Considering the unbeatable natural beauty of the seaside, it’s no wonder that many of us seek to replicate this aesthetic inside our homes, whether we live by the coast or not.

Not to be mistaken for a nautical theme – which features blues of all shades heavily in its design, in addition to ‘under the sea’ focused artwork and ornaments – coastal interior design aims to replicate the feeling of the seaside, with light bright spaces, beachy tones and accents denoting the sea.

With this in mind, here are six design rules to follow to create the perfect coastal inspired interior.

Use mostly light, white and neutral colours.

The coast is one of the lightest, brightest places you can visit, as the sun appears unobstructed over the sea and highlights the neutral, muted tones of the beach – and any nearby beach huts.

As such, your coastal-inspired space should seek to maximise the natural light that enters the room by opting for a largely white, light coloured palette.

Features in light grey, reminiscent of the rocks you find on the coast, and light brown for a sandy, beachy vibe, can be great additions to reflect the natural tones of the seaside inside your home.

… with accents of sea blues and green

While the majority of your coastal-inspired interior should echo the lighter, more neutral tones of the seaside, of course a few splashes of green and blue are necessary to bring hints of the ocean indoors.

Consider adding some blue features, such as cushions, upholstery, kitchenware or ornaments – just enough to ensure your space feels like an extension of the beach, without overloading the space with blue and heading into nautical design territory.

Use natural textures and materials.

The whole point of executing a coastal aesthetic in your home is to bring the beauty of nature – and the natural, relaxed atmosphere of the beach – indoors.

With this in mind, making the most of natural materials is a must for creating a coastal-inspired home, using light wood furniture and features made from wicker, rattan or even terracotta – if you want to instill a hint of the Mediterranean – to help your home feel like an extension of the seaside.

Up-cycle your furniture.

Rather than splashing out on all new furniture and features to create your perfect coastal inspired home, a better way to imbue your space with the atmosphere of the beach is to up-cycle the things you already have.

This could include taking darker furniture or ornaments and repainting them white – maybe even with an imperfect whitewash effect – to reflect the imperfectly perfect painted beach huts, or sanding and varnishing painted furniture to achieve a picnic-table-by-the-beach effect, with a natural shabby-chic finish.

Since the sea is the biggest victim of our consumerist society, and the resulting rubbish we throw out when we don’t necessarily need to, it’s only right that when taking inspiration from the sea, we give a little back.

So, instead of buying all-new furniture to create your dream coastal home aesthetic, do what you can to use the things you already have (or, donate/sell the things you own and purchase coastal-inspired fixtures secondhand) and feel good in the knowledge that you have taken a more ethical & sustainable approach to the aesthetic of your new home.

Let your fabrics be inspired by beachwear.

In order to add some little comforts into your coastal inspired space – while staying true to the beach theme of your home – think “beachwear and beach towels” when choosing any fabrics you use to embellish your home, including blankets, curtains and upholstery.

So, weightless linens, picnic blankets as throws for the sofa and beach-coloured blankets for the bed are incredible additions to make your home feel a little more comfortable while adhering to your coastal theme.

Use art to echo the image of the sea in your home.

One way to really bring the feeling of the coast into your home is to hang artwork that hints at scenes of the ocean.

Of course, you could hang some gorgeous real-life seaside scenes on your walls in the form of canvas photography, but the point of creating a coastal-inspired space is to make your home feel like a seaside scene in itself.

So, better than photographs are abstract artworks that take inspiration from the colours and textures of the coast to subtly – yet more effectively – add to the coastal atmosphere of your home.