May 20, 2011

Completely coastal style.

With summer coming, it's hard not to think of warm breezes, vacations on sandy beaches, and cool colors to relax you. To me, that means coastal style. Can you transform a farmhouse into a summery coastal cottage? You bet. Even the kitchen can be transformed with elements of coastal living.







Add a sisal rug to your largest room to inspire sandy shores and a casual feel.  Here, a casual living room was dressed with a sisal rug, blue draperies and pillows and selected accessories to transform it from country to coastal.  Don't overdo the beach theme...select colors and textures in window coverings and fabrics to feature the style, and add accessories to complete but not overwhelm.





Paint and accessories create a coastal feel in this bedroom.  It's all about using blues and greens in lieu of the pink and purple that made it cute and frilly. Keeping the walls white makes it easy to change the style and the decor.














Dressing the bathroom in coastal style is about natural woven shades, some wicker storage and swapping out colorful towels for white and sand. Few accessories are needed but make them practical to store soaps, cotton swabs and the like.  For a long-term style change, these cabinets were re-done in ivory in lieu of the dark oak. Contrasting hardware - does NOT need to match the faucet color - adds a nautical feel.






A different coastal feel is attained with coral and blue in this single room apartment.  Adding a great wall mirror and stools in the kitchen, and pillows and a re-painted table to the living room, completes the transformation.