How to Create Nautical & Coastal Home Decor
Nautical or coastal decor is one of the favorite styles for homes and building both close and far from the sea. And the reasons for this passion is primal, as explained by psychologists and scientists that have examined the reasons why we love it. I have tried to summarize my views and those of some scientific views about this in my previous post.
Aside from the science, nautical decor is just gorgeous. I've lived all my life near the sea and even when I lived in the great plains of the United States, hundreds of miles away from the coast, I tried to bring the feel of the sea to my home. Granted, some people like mountain or country styles, or minimalist or urban styles...but nautical remains one of the most popular styles!
Wonder why? Because it's relaxing and beautiful and makes you feel like you're on vacation even if it's Monday morning and you live in a big city!
There is no definition of what nautical or coastal decor is, but I tend to view nautical as more oriented towards ships, boats and the sea itself, whereas coastal emphasizes marine life like corals and fishing, but this is just my feeling, and not any official position...it doesn't exist! As a matter of fact, most decor includes elements of those two! As such, I will consider them synonymous for the purposes of this post and call them just "nautical".
But what do we need to include in our interiors to make them "be" nautical? First of all ..there is no "necessary" element in our nautical design...but the balanced combination of several of them will give us the feeling of it.
Here are the essentials:
1. The color blue - to evoke the vast sea and the sky on the endless beautiful horizon
2. Stripes
3. Images of the sea, ships, marine life or navigation instruments, flags and ship parts (for example: helm, compass, anchor, etc).
4. Natural material textures: jute, rope, linen, cotton, wood
5. Metal: brass, bronze, gold
Dark navy gives a sense of stability, authority and balance to your environment, which imparts a sense of protection and, therefore, relaxation and peace. Solid polished dark wood, particularly wood walls, give the same sensation. The lighter shades of blue will tilt the feeling towards fusion with nature, peace, balance and relaxation.
If you want to make blue look bluer, add yellows (and related colors) near it. This gives us a chance to add the colors of sand and sea foam (lighter blues, aquas, light turquoise, lightest blue-green, and white) to our design! When our palette is light, we can venture with dots of the undersaturated or subdued pinks we see in seashells...but test the idea before carrying it out.
Posters, paintings and models of ships, anchors or other navigational items serve to fill the vast blue and make our eyes look around in peaceful awe at the nautical cocoon we've built for yourselves. I find that metals, wood and darker blues go better with these elements, but that's just my taste, not a rule!
Pictures of marine animals like starfish, fish, seashells, sea birds (like seagulls or sandpipers) also help for a more nature-oriented design. Again, not a rule, just only my taste: I feel that lighter blues, lighter wood, wood that is not polished or even drift wood, rope and jute go better with this more 'natural" concept.
The magic of this decor is in balance. A room painted in shade of light blue, with white curtains, a seascape painting on the wall, a coral on the coffee table and a striped pillow may look as nautical as it gets....Equally nautical can be a dark wood walled room with brass elements in furniture or as decor (for example, a brass anchor over a desk), a wooden trunk, and a navy blue upholstered chair or loveseat, with low orange-y light by it.
Some say don't overdo it...do not make walls or anything too busy...but...hey it's your place! Make is as you wish! I had a time when I loved my place full with stuff like a museum ! Now i'm on the lighter side...oh well, it's phases, you know!
Here is a collection of nautical items! Find that tiny detail that will turn a blah room into a nautical retreat...or a whole set of pillows, blankets and art that can transform your space into your little cozy paradise ...even if you're far from the coast :)
Hope this helped..stay tuned!
Aside from the science, nautical decor is just gorgeous. I've lived all my life near the sea and even when I lived in the great plains of the United States, hundreds of miles away from the coast, I tried to bring the feel of the sea to my home. Granted, some people like mountain or country styles, or minimalist or urban styles...but nautical remains one of the most popular styles!
Wonder why? Because it's relaxing and beautiful and makes you feel like you're on vacation even if it's Monday morning and you live in a big city!
There is no definition of what nautical or coastal decor is, but I tend to view nautical as more oriented towards ships, boats and the sea itself, whereas coastal emphasizes marine life like corals and fishing, but this is just my feeling, and not any official position...it doesn't exist! As a matter of fact, most decor includes elements of those two! As such, I will consider them synonymous for the purposes of this post and call them just "nautical".
But what do we need to include in our interiors to make them "be" nautical? First of all ..there is no "necessary" element in our nautical design...but the balanced combination of several of them will give us the feeling of it.
Here are the essentials:
1. The color blue - to evoke the vast sea and the sky on the endless beautiful horizon
2. Stripes
3. Images of the sea, ships, marine life or navigation instruments, flags and ship parts (for example: helm, compass, anchor, etc).
4. Natural material textures: jute, rope, linen, cotton, wood
5. Metal: brass, bronze, gold
Dark navy gives a sense of stability, authority and balance to your environment, which imparts a sense of protection and, therefore, relaxation and peace. Solid polished dark wood, particularly wood walls, give the same sensation. The lighter shades of blue will tilt the feeling towards fusion with nature, peace, balance and relaxation.
If you want to make blue look bluer, add yellows (and related colors) near it. This gives us a chance to add the colors of sand and sea foam (lighter blues, aquas, light turquoise, lightest blue-green, and white) to our design! When our palette is light, we can venture with dots of the undersaturated or subdued pinks we see in seashells...but test the idea before carrying it out.
Posters, paintings and models of ships, anchors or other navigational items serve to fill the vast blue and make our eyes look around in peaceful awe at the nautical cocoon we've built for yourselves. I find that metals, wood and darker blues go better with these elements, but that's just my taste, not a rule!
Pictures of marine animals like starfish, fish, seashells, sea birds (like seagulls or sandpipers) also help for a more nature-oriented design. Again, not a rule, just only my taste: I feel that lighter blues, lighter wood, wood that is not polished or even drift wood, rope and jute go better with this more 'natural" concept.
The magic of this decor is in balance. A room painted in shade of light blue, with white curtains, a seascape painting on the wall, a coral on the coffee table and a striped pillow may look as nautical as it gets....Equally nautical can be a dark wood walled room with brass elements in furniture or as decor (for example, a brass anchor over a desk), a wooden trunk, and a navy blue upholstered chair or loveseat, with low orange-y light by it.
Some say don't overdo it...do not make walls or anything too busy...but...hey it's your place! Make is as you wish! I had a time when I loved my place full with stuff like a museum ! Now i'm on the lighter side...oh well, it's phases, you know!
Here is a collection of nautical items! Find that tiny detail that will turn a blah room into a nautical retreat...or a whole set of pillows, blankets and art that can transform your space into your little cozy paradise ...even if you're far from the coast :)
Hope this helped..stay tuned!
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