Coastal Design

Coastal design can bring the feeling of summer home all year – even when you’re miles from a beach. The light and airy look creates a peaceful environment, perfect for both relaxation or comfortable productivity. Coastal design has been around for many years. While the trend evolves and changes slightly over time, for the most part it stays along the same idea. One color scheme many of us are familiar with is the typical blues and whites. But lately there has been many other color schemes coming into fashion!

One of these color schemes might be light greens and yellows. A great way to start with this is to use floral artwork prints. For an ocean feeling interior, you may want to bring in the colors on your upholstery and add pops of color to the throw pillows, such as palm leaves.

Painting your walls a light green or yellow can be a very relaxing and pleasant feeling. Might I suggest Sherwin Williams SW 6415, Hearts of Palms? For those who are going for a cottage theme because they live on the lake, may I suggest light green painted wood? Pair that with a beige linen sofa, colored throw pillows, some lakeside prints and you are on the right track!

Coral is another great option. Coral is well-paired with white, light blue or light green. A beautiful white or beige linen sofa will pop any coral used on the throw pillows nicely. Finding some actual artwork prints with coral on them would be a great way to incorporate the color throughout the room.

Complete the look with accessories. Taking a glass bowl or ceramic charger and filling it with sea shells you find on the beach is one inexpensive way to personalize the theme! For the all of the northerner’s out there, the same could be used with stones.

Remember to keep the windows light and airy; we do not want to distract from that beautiful view you are paying for! Plantation shutters, white painted wood blinds, or light linen shades might be the perfect solution for your windows.

Finally add the sail boat accessories, rope accessory balls, and a light summer floral for all the perfect finishing touches on your new coastal room!

How do you feel about coastal design – love or hate? Send in photos of your own designs!

Creating an Organic Feeling Environment

Organic, Natural, Environmentally friendly, these are all the buzz words we are hearing today. But what can you do to bring the organic look into your home? In the ideal world, a large open area with lots of windows would be a great way to bring in the organic look.

Now some of you may have this and some of you may not, so let’s start with the background color. This can make or break the overall feeling in the environment. Make your color scheme consistent with the colors of nature; beige, brown, white, light blues, light greens, stone, and grays. I recommend picking one of these colors for the paint on your walls. Possibly light beige, a color that might remind you of sand. Now, what to do with the rest of the room?

For a dining room, I recommend light colored or painted white woods. The area to pop the other “nature” colors might be on the seat fabrics. Bringing in light greens and blues mixed with white and browns are ideal to make the room pop. Try a beautiful oil painting of a water scene over a buffet or on an open wall. Keep the window treatments light and airy; possibly not use any at all! Soft linen drapes in a white might be a perfect solution, but do not use this color if it is the same color of your walls because a soft contrast is needed here. Repeat the soft colors used in the room through the dishes, glasses and/or vases. And most importantly, don’t forget the table centerpiece! Some soft greens foliage, a bowl with sea shells or stones, possibly even candles may work perfectly here.

As for the bedroom, I would recommend light colored wood, painted white wood, bamboo, or wheat board for the furniture. The bedding would be the perfect opportunity to bring in the beautiful blues and greens found in nature. Texture can also add to the feeling such as using linen or soft cottons. Wood, bamboo, or tile floors would look great in here with a sisal rug. Wall art should be simple with a skinny frame or even frameless, but don’t forget to make sure there is some color! Keep the lamps light, possibly with a glass base and a white shade without any details. Simple picture frames, greens, or candles would be the perfect finishing touch for the nightstands.

Finally for the living room, always look at the largest piece of furniture you will need. Typically this is the sofa and is a great start to building the atmosphere of your room. A beautiful crisp white sofa will bring a light organic feeling to an environment. Then placing colored pillows in blues, greens, beiges, stone or grays is a great start to bring in the colors of nature. For the coffee, end tables, and entertainment console remember to keep the wood light colored or painted in light colors. Simple accessories that remind you of nature are great for adding to the feeling to the room. How about some large coffee table books with photographs of the ocean, lighthouses, or the outdoors? Simple candles can be placed in a large charger with stones or shells covering the bottom. Bowls are a great place to add natural textured accessory balls. Finally, finish off the room with a beautiful seascape painting, photography of outdoor places, or flower prints.

Enjoy your Organic Feeling Room!