The Coastal/Nautical style is a wonderful way to welcome
beach themed pieces with a light and breezy sense of the
shore into your home. These styles bring back cherished
childhood memories of those relaxed summer days filled with
fun on the beach. Imagine coming home every day to the
natural beauty of the beach. You can recreate that tranquil
getaway in your home by incorporating various pieces of
furniture and accessories.

Decorating in the coastal/nautical style is not difficult.
Since they overlap due to the emphasis on the beach and its
beautiful elements, we will give you a guide on the proper
furniture and accessories typically used for both.

Furniture: It’s not absolutely critical that the furniture
match, but it would be best if the family room has several
pieces that are comfortable, overstuffed, and upholstered in
easy to clean sport fabrics. Striped slipcovers are a great
way to capture this style. Its an added bonus to use
slipcovers because you can change them to a different
coastal/nautical pattern whenever you like. This keeps
things fresh, exciting, and interesting.

For wood pieces, consider those painted in pale, milky
colors. You can also paint some pieces in a white, light
green, or light blue color by using chippy paint. Chippy
paint gives the furniture a weathered/distressed look and
you can add whimsical beach themed designs on the pieces.
Another super idea is to add, for instance, seagull knobs
that come in antique brass, antique copper, pewter, black
nickel, or bright nickel to furniture. Its definitely a
neat way to incorporate your own touches.

When trying to decide on bed and nightstands, consider
choosing wicker or painted wood seaside style pieces for
added drama.

Wall Color: One of the most important things to consider
when decorating your home in the coastal/nautical style is
the wall color. Color can make a dramatic difference in
bringing together the elements of your desired style. You
may use cool and soothing colors like white, light yellow,
and light blue on the walls, or you may use a simple beach
themed stencil, or wall borders/murals with a
coastal/nautical theme. For a New England look, you can
include wainscoting halfway up the walls.

Lighting: Lighting is a principle element for
coastal/nautical decorating. You have so many exciting
choices and can pick from table or floor lamps that feature
sailboats, starfish, seashells, seagulls, cranes, egrets,
bird cages, pelicans, flip flops, anchors, lifeguard chairs,
shorebirds, bamboo, deckchairs, a lighthouses, coral reefs,
sea urchins, brass combined with a glass shade, round cage
bulkhead lights, and more. You can also install an overhead
ceiling fan in a white finish with a brass anchor fan pull
or nautical themed pendant lantern type lights. By
including theme based lighting, you are sure to make a
statement.

Accessories: There are many ways to accessorize. You can
display large starfish on white shelves, along with glass
bowls or vases filled with sea shells and beach sand to
create drama to your coastal/nautical style. Other fabulous
must haves include lobster trap markers and fish nets, blue
crab figurines or wall plaques, an antique hand finished
wood, rope and metal sandpiper on stand, crane bookends,
weathered wood seagull figures, wooden ship wheels, picture
frames with a sea shell border, sea shell mirrors, mirrors
shaped like port holes, and stained glass that contains
images of a lighthouse.

To help complete the feeling of being at sea, you may also
display sea themed items, such as ship replicas, old brass
spyglasses, vintage sextants, a nautical knots shadow box,
worn lanterns, and lighthouse sculptures. Another great
decorative touch is by hanging an oar or fishing pole on the
wall. These are never fading decorative accessories that
are safe bets because they dont go out of style.
To soften the look a bit and accentuate furniture pieces,
add decorative pillows with seashore designs or in solid
blue and white colors.

Flooring: You can bring warmth and add to the design theme
by including area rugs throughout the home. Wonderful
choices to consider are sisal mats, short pile rugs, or
stenciled floor mats that come in a tan or blue color.
Other examples of rugs for this style include a beautiful
coastal scene featuring a blue heron with a striking black
border or a rug design with a parade of sandpipers circling
the coastal border. If you can afford hardwood, a light
stained wood goes perfectly with area rugs.

Art: Wall art is an amazing way to highlight your
coastal/nautical theme. You can put black and white beach
and ocean scene prints in light frames, as well as boats
prints. To enhance this style, you can even apply
watercolors of the seaside or floral prints onto chippy
white frames. Other excellent choices include prints of
ships at sea, lighthouses, seashells, starfish, birds,
harbor scenes, and coastal scenes. You may also prefer to
add a Trompe loiel of a port hole for the wall or hang a
lovely tapestry with romantic ocean panorama.

Window Treatments: The ideal window treatments consist of
drapes or curtains that are light and airy with designs of
sailboats, lighthouses, seashells, and navy blue and white
stripes for that ocean feel. Fabrics include lace, cotton,
and even canvas. You may also consider bamboo shades or
roman shades.

Giorgina Devereaux is the creator of AskGiorgina.com, which features questions, answers, and ideas on home decor and furniture. For more information, please visit http://www.AskGiorgina.com