How to Design a “Coastal Contemporary” Home
Keeping up with the latest home decor trends can feel like a never-ending endeavor. So many colors, accessories, and techniques are popular one minute and outdated the next. Luckily, you don’t have to swap out your home’s furniture and decorations with each passing season. By incorporating light colors, natural details, and relaxed designs of coastal contemporary decor, you can easily build living spaces that feel effortless. Keep these easy tips from the design experts at Matter Brothers Furniture to bring the sought-after look of modern coastal decor to life in your own home.
Use Lots of White for Coastal Contemporary
Helping your home feel bright, open, and modern can be as simple as choosing the right color scheme. For rooms that exude a modern, coastal vibe, you can’t go wrong with a predominantly white (or off-white) foundation. Using white on everything from your walls and sofa to countertops and table lamps is a sure-fire way to curate rooms that feel breezy and welcoming. If the thought of using white in your living, kitchen, or bedroom makes you uneasy, don’t panic. Decorating with a bright neutral, such as white, doesn’t have to be boring. You can always add texture and personality later through accessories and other elements in the space.
Replace a “Theme” With Natural Elements
When trying to design a home that feels beachy and laid back, it’s easy for many homeowners to go overboard with cliché themes and cheesy decorations. Unfortunately, bringing in sea life decor and other beach-inspired elements can make your home feel dated rather than contemporary. With this in mind, focus on embracing the natural elements of the beach that will feel relaxing and fresh, such as natural fiber rugs, wooden accents, and potted plants in place of an abundance of crabs, rope, and anchors.
Accent With Color
As we shared above, just because your coastal-inspired home embraces the color white doesn’t mean that it has to be colorless or lack personality. Accenting with color can give your living spaces warmth and depth while staying true to your modern vision. Not any color will work in a coastal contemporary home, though. Instead of bold colors that could feel more stimulating than relaxing, stick with the natural colors you’d expect to find at the beach. Cool blues, soft greens, and subtle tans will go a long way in making your home feel casual yet classy.
Maximize Natural Light
One of the most effective steps you can take to create a home that feels as bright and airy as the beach is to let in the sunshine. Natural light can help even the smallest rooms feel big and welcoming. Don’t worry about limited natural light. There are practical ways to give the illusion of a room having more light than it does, including:
- Keeping windows bare (or choosing low-profile window treatments that can easily be opened to maximize sunlight when necessary)
- Moving furniture away from windows
- Positioning mirrors across from windows to increase the available light in the space
Declutter
Stylish room interior with accessories.
Having too much stuff is the easiest way to take away from the space’s overall style and functionality. This is especially true in a coastal contemporary home where living spaces should feel bright and open. If you’re looking for a simple way to make your home instantly look better and feel more inviting, get rid of the excess junk that could be holding it back. If a piece of furniture or item isn’t serving a specific functional or aesthetic purpose, don’t be afraid to let it go. You’ll be thankful you did when you’re left with rooms that look bigger, brighter, and more attractive.
Lighting: The Simpler, the Better
Unlike other home decor approaches, coastal contemporary uses subtle features and understated details to make spaces feel comfortable and relaxed while also being stylish and fresh. Modern coastal light fixtures are no different. To ensure that your living spaces are well-lit, look for lights that are simple and clean. Glass pendant lights would be a wonderful option to display in your kitchen or dining room while a simple rattan dome would be the perfect addition to virtually any coastal living room.
Embrace Bare Floors for Coastal Contemporary
There’s something refreshing about letting your bare floors speak for themselves. If you’re striving to give your vacation a modern twist, consider ditching its carpet for hardwood, tile, or even concrete flooring. Leaving the floors bare displays their natural beauty while achieving an unfussy, stylish result.
Create a Comfy Porch
The best modern coastal homes have outdoor seating areas that are as beautiful and comfortable as their indoor counterparts. The size of your beach home’s porch or patio space doesn’t matter as much as how you decorate it. For the ultimate coastal-inspired porch, adding elements that promote relaxation is key. Here are some ideas to help you make the most of your outdoor space, big or small:
- Choose comfortable outdoor furniture that is big enough to accommodate your family and guests without overcrowding the space
- Utilize indoor accessories, such as decorative pillows and throw blankets, to make it as cozy as possible
- Keep it fun with a bar cart to make whipping up your favorite cocktail a breeze
Decorate Your Home to Be Coastal Contemporary
If you’re interested in adding a few coastal contemporary features to your home, Matter Brothers Furniture in Naples can help. With our large selection of quality furniture, we have everything you need to decorate your home. Visit us online or stop by one of our five convenient showroom locations to see how simple tackling your next design project can be.
