10 Ways to Create a Modern Coastal Mood in Your Hallway
Capture the spirit of the seaside in your hallway with pale colours and natural wood
Lara Sargent
16 May 2015
Houzz UK contributor. Freelance interiors journalist with over 20 years' experience writing for national magazines, newspapers and websites.
Houzz UK contributor. Freelance interiors journalist with over 20 years' experience... More
Just as with our wardrobes, there’s something enduring about coastal style for the home – it’s hard not to feel a spring in your step whether you or your interior are sporting this fresh, jaunty style. Even if you live in the heart of an urban sprawl, a modern coastal vibe is so easy and appealing to live with. So start as you mean to go on and refresh your entrance with a modern nautical air. Forget lighthouse and seagull motifs and go for a feel-good palette of weathered hues, natural timbers and crisp stripes.
Say yes to stripes
Blue and white stripes sum up the coastal vibe in seconds. And while this home might be in the middle of the capital, it still manages to exude an airy, laid-back feel reminiscent of holidays at the beach. Stick to pure white walls with contrasting rich timber floorboards and dream of days at the coast.
Browse more uplifting stair runners to brighten your space
Blue and white stripes sum up the coastal vibe in seconds. And while this home might be in the middle of the capital, it still manages to exude an airy, laid-back feel reminiscent of holidays at the beach. Stick to pure white walls with contrasting rich timber floorboards and dream of days at the coast.
Browse more uplifting stair runners to brighten your space
Clad with white timber
Whitewashed tongue and groove is a classic wall treatment if you want a simple take on the coastal look.
But what makes the seaside vibe extra appealing is that nothing needs to be too perfect or pristine. So if the white paintwork is getting a little shabby, leave it, for a beautifully lived-in look that will only get better with age.
Mix with weathered timbers, vintage linen cushions and old pieces of furniture for effortless living at its best.
Whitewashed tongue and groove is a classic wall treatment if you want a simple take on the coastal look.
But what makes the seaside vibe extra appealing is that nothing needs to be too perfect or pristine. So if the white paintwork is getting a little shabby, leave it, for a beautifully lived-in look that will only get better with age.
Mix with weathered timbers, vintage linen cushions and old pieces of furniture for effortless living at its best.
Style with driftwood
Piles of artfully placed driftwood are a dead giveaway here. Add in the porthole-studded door and stripy cushions and, instantly, this is a home full of beachside love.
Collecting piles of knobbly, velvet-smooth driftwood and stacking them in baskets and crates is a simple decorating strategy that anyone can pull off, whether you live by the coast or in town. You could even try your hand at embellishing a plain framed mirror with silvery driftwood sticks to create your own maritime masterpiece.
Piles of artfully placed driftwood are a dead giveaway here. Add in the porthole-studded door and stripy cushions and, instantly, this is a home full of beachside love.
Collecting piles of knobbly, velvet-smooth driftwood and stacking them in baskets and crates is a simple decorating strategy that anyone can pull off, whether you live by the coast or in town. You could even try your hand at embellishing a plain framed mirror with silvery driftwood sticks to create your own maritime masterpiece.
Be bold with blues
Coastal hallways don’t necessarily need to be packed with all the obvious motifs and prints to convey a sense of the seaside.
This bold, geometric wallpaper, for instance, manages to inject a sense of contemporary coastal style, albeit in an abstract manner. Whitewashed floorboards boost the effect, and allow the blue and white print to engulf every visitor who steps through the (very beautiful) stained-glass front door.
Coastal hallways don’t necessarily need to be packed with all the obvious motifs and prints to convey a sense of the seaside.
This bold, geometric wallpaper, for instance, manages to inject a sense of contemporary coastal style, albeit in an abstract manner. Whitewashed floorboards boost the effect, and allow the blue and white print to engulf every visitor who steps through the (very beautiful) stained-glass front door.
Mix classic ingredients
This large and inviting hallway has several elements of the coastal look: navy and white stripes, a dash of red and a peppering of wicker.
Paint the walls in a delicate watery blue, display a model boat and that’s nautical chic done, but not at all overdone.
This large and inviting hallway has several elements of the coastal look: navy and white stripes, a dash of red and a peppering of wicker.
Paint the walls in a delicate watery blue, display a model boat and that’s nautical chic done, but not at all overdone.
Celebrate simplicity
The hallway is the first room most people see and it sets the tone for the rest of the house. This light and airy entrance certainly offers the perfect clue as to what’s on offer in this West Sussex coastal property.
With just a few considered rustic pieces, a half-wall run of tongue-and-groove panelling and a weathered tin pendant light, this space demonstrates with great clarity that whites can be as powerful as any bold colour when it comes to coastal styling.
The hallway is the first room most people see and it sets the tone for the rest of the house. This light and airy entrance certainly offers the perfect clue as to what’s on offer in this West Sussex coastal property.
With just a few considered rustic pieces, a half-wall run of tongue-and-groove panelling and a weathered tin pendant light, this space demonstrates with great clarity that whites can be as powerful as any bold colour when it comes to coastal styling.
Pull in natural light
The coast is all about big skies and dazzling light, so open up your entrance with as many windows and glass panels as possible to let the natural light flood in.
If opening up you hallway roof isn’t an option – and for most of us it isn’t – consider adding glass to your front door and cleverly positioning mirrors to bounce light around. An all-white decorating scheme will add to the sunny, coastal mood.
Let this all-white Scottish house inspire ideas for maxing light in your home
The coast is all about big skies and dazzling light, so open up your entrance with as many windows and glass panels as possible to let the natural light flood in.
If opening up you hallway roof isn’t an option – and for most of us it isn’t – consider adding glass to your front door and cleverly positioning mirrors to bounce light around. An all-white decorating scheme will add to the sunny, coastal mood.
Let this all-white Scottish house inspire ideas for maxing light in your home
Smarten up
If the relaxed, lived-in style isn’t for you, coastal can always take a more sophisticated air.
This crisp and super-smart hallway offers a neatly panelled space enhanced by the wraparound ‘whiteness’ and tall mirrors. A pencil-stripe rug and white chest hint that this is coastal, but it’s conveyed in the cleanest, coolest sense of the word.
If the relaxed, lived-in style isn’t for you, coastal can always take a more sophisticated air.
This crisp and super-smart hallway offers a neatly panelled space enhanced by the wraparound ‘whiteness’ and tall mirrors. A pencil-stripe rug and white chest hint that this is coastal, but it’s conveyed in the cleanest, coolest sense of the word.
Make your own
It’s amazing what you can do with a few pieces of driftwood and a sprinkling of seashells. These tactile pieces of wood have a naturally weathered surface perfect for decorating with an array of beautiful shells.
Next time you’re at the shore, turn beachcomber and collect pieces to make your own artwork. It will be a lovely holiday memory as well as creating a coastal vibe.
Be inspired by more DIY projects
It’s amazing what you can do with a few pieces of driftwood and a sprinkling of seashells. These tactile pieces of wood have a naturally weathered surface perfect for decorating with an array of beautiful shells.
Next time you’re at the shore, turn beachcomber and collect pieces to make your own artwork. It will be a lovely holiday memory as well as creating a coastal vibe.
Be inspired by more DIY projects
Nod to the nautical
There’s no mistaking the nautical flavour going on in this home.
Yet despite the blatant anchor motifs, the chunky blue and white stripes and the porthole mirror, the look is stylish and unfussy, and bound to raise a smile on every visitor’s face.
TELL US…
Are you drawn to coastal style – and have you embraced it in your home? Please share your ideas and photos in the Comments below.
There’s no mistaking the nautical flavour going on in this home.
Yet despite the blatant anchor motifs, the chunky blue and white stripes and the porthole mirror, the look is stylish and unfussy, and bound to raise a smile on every visitor’s face.
TELL US…
Are you drawn to coastal style – and have you embraced it in your home? Please share your ideas and photos in the Comments below.
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Love the coastal theme too Lara, would love your on our best hallway makeovers and some with a coastal theme
Love the coastal theme here. Each room has a minimal feel which has been dressed up with subtle features of rustic elements, colours and textures which give that modern coastal mood.
Bert & Buoy
http://bertandbuoy.com
But white stripes on a stair carpet? Not in our house thank you!