Post by Sharon
Either you don't live near the beach, can't take vacation because you're job searching, or you are in self isolation, but most of us aren't seeing a beach this summer.
My best advice is to live like you're at the beach all the time!
Beach living is an attitude. It's casual but it's bold. It's relaxed but it's energetic. It's insightful but it's youthful.
Here's some elements to add to your home and yard to help you get your vibe on. It can lighten your mood considerably. Now that many are spending time at home 24/7 or retired, this is a way to make your home feel like a resort.
Color
You can add these colors to walls for an overall soothing and relaxing vibe or use them as accents in pillows, rugs, wall art.
Accessories
Classic beach accessories are things like a towel rack, a surfboard coffee table, sea glass, seashells, rattan, grass cloth, and macrame.
Removing clutter is key, and everything should be textured, simple, bright, and casual.
Lighting
Good old-fashioned sunlight is best. Open all the blinds/curtains. Sheers are okay, but keep all the light throughout that you can. Beach lifestyle is expansive, not hibernating.
One of the most relaxing and amazing lighting gadgets for the home is the ocean wave light. It casts patterns on the ceiling and walls of water being hit by light. It is ideal in the bathroom during your bath or in the living room while you curl up with a book. If you go onto YouTube and find a wood-masted sailboat sounds with gulls, you would swear you're on a sailboat.
Here's some design ideas that nod to the beach without making you look like you're a decorating cosplay participant for having a beach house in the Midwest....
Blue and white is always the standard for beach. See all the sand-colored neutrals with textures? The bright light throughout the room? And the way the bits of blue just POP?
The oars give a subtle nod to the sea and the rattan has a very beach-summer-home vibe.
The pop of aquamarine blue is found in the art and accessories. The wood is unfinished. The sofa is soft white. The hanging chair is beach-goer approved. Imagine relaxing in a setting like this every day?
This room above has earthy colors with some beach tones thrown in. The textures work together for a bohemian vibe and that is very beachy. Bohemian style was born from world-traveling artists. They came back home and in their quirky space displayed things from cultures all around the world.
Blue and white is always the standard for beach. See all the sand-colored neutrals with textures? The bright light throughout the room? And the way the bits of blue just POP?
The oars give a subtle nod to the sea and the rattan has a very beach-summer-home vibe.
The pop of aquamarine blue is found in the art and accessories. The wood is unfinished. The sofa is soft white. The hanging chair is beach-goer approved. Imagine relaxing in a setting like this every day?
This room above has earthy colors with some beach tones thrown in. The textures work together for a bohemian vibe and that is very beachy. Bohemian style was born from world-traveling artists. They came back home and in their quirky space displayed things from cultures all around the world.
Woods - Bamboo, birch, unfinished, rattan, painted white.
Fabrics - Textured, linen, cotton, canvas, burlap.
Just remember, getting a beachy vibe and recreating the beach are two different things. If you find yourself wanting to put up mermaids and seashells everywhere, you are pounding yourself with the theme. You will not only get tired of it fast, but you will look like an amateur.
There are subtle ways to show your nod to the sea that gives a lingering feeling. It's rather like a good application of perfume. Someone passes by and feels wistful and pleasant or someone passes by and is offended by the strong scent. A light hand is best to give an ethereal brush with the theme.
Simple ways to get the mood across -
Put sea glass or tiny sea shells on top of houseplant soil. Use lots of plants near the window, hanging and on a table. That collection along with the colors and memories of the beach give the intention of beach attitude without screaming BEACH.
Consider upping your textures. Neutral textures like macrame, wicker, rattan, grasscloth, burlap, canvas and the like give a definite casual vibe, a resort one.
Stack up some steamer trunks of old-fashioned suitcases for a side table or entryway display. Print out and add some beach-themed stickers, wear the edges of them down, make them look traveled.
Use a beach towel for doggy sofa cover. If you have pups, consider using fun beach towels for the sofa coverup.
Paint a lamp aquamarine or lime green. A simple secondhand store lamp can be painted into an accent color that changes the temperature of the room with one subtle hit of color.
Beach living is casual. Keep flow open in the house, lots of light, textures, simple on the eyes. Look at minimalism decorating tips.
Look around for what you want to utilize. If you have a lot of shells consider gluing them to a mirror frame. If you have an expanse of floor under your coffee table and sofa, unroll a grass mat. Be so subtle as to attach a shell to your ceiling fan cord or take some and drill a hole in them, run jute cord through them and tie a jingle jangle of them from your front doorknob so when the door opens, it jangles.
Be creative and live at the beach in your soul and in your home!
Fabrics - Textured, linen, cotton, canvas, burlap.
Just remember, getting a beachy vibe and recreating the beach are two different things. If you find yourself wanting to put up mermaids and seashells everywhere, you are pounding yourself with the theme. You will not only get tired of it fast, but you will look like an amateur.
There are subtle ways to show your nod to the sea that gives a lingering feeling. It's rather like a good application of perfume. Someone passes by and feels wistful and pleasant or someone passes by and is offended by the strong scent. A light hand is best to give an ethereal brush with the theme.
Simple ways to get the mood across -
Put sea glass or tiny sea shells on top of houseplant soil. Use lots of plants near the window, hanging and on a table. That collection along with the colors and memories of the beach give the intention of beach attitude without screaming BEACH.
Consider upping your textures. Neutral textures like macrame, wicker, rattan, grasscloth, burlap, canvas and the like give a definite casual vibe, a resort one.
Stack up some steamer trunks of old-fashioned suitcases for a side table or entryway display. Print out and add some beach-themed stickers, wear the edges of them down, make them look traveled.
Use a beach towel for doggy sofa cover. If you have pups, consider using fun beach towels for the sofa coverup.
Paint a lamp aquamarine or lime green. A simple secondhand store lamp can be painted into an accent color that changes the temperature of the room with one subtle hit of color.
Beach living is casual. Keep flow open in the house, lots of light, textures, simple on the eyes. Look at minimalism decorating tips.
Attitude
Beachy attitude is about adapting. It's like the phrase, "if you can't smooth out the waves, learn to surf." It's not that people are less stressed at the beach, it's that they have the ocean air with its negative ions to boost their mood, the sounds of the tides, and the shielding from extremes in temperature. It's hard to be type A in such an environment and that is the point of having a home with this vibe.
Spontaneous and casual attitudes about eating make beach living inclined to be more healthy. Consider having things like chutneys, salad greens, raw veggies, hummus, and tortillas around. Blackened ahi tuna atop a salad with some Asian dressing, a burrito made with jalepeno cream cheese and shredded chicken and fresh salsa.... Think of light bright and unprocessed foods, especially fruits.
Forget parking at the beach. Beach folks walk, rollerskate, skateboard, and bike. This is how they stay fit. New Yorkers walk to avoid cab costs and subways but beach folk walk to socialize and take in the sea air.
Cafe living is big among the beachies. They like sitting outside in the morning and having breakfast while people come and go. Set up your patio for a relaxing morning. Grab some yogurt and fruit, nuts and honey. Make some awesome iced coffee and keep it in the fridge. Treat yourself to a meal outdoors and you find you take your time eating, thinking, centering yourself. Beach people go "indoors" in their head and "outdoors" in their bodies.
And....
Look around for what you want to utilize. If you have a lot of shells consider gluing them to a mirror frame. If you have an expanse of floor under your coffee table and sofa, unroll a grass mat. Be so subtle as to attach a shell to your ceiling fan cord or take some and drill a hole in them, run jute cord through them and tie a jingle jangle of them from your front doorknob so when the door opens, it jangles.
Be creative and live at the beach in your soul and in your home!
Comments
Post a Comment