down life without the clutter and helter-skelter of the real world.

More often than not, this gets left behind – and instead decorators and DIYers get lost in reaching for simple toolkits filled with things like anchors, oars, prints and yeah – sometimes shells, too! While it sounds simple in a wide range of ways – people can often overdo things. There are other, more subtle ways of giving your home that cabin or cottage-on-the-coast feel.

Beach décor – heck, ALL design – is about creating a mood as opposed to using props. It’s great to use classic elements, but don’t depend on it. Great beach design should echo back to what we discussed – a simple departure from the complexities of life.

The other, powerful message that coastal design can send is a comfort with imperfections. Like the spaces we’re attempting to create, as individuals – we’re all weathered in one way, shape or form and coastal design can help leave us at ease with that feeling, leaving us comfortable in our own skin.

At the end of the day, what’s most important is that whatever you choose to do with your space – that you make it authentically yours. You can’t fake you, after all and our spaces more often than not should be a reflection of us and our loved ones. They should tell a story. You should have things in your space that are conversation pieces or that call back to memories, feelings or experiences. They should make your feel proud and most important of all – make you happy.

We talk a lot about what you ‘should’ do with your coastal design, but reality is that we’re simply here for inspiration. What you should do – is you.