Seaside style: How to achieve a coastal interior in your home, minus the sand!

What does the seaside mean to you? Playing in the sand dunes as a child, running into the sea with friends in the early AM, a detox from a fast-paced city life or perhaps a romantic escape with a loved one? The coast is often generates a feeling of nostalgia, a wistful memory or the sensation of liberating tranquillity. If only you could leave the messy sand, washed up seaweed and hungry seagulls on the beach and take those warm feelings of contentment and calm into your home? What if we told you that you can?

Coastal interiors are striking, beautiful and elegant, but you need to find the right balance between plonking a boat shaped sofa in your living room and adding a touch of blue to create the ideal seaside style, without the risk of creating too much of a nautical 'theme'. We're here to help you find that balance.

Perfect paneling 

Wood panelling creates a great beach hut/boat vibe that will transport you straight to the coast.  The stripe pattern gives you a nautical feel whilst the wooden texture keeps you at one with nature - two seagulls, one stone. Top tip: paint the panelling a bright white to keep the room light and bright.

Earthy elements

One of the reasons we love the coast is because it is raw and undomesticated. It's a natural luxury, an escape from a man-made world, where the air breathed is fresher and your surroundings are beautifully unrefined. For an understated coastal interior, we recommend taking this organic look by using materials that give an unprocessed effect such as faux fur, real timber, marble and stone. Complete the look with some indoor greenery.

Map it out

It doesn't matter if your geography knowledge goes as far as your holiday to Cornwall, a map is a great decorative touch. Whether it's a smaller framed print, a larger canvas or a wall mural, a map is a sure fire way to give your room a nautical touch. There are so many map prints out there on the market that it can fit with any colour scheme; a monochrome, minimal map or a coloured texture one, whatever you prefer!

A touch of rope

Rope is one of the cheapest ways to add a splash of coastal interior styling to your interior. Lots of retailers provide off the shelf rope styled pieces from lamps and toilet roll holders to large pieces of furniture. However, you could try and DIY it. Why not try a rope banister or rope curtain tie backs?

Round mirrors

We love mirrors, not only are they functional saviours so that you can see if you have spinach in your teeth or tucked your shirt into your pants, they are fantastic decorative pieces. The abundance of mirror styles mean that they can complete any interior décor style, they bounce light around the room and make the space feel larger and brighter. For a coastal interior we recommend a circular mirror; you could go subtle and have a simple, round mirror or you can dive in to the nautical design and get yourself a porthole style mirror.

A bespoke touch

• Image credit: My Bespoke Room

Built in furniture is reminiscent of yacht or cruise ship interiors because space is a premium in cabins. Bespoke furniture will give a nod to the boating style, but is also great for making the most of your space in your home, whilst doubling up as storage! You  could include a built in dining bench, a relaxing window seat or wardrobes framing the bed.

Create a feature

Don't want to dedicate your whole interior scheme to a coastal look, but still want a touch of the seaside? We recommend a nautical feature, such as wall mounted oars or a ship wheel. In a complete coastal interior scheme they may push your home over the edge into 'themed' territory, but on their own they're striking statements.

Shades of blue

Finally, seaside colour scheme. We bet you were wondering when we were going to comment on the diverse shades of the sea. Layering different tones of blue with a white framework will give you the same look of the blue hues that make up a crashing wave. Top tip: include some darker blues to add depth, like the colour of the middle of the ocean!