top of page

Coastal Interior Design - Why this works?

Updated: Jun 22, 2023


Coadtal interior design styling for a contemporary coastal dining room

So, often you will see a space on Instagram or Pinterest and think; yes, this is what I want to replicate in my home, but for some reason it just doesn't come together the way you wanted.


In this post I am going to deconstruct the image and explain why it works;


A White Wall


You really can't go too wrong. Although if we want to get really picky, white walls have undertones and depending on whether those undertones are warm or cool, they can have an effect on the feel of a space. If you think of as a pure white as a cool colour (notice how a white room can feel cold?) and then think of black as a warm colour. A greyish white would then be a warmer white. To me, this white looks like a greyish white, which has a bit of warmth and is working well with the warm tones in the painting and wood.


Colour Palette


When you look at the artwork what colours stand out to you? For me, it is peach and aqua. Peach and aqua both have yellow undertones. If you look at the colour of the wood, it also has yellowish undertones. The artwork also features natural sandy tones and neutral bone and fawn tones which tie in nicely to the wood table and flooring.


Shapes


Notice the curve in the table is replicated in the curve of the abstracted coast in the painting. It is a minor detail, but often the best seemingly "simple" spaces feature these kind of subtle features.


Texture


Painting for me is very emotive and this comes through in my markings. The mix of brushstrokes and colour creates texture that creates interest. There is also texture in the dining room seats and in the green foilage on the table. Texture adds depth to a space, without it a room can leave you feeling flat (for lack of a better word!)


Competition


This contemporary coastal interior design is uncluttered. This space features the star attraction, which is the artwork, and a few well chosen "supporting" accent pieces. But there is nothing outlandish competing for the attention. This is a wonderful thing. Let the artwork carry the space.


The Frame


Firstly, I recommend always framing your artwork. I don't frame personally and don't benefit at all from this, other than I want my art to look AMAZING in your space and a well chosen frame really finishes off a piece and makes a space look more refined (I am always happy to offer suggestions for frame style specific to your space, so please get in touch). Here, I have gone for a white frame. The other obvious choice may have been a birch or Tasmanian Oak to tie in with the table but in this case I think that would have been too same same. The white offers a clean boarder, and if you look at the table it also features a white boarder. It is clean, contemporary, coastal and keeps the room feeling light and bright.


That's it! Let me know your thoughts on this article. Was it useful? Do you want to read more like this? Tell me about your space? What are your room challenges?


Comments


bottom of page