There’s so much to love about spending time at the beach: sandy toes, tanned skin, the smell of salty water, and the lulling sound of waves crashing onto the shore. From Key West to Honolulu, coastal towns experience the ideal beach life and island lifestyle on a daily basis.
If you don’t live right by the shorefront, bring the beach to you and recreate the island aesthetic in your home with a coastal interior design style. To help you begin your beachy transformation, here are some tips on designing a coastal-inspired kitchen.
Coastal Color Palette
Colors stimulate various reactions, from memories to certain moods and ambiances. A coastal color palette makes you think about different aspects of the beach and how you feel when you’re there. Shades of blue mirror the sky and sea, while pastel yellows and creams offer an ode to the sand. Soft light pinks bring to mind seashells, and browns and greys imitate washed-up driftwood. Meanwhile, colorful pastels allude to coral, and white brightens the space and makes it feel open like a stretch of coast.
Natural Design Features
Embracing the island way of life includes connecting with the beauty of nature. Coastal design incorporates lots of wooden features. There are numerous ways to use wood in your space, like exposed beams, raw edge countertops, wooden furnishings, wall panels, and tambour cabinets. One of the best flooring options for your kitchen is wooden floors, providing you with a multifunctional feature that doubles in aesthetic appeal and functionality.
Fixtures and Accessories
Sometimes the little things go a long way. Many people don’t pay much attention to fixtures, but they can enhance a space with some thought. Fixtures range from cabinet and drawer handles to lighting mounts. Gold, silver, white, and wooden fixtures often complement the coastal aesthetic. Gold, silver, and white fixtures add light and brightness to a space, further creating that open-air, seaside feel. Wood fixtures and accessories, as mentioned before, bring nature into the mix, working with the design’s philosophy of connecting with nature.
Staple Beachside Decor
You can guarantee that a beachside souvenir shop will sell shells, mini bottles of sand, and driftwood signs with inspirational beach quotes like, “The beach is my happy place” or “Salt, sand, and sun.” Staple beach decor consists of the little knick-knacks one would find in a beachside souvenir shop.
Other staple decor pieces featured in coastal homes include anchors, mermaid figurines, sunscreen-scented candles, small pieces of driftwood, wicker baskets, and palm frond plants. Implementing decor into any space and interior design style adds the final touches that complete the look and feel of a room.
Designing a coastal-inspired kitchen brings you to the beach without needing to hop in a car or plane. Embrace the island ambiance and whip up a smoothie bowl, crack open a papaya, sip on some coconut water, and transport yourself to the coastline. No matter where you live, coastal design style will take you from a bustling city, suburban neighborhood, or rural countryside to the seaside.
