Simply beachy

Simplicity in coastal style

By Crispin Butterfield

There is something so serene, inviting, and unsullied about beachy-feeling interiors: bright, white-fresh with nubby textures, pops of rich and vibrant accent colours, watery glass infusions, woven sea grasses and chunky wooden accents.

If you never have the chance to live in a Malibu beachfront property, you can create a home where the eccentricities and inspiring elements of Coastal Living come to you.

Pearly Whites

• Some of the calmest and most inviting spaces have been designed around monochromatic colour schemes of linen, pearl, cream, tan, platinum, and white.
• When mixed together, and layered intelligently throughout a room, a monochromatic scheme can be exquisite and surreal to work with.
• The key point is to add texture in monochromatic spaces — the more the merrier — so spaces don't fall flat or become dull. And stick to either warm or cool tones; mixing the two creates too much contrast and you lose the effect that all successful tone-on-tone spaces have.

Tempting Turquoise

• Turquoise is one of my absolute favourite colours. I’m crazy in love with turquoise. When adding this delicious hue, you might add splashes with the following: eclectic stitching on white toss pillows, a loopy wool throw over the back of a sofa, oversize glass vases as center pieces a dining table, as accent colours in art cards on display.
• Weave this sensual shade into an otherwise safe colour scheme for ocean-inspired pop and flare.

Mirror Mirror

• Not just for this style, but in general, mirrors open any room by reflecting light and creating virtual airiness.
• Mirrors in unexpected areas give Coastal spaces a playful charm and I say use them to your full advantage.
• Group them in a collage for a unique focal piece, stand one up in a darker corner, place a pair above each night stand in your bedroom... if there's open wall space, you can find creative ways to integrate mirrors.

Grass, Glass, and Stone

• By using these natural elements, you just can't fail… and here's why: Mother Nature never gets it wrong. Bringing in combinations of these organic materials, you are completing your spaces with the depth and breadth found in your natural surroundings. Exotic grasses in tall floor vases fill up empty corners perfectly and add height in areas where furniture feels too 'low'.
• Beach glass jars, vases, bowls, and plates — you name it — group simple combinations of these on shelves or windowsills to catch the light and create shimmer.
• River rock, pebbles, shale, and slate are just a few examples of stone you can bring into your homes... you'd be surprised at what you can do with the simplest of materials.

Bring On The Bowls

• You might not think of it at first, but drilling holes through giant bamboo trays or wooden gourds, poking nails through woven baskets, or even gluing hooks to the backs of eclectic decorative bowls can help you to create  unique and out of the ordinary wall art.
• Just because they were designed to sit on a surface doesn't mean they won't look incredible hanging in a hallway or as a grouping featured over a mantle.
• Adding texture to your walls is just as important as adding it in your furniture and accent pieces for a truly well rounded and inviting space.

Everyone has their own tastes and style when it comes to design and home decor — the beauty lies in being able to dip from one to the next and blend certain elements for a look and feel that's all your own.

When in doubt this summer, Coastal Simplicity might just be the perfectly tranquil place to start.

Crispin Butterfield owns Urban Theory Interior Design in Kelowna, and has been designing soul-hugging residential and commercial spaces across Western Canada for the past 13 years.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.