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Get a Relaxed, Breezy, Light Decor In Your Home

Here is how you can have that beach style home in the city

Rukmini Ray Kadam
Rukmini Ray Kadam5 May 2017
Houzz India Contributor, Home Decor Feature writer with Huffington post India, Decor stories at Deccan Herald, Realty section & Founder of Trumatter- a design and decor blog which won 3 prestigious awards panning 2014 to 2016. When not dabbling with decor I work with a few brilliant people in a leading Food Tech organization, nurture my enthusiasm for good photographs and sing for an alternative band.
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What if I told you that you could very well be sitting in your apartment in Mumbai and feel like you’re in a beautiful beach resort? How would you like to come home to a serene space that invites you to put your feet up and relax as a beach cottage would? If you are a tiny bit curious now, as to what sorcery could lead on to this, let me tell you it’s no magic. It is the power of home decor.

So what is beach house style? To sum it up, it’s a light and breezy decor style that draws its palette from the sea, sand, shells and the sky. It doesn’t matter how far the shore line is from your home, it is a style you can achieve even if you live in an apartment right in the heart of a city. Here is how.
Chango
Colours
Take cue from the sea. Cerulean blue, sapphire, navy, white, sea foam, beige, putty – they all usher in the sun, sand and sea into your home. To give your space a beachy update, think of changing the upholstery and giving your walls a different treatment.

We love the shiplap walls in this dining room because it adds the needed punch to the already nautical colour palette. If you cannot shiplap your existing walls, how about a wallpaper that mimics the design?

How to Use Colour in Your Living Room
Stress on simple vignettes
Typical characteristics of this decor are the moody, relaxed vignettes, with finds from the beach. Throw in a few star fish here and there, with a sailor’s lantern and a few glass floats, and voila! Remember, the key is careful carelessness.
Carolyn Thayer interiors
Freedom furniture
Another essential element that defines a beach style home is casual furniture and upholstery. Do away with the embroidered, the velvet and the mahogany, and get in washable slipcovers, driftwood tables and comfortable wicker chairs. If you have wooden furniture that you just cannot wish away, try giving it a coat of white paint and change the upholstery to French linen or canvas.
Trumatter
Quick DIYs
Beach style is quintessentially inexpensive.Try and tie a few driftwood pieces with white rope and hang them from your curtain rod. You could also use up your blue and green paint swatches to create an Ombre wall art. Just stick them on a mounted canvas cloth.

Here is another one – grab a scented candle, take out your driftwood and add a vintage silver accessory. So perfect for your coffee table.
Trumatter
Allow lots of natural light
One crucial element of the beach style decor is abundance of natural light. Crammed, dull and light-less is not how a beach is, so take cues from the openness of it all. This is also why white is chosen as the primary colour in coastal decor. It amplifies light and makes your space look larger.

If there is a rule to follow for creating a coastal style or a beach style, it would be to create a space that blurs the line between indoors and outdoors. Lots of light helps you get the outdoors in.

Design Workshop: How to Borrow Light from Outside
Trumatter
Crisp fabric with minimal prints
For fabric patterns, choose crisp, clean linen or cotton in solids, stripes or sea inspired prints. If you are choosing sea prints make sure the colours are not too loud. You could incorporate a bit of local-inspired elements in your beach style decor too.

In my beach-themed apartment, I punctuated whites with pops of colours, specially muted tones and used Suzani, Ikat and Shibori to add a bit of local ethnic detail to this otherwise international style.
Savannah Construction
Use natural fibres
Sea grass, wicker, straw, jute, coir – they all bring in natural warmth to the interiors. From storage bins to rugs, roman shades, rugs and runners, a few touches of these natural fibres effortlessly bring in the tropics to your spaces.
JNMRustic Designs
Say yes to layers
When it comes to a beach style decor, the key word is comfort. Create cozy beds and day beds by layering your bed with linen quilts, slip-covered pillows, ruffled cushions and soft shawls in neutrals. For windows, try sheers that dreamily billow in the breeze, and pair it with thicker drapes.

For accent colours, take cue from the sea and the beach. Neutral, weathered browns, driftwood ash, grey, navy, cerulean, sky and a whole lot of white makes your space reminiscent of the sea, as well as instill the happy beach vibes.




Read more:
How to Embrace Industrial Decor
Design Musts for an Urban Indian Apartment

Tell us:
What tips would you suggest to get that beach house look in a city apartment? Write in the Comment box.
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