Head for the "Coastal"
Back to the top 10 list this week. With still no green leaves outside and an occasional warm day around here, I thought it would be fun to resurge the list with a vacation flair and talk about the trend we saw of Coastal influences in furniture. So let’s head for the beach (or imagine so) and look at how touches of coastal influence can brighten up your interior all across the country -not just at the beach.
This bed by Universal Furniture is the perfect example of a coastal piece. Combining texture and warm color tones gives this bed a cozy casual look reminiscent of a beach home. Paired with the navy and white bedding with a small pop of blue, I can envision this bed pretty much anywhere in the country. It’s welcoming with texture that adds dimension to the light neutral paint color on the walls. One of the elements that gives away a coastal influence piece is…texture.
Beyond texture a coastal piece can have a light casual wood tone. Here’s another completely different looking bed that would still work in any casual interior on the beach or not.
If you’re paying attention to our list you know you can kill 2 birds with 1 stone with this beauty, coastal influence and white wood.
Now, I’m not one to say you should do a beach house feel in Illinois. Good design combines your taste with what your home calls for and what is trending in design. If you’re not on the coast, a little goes a long way so don’t over do it. But that being said, the light casual feel of this coastal trend can really add interest to any interior.
Peek at this one – it combines the 2 elements above. There is a rattan inset in a whitewashed wood cabinet.
From a Composition Perspective
So you may wonder how to bring this coastal influence into your décor without going to far with it? It’s all in the mix. For example, the cabinet above could be mixed in with darker traditional pieces or stand alone in a formal hallway. The mix of formal and informal could be an unexpected element which always lends interest to a good design provided its done well. A word of caution when mixing – there is a little trick to it. We consider the elements of design when making every decision in a composition or room. There needs to be a relationship between pieces you put together in a composition. This means they have to have some common or similar element that makes them connect. Then you need to think about scale and visual weight, but since there’s a bit more to it than meets the eye, I’ll save mixing styles for a future blog post.
Final touches for your coastal influence room can come with watercolor art like the one below from Wendover Art or greens with driftwood accents like this one from Treemasters.
So, if you can’t head to the coast, don’t hesitate to bring a little bit of the coast to your own home.
Angie
New Perspective Design offers a variety of interior design services.
Contact us via the website form www.newperspectivedesign.com or call 224-678-9040 for more information.