Beach House Interior Design Ideas

Up on the blog this week, it's all about the Beach House.  There’s something undeniably appealing about a beach house.  Light, airy, and blissfully beautiful.  I've been to many beach houses over the years, have rented them and stayed in the homes of friends along the East and West Coast.  Having grown up along the coast of NJ, I've also visited many homes at the various beaches just outside of Philadelphia.  They are all beautiful in their own right, but one thing I notice is that there are a few specific elements that most have in common.  Blues and whites, shells, sometimes nautical inspired.  I've been working on a concept for a personal project and I found myself drawn to a specific "beach" aesthetic.  It's tropical but also California surf inspired. It got me thinking about what the interior of my beach house would look like.  What would yours look like?  Or what DOES it look like?  Here are some common interior design elements of the beach house to inspire us all to escape to a happy place.

Open and Airy

Beachy interior design almost needs an open floor plan to create that breezy and airy atmosphere we love so much. The open concept ensures that one room seamlessly flows into another.  Also, minimal décor can bring larger open spaces together with a cohesive look. Often overlooked spaces like a hallway or a reading nook can feel exceptional after the addition of one or two accent pieces that help it flow into other rooms.

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This beach house offers some fabulous features, including a palette of sand, sky and sea.  The palette instantly captures a relaxing vibe synonymous with an ocean getaway. Natural is the key with crisp white, light taupe and splashes of serene blues at a minimum.

Blur Lines between Indoor and Outdoor

At the beach, access to the open air is a vital design element, directly influencing one's overall experience of it's serenity.  Home owners and vacation renters don’t just want to sit outside, but want to entertain, dine and relax. 

This is a stunning beach house designed by Brandon Architects, located in Corona Del Mar Village, a seaside area of Newport Beach, California.  Walls of glass disappear in the living room, merging with outdoor spaces — ideal for entertaining. The spacious outdoor patio offers the quintessential California indoor and outdoor lifestyle.  

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Natural Textures

Going to the beach is a multi-sensory experience. Not only can you see the extraordinary beauty of the seaside, but you can also feel the sand through your toes and hear waves crashing on the shore. Continue the journey of the senses with naturally inspired finishes.  Rough and raw captures the essence of this beach home interior design’s natural elements.  The rattan pendant light paired with the jute area rug and the 

Florals and Botanicals

Botanical interior design elements have a way of whisking one away to paradise. Whether it's a pair of tropical curtains, or bedding blanketed in palm leaves, using florals and botanicals helps to seclude you in your own private getaway.  Whether you're a sucker for Hawaiian decor or an admirer of island decor, it becomes easy to cultivate the beachy refreshing style.

In this children’s bedroom, the atmosphere is a mix of beachy and modern. A hanging rattan chair from Serena & Lily adds a playful vibe. The earthy wallcovering adds to the overall atmosphere. 

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Neutral Color Palette

A soothing, neutral color palette offers a relaxed atmosphere.  An interior filled with chic, bright, and airy whites is at once elegant, cooling, and soothing after a day out in the hot sun at the beach. When you think of a beach in the early morning mist, you may envision foggy grays above and an endless carpet of sandy tans beneath your feet. The neutral color palette brings back the scene of early morning walks on the beach, just when the sun is about to rise.  This bedroom evokes just that feeling.  Hovering from above, a Couleur Locale Palm Lampshade.

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Accent Colors

Neutrals form the basis of most beach and coastal style homes, but the difference comes in the accent and highlights colors. Coastal interior design highlights the lively and laid back aspects of a sophisticated beachy resort. That’s why these homes will have vibrant pops of yellow, coral and turquoise.

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Hamptons, on the other hand, explore dark accents as navy and stone add elegance to the stately style.

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Casual and Chill Vibe

Casual interior design involves simple details, textured elements in fabrics and accessories, restful horizontal lines, soft upholstery, low-luster surfaces, and arrangements that avoid perfect symmetry.  Lazy summers spent relaxing on a daybed on the porch is made even more comfortable with soft, touchable textures.

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Casual, curated, and quintessentially California style really shines through in this home.  It evokes a careless elegance, spaciousness and bright with freedom of expression. This is perfect for those who appreciate style and comfort without frills.

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Light Window Treatments

Window treatments can make or break a space.  Wispy white drapes that move with a soothing breeze is certainly an elegant sight. Increase your sensory experience with the sound of the wind catching the tulle window treatments. The effect can be relaxing, magical, and even blissful.

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The Outdoor Shower

Undoubtedly one of the perks of a beach house is the outdoor shower.  Yes, it's functional for washing off the sand before entering the home but it's also an amazing sensory experience.  Rinsing off under the sun or the stars in an open-air shower is one design element not to miss in a beach house. 

With wall hooks for towels and a place to lean up a surfboard, this is the ultimate place to rinse off after a day of riding the Malibu waves.

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Outside doesn't have to mean visible to every neighbor... and their neighbors. This outdoor shower stall in classic white  gives you all the privacy you need while still letting you shower under a bright blue sky. The outdoor setting also lends itself to the use of bigger, bolder hardware because the space is not limited.

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What I love most about interior design is that there are SO many niche styles within one design category. When I started this blog post, I found that a beach home's interior could be anything from seaside homey, island luxury, California surf cottage, Coastal Cottage, Modern Beach, east coast decor to nautical New England, Palm Beach chic, and so on and on. I wanted to get a taste for all of them to explore the possibilities and report back for all of you.  I have to say, right now my taste buds are craving Cali cool!    I hope that you enjoyed my beach house analysis.   May it inspire you to design or dream of your beach house interior.

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In addition to being a Philadelphia Residential Interior Designer,  I also design boutique hotels, fitness centers, office spaces, multi family development projects, other commercial spaces such as office and retail spaces, and the senior living community throughout the tri state area.  We work here in Philadelphia, the main line, and even Nationally!