We all love a trip to the seaside, whether this means a day trip east, west or south to one of the coastal resorts not far from London or whether you cross the Channel and head over to the south coast of France. Beach cottage style – one of the main offshoots of shabby chic style – is a way to bring the relaxed vibe of the seaside and seaside holidays into your everyday life. And, unlike a real rough-and-ready beach cottage where roughing it a little is part of the fun, you still get to keep all your everyday creature comforts, like dishwashers.
So how do you pull off the beach cottage look if this style presses your buttons?
The Basics
If you are in a position to start from scratch and do the beach cottage thing 100%, then the basics – the materials, design and structure of your home. Ideally, a beach cottage should have lots of wood panelling and a wooden floor, and plenty of windows to let in the seaside air and summer sunshine (or at least hint at the possibility of doing so, even if you live in the middle of Golders Green or Clapton and it’s the middle of winter). This isn’t practical for those of us who are renting or who are limited by existing mortgages, so you’ll have to work with what you’ve got.
If you can’t do natural wooden floors and wood panelling on the walls, then the best way to introduce beach cottage style to your interior is to look at the colour. Think white – the white of sea foam, shells, vanilla ice cream, cirrus clouds and the Dover cliffs. Most landlords are OK with white interiors, and you may be lucky enough to have white of some sort on the walls when you first move in, as white is a great neutral colour that works equally well with a range of décor styles, be it shabby chic, Scandi, retro or minimalist. Landlords may get a bit snippy about trying out the distressed finish on the walls or fixtures (e.g. doors and windowsills), so you might have to hold back here and save this shabby chic, classic finish for your furniture. However, if you own the place, then go for it!
Of course, having just white everywhere, even the distressed and faded off-whites of beach cottage style, would drive anybody bonkers, especially if you have children or pets in the home. That would be a cleaning nightmare, and you’d probably have to hire a maid to come in daily. Fortunately, white isn’t the only basic colour you can play with if you want to create a beach cottage style. You can pick the tans and light browns of sand, natural hemp rope, driftwood and jute at the warmer end of the spectrum. At the cooler end, you’ve got all those gorgeous seaside blues to play around with – from delicate sky blue and robins’ egg blue through turquoise and eau-de-nil through to classic navy (although navy is a very strong colour, and it may be best to keep it off the walls except in the form of a feature wall opposite a south-facing window or the bathroom and/or toilet).
Carpets aren’t part of beach cottage style, but you have to admit that it’s nice to have something soft underfoot, especially in the middle of winter or if you’ve got small children at the crawling stage or who like to play on the floor. Rugs and mats are your friends here, particularly jute, sisal, and other natural materials. Admittedly, jute and sisal are a nightmare to clean, especially if you spill drinks on them or if the cat has a little accident (those natural materials are super-absorbent), so perhaps you can compromise by looking for rugs and mats that are easier to clean and are in nice natural colours.
The Details
Once you’ve done what you can in the way of your basic colour and permanent décor (paint, flooring material, etc.), it’s time to look at the details you can add to give your home the beach cottage vibe.
The first thing to consider is the big items of furniture: tables, beds, couches and the like. The classic style of furniture for beach cottage chic is wickerwork and basketwork, closely followed by natural wood, either with a light stain to bring out the natural tones of the wood or with the classic distressed look applied to white, cream or light blue. Of course, nobody wants to sit on straight wickerwork unless you want your bum and legs to semi-permanently have weird red marks that get you funny looks at the office, so ensure that you’ve got good cushions and upholstery on your chairs and couches. Pinterest seems to be packed with photos that show pretty white upholstery, but even if you don’t have pets or children, a white couch is practically asking for trouble in the form of stains. If you’re handy with a sewing machine, you could whip down to your nearest Hobbycraft or other fabric supplies store (or comb through a thrift shop for suitable finds) and make your throws or slipcovers in fabric with a print that suits the beach cottage look. The rest of us can see what we can do with throws to cover up white cushions.
And a nice big old chest or trunk makes a great coffee table and (a) adds instant nautical style and (b) provides a bit of extra storage!
Once you’ve got the big items of furniture sorted, it’s time to go for the little accents that create the beach-cum-nautical look. Of course, when choosing accents and decorative details, you need to remember two important rules: (1) only pick things that you love and follow your heart, (2) make sure that whatever it is can fit in your home without making it cluttered. However, here are a few hints about accents that give your home the beach cottage feel:
- Driftwood, shells and similar found objects: If you love the beach, you’ve probably enjoyed strolling along the seashore and spotting items that catch your fancy strewn by the sea across the high tide line. The easiest way to pick these up is (obviously!) to take a trip to the seaside and go beachcombing. If you can’t, look out at your local park for interesting sticks that have come down with the wind and spray-paint them white or sky blue – then give them the distressed finish if you like. Shells can also be picked up at craft shops – or treat yourself to some shellfish from the seafood counter at your local supermarket and save the shells! Don’t forget feathers, dried sponges, and interesting smooth rocks fit into this category.
- Nautical accents: Think model yachts, pictures of yachts and sailing boats, anchors, or ropes of the sort that could be used to rig a sail, preferably with complicated knots in them. Bonus if you score some old scrimshaw in an antique shop!
- Fishing village vibe: Use an old fishing net hung on a wall to peg children’s artwork, bills to be paid, photos, etc. Photos, prints or other artwork of fishing boats at the quay will help create the beach cottage look, even on the fourth-floor block of flats.
- Shells: So many things come with shell motifs, including classic scallops through to nautilus. Soaps, prints on bed linen and towels, curtains, cushions… there’s a world of things to choose from!
- Marine life: From cute and cuddly seals to quirky seahorses, from edgy anglerfish to sleek seagulls, there are so many marine animals that you can use to add a seaside or nautical feel to your décor. Whether you add them as prints on the wall, decorator fabric on cushions and curtains, or as figurines.
- Old British Navy: Add antique or antique-look accents in the form of globes, maps and charts of the type that the explorers of the 1700s or the days of sail would have used.
- Seaside storybook elements: Great for kids’ rooms or for giving you the excuse to add an extra pop of colour in bright red or shell pink; add some whimsy that fits with the seaside vibe in the form of mermaid and pirate elements.
The beauty of beach cottage chic, as is the case with all shabby chic, is that the whole idea is to be relaxed and casual. So if you want to break the rules and add something that doesn’t include shells and sailing boats, but you love it, go ahead!