Coastal Style from Hunter Douglas

What is Coastal Style?

In the simplest sense, coastal style is an aesthetic that captures a carefree feeling-like an afternoon spent at the beach. Imagine waves lapping on hot sand as kids laugh and splash in the distance; a cool ocean breeze flipping up the ends of your hair as the sun kisses your face. If you could bottle that moment-that easygoing feeling-and transform it into an interior design style, you would have coastal style. To recreate that beachy feel at home, coastal style uses abundant natural light, a soft color palette inspired by the beach, and natural elements like wicker, rattan, and weathered woods. Overall, coastal design has a down-to-earth, lived-in feel, but that casual vibe is balanced with a clean aesthetic and intentional design that reads put-together but not matchy-matchy.

Coastal Style vs. Nautical Style

Quite often when talking about coastal style other descriptors get brought up like maritime, oceanic, or nautical. And while they all refer to aesthetics that draw inspiration from in or around the ocean, their interpretations into interior design are quite different. This is especially true for coastal style and nautical style, which differ in several key ways.

• Beach vs. Boat: The easiest way to tell coastal style from nautical style is to ask yourself if you feel like you’re in a beach house or on a boat. Coastal style will feel like a high-end beach house while nautical style will have inspiration that is clearly drawn from boats like anchor accents or naval striping.
• Color Palette: Both coastal and nautical styles use white as a primary color. However, nautical style will compliment white with the use of bold navy blues and cherry reds while coastal style’s coordinating colors will be other neutral tones or demure shades of earth colors like sea green or Caribbean blue.
• Accent Pieces: Coastal design has an almost minimalistic vibe with accents that are inspired by beach living but aren’t necessarily exact replicas of coastal elements. For example, we might see a beautiful sea-green, glass vase used as a decorative accent in coastal design. On the other hand, nautical design has a much more literal interpretation of marine motifs that has a kitschier feel like anchors used as accents pieces or the abundant use of real seashells.

Window Treatments with Coastal Style

Since the use of abundant natural light is a key element in coastal style, window treatments play an important role in bringing the aesthetic to life. Coastal style should feel light, open, and airy which means no heavy fabrics or oversized window treatments. Beachy window treatments that work best for coastal design are those that blur the boundary between the indoors and out like shutters and sheer shades.

• Shutters (Palm Beach™ Polysatin™ Shutters): Interior shutters have clean lines and an open construction that work wonderfully in coastal style. Choose light colors for beachy shutters such as shades of white or natural wood tones like ash.
• Sheer Curtains (Design Studio™ Drapery): Sheers are a popular textile for coastal design because their diaphanous nature allows abundant natural light. Sheer curtains should be floor-length but not pooling to match the put-together aesthetic of coastal style.
• Sheer Shadings (Silhouette® Window Shadings): Modern styles of sheer shadings combine the clean linear look of plantation shutters with translucent sheer materials for beachy window treatments that are soft yet protective.

Talk with the design experts at Abbey Carpet of Maui about bringing coastal style into your home with new beachy window treatments by requesting a consultation today. Abbey Carpet of Maui is located near Kahului, Hawaii, and serves the communities of Kihei, Lahaina, Pukalani, Wailuku, Wailea, and Kahului, HI.