Designers Break Down the Coastal Bedroom Aesthetic
We at House Beautiful are always trying to find ways to make it feel like we're on vacation, even from our LED-lit office space. If you're also trying to capture that escapist vibes year-round, then know that the right home decor is one of the best ways to bottle those warm-weather feelings. Our favorite design aesthetic to look to for inspiration as soon as the average temperature gets above 60 is the breezy coastal style—not to be confused with the more retro-inspired surf style. Natural light, earthy textures, blue and white color palettes…. What's not to love about this elevated, beachy vibe? While we'd love for our entire house to look like the set of a Nancy Meyers movie, we'd argue that one of the best places to embrace it is where you head to relax. We're talking coastal bedroom designs.
There are quite a few spinoffs of coastal design that you can explore if you want something a bit more rustic or refined. For instance, people who've really been enjoying Beyoncé's latest masterpiece, Cowboy Carterˆ—or who simply adore a neutral gingham print—may want to check out the coastal cowgirl design trend. For a bit more elegance to go with your wicker furniture, then California coastal might be your thing.
Whether you want a classic coastal look or one of its creative branches, you're going to find the bedroom inspiration you need below. Keep scrolling to see coastal bedroom designs that will make your room feel like summer all year long.
For more coastal decorating ideas:
Everything to Know About the "Coastal Grandmother" Design Trend
A Jersey Shore Retreat That's All Coastal Vibes—And No Clichés
Serena & Lily and Pacaso Decorated the Beach House of Our Dreams
Bring in Seashells
Nothing says "coastal" like seashells. The designers behind this one-of-a-kind canopy bed, mother-daughter duo Cindy Rinfret and Taylor Mattos of Rinfret, Ltd., made it for the Kips Bay Palm Beach Show House with the help of local artist Robin Grubman, who embellished the entire thing with hand-painted seashells. It looks fit for mermaid royalty.
Incorporate Earthy Textures
Limewash walls, woven textiles, opalescent details—if you want your bedroom to have a moodier color scheme with a coastal vibe, choose textures that feel natural. Of course, a classic coastal bedroom design leans more light and airy, but you can use those earthy elements to emulate the style, as Doniphan Moore did here.
Go With Tropical Colors
To lean more tropical coastal rather than California coastal, try a blue-and-green color scheme. In this bedroom, designer Alison Pickart and Katy Polsby, owner of the wallpaper and textiles company CW Stockwell, used green textiles and blue accents to craft a space that looks like it belongs in a luxurious hotel.
Lean on Yellows
Part of what we all love about the coast is the endless sunshine, and you can't capture midday sunlight without the color yellow. Pickart and Polsby wanted a crisp yellow-and-white color scheme in this bedroom, so they chose a sunny palm frond wallcovering to give it a pleasant brightness.
Go With a Playful Bed Frame
Designer Angie Hranowsky had this bed custom made to bring a fun, tropical energy into the bedroom of her clients' Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, bungalow. A playful choice like this makes the design intention of bringing the outside in clear.
Wing It
This playful wallcovering with repeating cranes brings in a bright coastal feeling. Ashley Gilbreath matched the colors in it to the ones in the bolster pillow on the bed, softening the transition from the walls to the otherwise neutral furniture choices.
Choose a Classic Stripe
The right kind of stripe adds an elevated, beachy touch to a room. Ashley Gilbreath decorated this bedroom in a more traditional style, bringing in coastal touches through the wallpaper, wall art, wicker basket, and soft color palette.
Go With a Deep Blue
Ashley Gilbreath wanted to nod to nautical decor in this bunk room with the deep blue paint color and brass hardware. And if those aren't enough, the precious boat drawing helps with the theme.
Lean Into Bohemian Style
Beautiful teal wainscoting paired with vibrant oranges in this coastal bedroom give it a fun bohemian aesthetic that's balanced by the greenery, artwork, and bright white walls, ceiling, and bedding. While design scheme by Claire Thomas is definitely for the free-spirited, it's still giving us cool beach-girl vibes.
Elevate the Space
Thanks to the mix of modern and vintage pieces and the abundance of deep hues, we're getting major California coastal energy from this bedroom. Dee Murphy wanted a "California beachy but elevated vibe" for this oceanside home, and she achieved it by using a fern print wallpaper in a rich blue, lighter wood for the canopy bed, a vintage gold picture frame, and a wicker table lamp.
Install Shiplap
We know shiplap is controversial, but the kind in this coastal bedroom is seriously reminiscent of driftwood and helps give the space a more rustic feeling. Dominique DeLaney cleverly gave the classic blue-and-white color scheme a twist by incorporating multiple textures, from the walls to the bed.
Add in Coral Motifs
At first glance, the mirror above this bed might resemble the sun, but upon closer inspection you can see it actually looks like coral. Sure, it could also look like gilded twigs, but in the context of this Florida home by Doniphan Moore, you can see the coastal vision.
Don't Shy Away From Dark Colors
Though there are standard beachy decorations in this bedroom, like the whale artwork visible in the mirror and the wooden lantern under the desk, the dark colors make it feel so relaxed. Relaxation and comfort is a huge part of coastal design, and Doniphan Moore
could easily argue that this moody color palette was meant to resemble the ocean at nighttime.
Use Surfboards as Decor
Bring a sportier take to coastal design by incorporating surfboards in your decor, as Doniphan Moore did here. Whether or not you actually surf doesn't really matter—it's all for the vibes, right?
Hang Minimal Decorations
This airy space by Erin Sander proves that you don't need a ton of decor in a coastal bedroom design. The layers of blues, whites, and tans do more than enough to capture the style, but the ceramic bells hanging from rope above the bed do add a nice touch.
Pick Nautical Light Fixtures
The copper ship lanterns in this bunk room have a traditional coastal flair. As designer Martha Mulholland explains, "It was just an attic bedroom with a steeply pitched roof when we first saw it, but it has an epic view of the lake across the treetops and felt like the perfect place to make a magical retreat for children." Together, the lanterns and shiplap walls really give it a boat-like feeling.
Choose Pale Accessories
For a bedroom that always feels clean and elegant, opt for light-colored accessories and decor. This very white bedroom by Moor, Baker & Associates pulls in color only through the pale blues and grays on the bed, making it look so airy.
Focus on the View
If you're lucky enough to have a gorgeous view of the beach, then don't distract from it in your bedroom. Instead, decorate with pieces and colors that enhance the image outside your window. For this dreamy Florida home, the team at Moor, Baker & Associates
opted for white walls and ceilings and a sitting area that faces out, reminding its occupants to appreciate their setting.
Pick Gold Accents
Bring in a touch of sunshine through gold accents and details. Yancey Shearouse, principal designer at Yancey Seibert Shearouse, mixed metallics into this blue-and-white coastal bedroom design, giving it some welcome warmth.
Grow Some Greenery
Adding greenery to your coastal bedroom can really enhance the outdoor, cabana-like feel of the space. This bedroom by Maggie Cruz opens up to the pool, so a calm interior that didn't compete with the landscaping was essential.
Reach for Pinks
Blue and white aren't the only colors to capture that coastal vibe—warm pinks and tans in the right patterns and with the right textures can still achieve the style. Maggie Cruz used a palm-leaf wallpaper and rattan bed frame in this relaxed beach bedroom.
Choose a Wicker Headboard
The right materials go a long way—like a wicker headboard paired with other coastal colors and patterns. Maggie Cruz's use of this unique piece adds a casual beachside touch to this elegant room.
Go With a Neutral Palette
A bit part of the beach vibe is the sand, so try a neutral color palette if you don't want to embrace blue. Maggie Cruz leaned on tans and browns and whites in this bedroom with a touch of blue in the pillows, and it looks so calming.
Make It Feel Like a Cabana
What says 'cabana' like a louvered door? In this gorgeous bedroom in Mexico by Studio McGee, such a simple swap adds quite a lot of personality and gives it a more coastal vibe without it feeling nautical in any way.
Give It a Ship Theme
Choose on-the-nose decorations for your coastal bedroom, and give it a clear nautical theme with fish-print bedding and sconces in the shape of pirate ships. For iconic designer Carleton Varney's final project, he redesigned a private residence at the Greenbrier Resort's Sporting Club, turning his clients' teenage son's room into this water-sport-themed retreat.
Find Inspiration in Your Surroundings
The bamboo motif wallpaper in this coastal bedroom was inspired by the stalks outside on this Hawaiian property. Breeze Giannasio paired the gray wallpaper with bright, locally sourced pillows and a blanket in a traditional Hawaiian pattern.
Keep Things Simple
If your vacation vibe is a busy one, then choose simple colors and light, natural fibers for your coastal bedroom design. Married design duo Matt and Barrie Benson worked closely with project manager Avery Castellow to make the interiors of this beachside home on North Carolina’s Figure Eight Island more relaxed since the occupants liked to stay busy during the day with waterfront activities. "Throughout the day, there are morning swims, paddleboard trips, fish caught off the dock, and boat rides," says Matt. "But afternoon naps and cocktail hour gatherings are all enhanced by the changing colors of the marsh."
Add Richly Hued Accents
The classic blue-and-white color scheme of coastal design can be enhanced with richer hues to give your space a bit more depth. Rather than lighter shades of blue, balance an all-white room with navy accents, as Taylor Yang did in this California home.
Make It Quirky
Give your room a little whimsy with wallpaper-covered ceilings, an interesting layout, and a fun paint job. Thom Filicia wanted this kids' room at his clients' lake house on Connecticut's Candlewood Lake to feel "a bit like you’re in a tree fort," he explains. "It's quirky and fun and feels like a space that the kids will remember when they grow up."
Focus on Freshwater Creatures
In the same Connecticut lake house, Thom Filicia added hand-carved fish nightstands to the guest room to play on the entire home's lake-life theme. They're a great way to keep up a lakeside aesthetic without adding distracting color to a room.
Select Simple Artwork
The whale and pirate ship illustrations on the wall do a great job immediately getting the coastal vision across. Jenny Wolf chose the artwork for this children's room for a nautical vibe, allowing the other decor to be rather simple and clean but still match the obvious blue-and-white color scheme.
Embrace Moroccan Influences
Mesh coastal and Moroccan design styles with seashell pendant lights, natural textures, light colors, and poufs. Jenny Wolf did a beautiful job of combining the two aesthetics in this bedroom in a Rhode Island home.
Add Prints in Unexpected Places
Go with an upholstered bed frame—ideally a canopy bed—to include an additional interesting coastal motif in a bedroom. Trish Becker covered this canopy bed in coral-themed Thibault print, giving the room an enhanced and unique coastal style.
Choose Natural Materials
Using natural materials like rattan is a foolproof way to work the coastal style in a bedroom. The rattan canopy bed in this room by Trish Becker could be the only furniture in the space, and any houseguest would immediately get the intended vibe.
Try an Animal Print
East Asian influences are evident in this coastal bedroom, with the geometric prints on the comforter and drapes and the tiger-print pillows. Vern Yip was born in Hong Kong, and he wanted his family's Rosemary Beach, Florida, vacation home to reflect "who we are as a family, multicultural and biracial, and our heritage, while also thinking about life at the beach," he explains.
Build With Boat-Themed Accents
The ladder in this bunk space serves two purposes: It's a functional way for guests to get to the top bed and a decoration that adds to the coastal theme. They're fun details by Vern Yip that help pull the space together.
Use Outdoor-Inspired Patterns
Stripes have a way of evoking visions of the beach thanks to their common appearance on awnings and in cabanas, and gingham immediately brings a picnic blanket to mind, so combining the patterns really brings the outside into this coastal room by Vern Yip.
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