How to create a costal exterior look for your home.

With blue skies, long sandy beaches, far-reaching coastlines, and an abundance of natural beauty, it’s easy to see how for some people owning a property by the coast is the dream.

But it isn’t just the location of a coastal property that’s appealing; it’s the design. Whether you already live by the coast but your property doesn’t quite have that tranquil, light, beachy look or you live far away from any beaches and just want to bring the coast to you, it’s easy to do with some small changes. 

Whilst we can’t always promise blue skies in the UK we can help you with some ideas on how you can achieve a relaxing and beautiful coastal appearance to the exterior of your home.

Photo by Dorothy Riley on Unsplash

1. Choose natural colours.

Coastal homes tend to feature natural colours of stone, sand and whites with pastel blues, greens and yellow. Homes that are painted white or blue are very popular however occasional pops of colour including red, purple and dark blue are also quite a common addition to some coastal properties.

2. Accessorise your accents.

If you do not like the style of painted houses or your home is made of red brick consider adding coastal colours to your house accents such as window frames, gutters, garage doors and front doors. You can further enhance your windows with decorative shutters and with many colours available including whites and natural pastel colours this is easily achievable. White picket fences can help complete the look.

Photo by Gustavo Zambelli on Unsplash

3. Add some plants to your garden.

Introducing particular style plants to your garden can create a fantastic beach home look. Green is a heavily featured colour with small shrubs and ornamental grasses in abundance. Including a mixture of purple and white flowers such as lavender or sea kale can further help to create a beachy garden area. Palm trees are also a great addition; however they can be quite costly and take up a lot of room. For smaller gardens there are plenty of potted variations available such as Red Cordyline.

Photo by Robert Woeger on Unsplash

Photo by Sonnie Hiles on Unsplash

4. Dress up your pond.

If you have a pond adding a mixture of stones, pebbles and shells in addition to a mixture of plants you can create a lovely rock pool look. For those who don’t have a pond adding a water feature can work just as nicely.

Photo by David Murray Chambers on Unsplash

5. Include garden furniture.

Create a relaxing social area with Wicker or Rattan garden furniture. Be it chairs, tables or sofas by adding soft furnishings such as cushions will really help to create the feel of late summer evenings spent with friends and family. You might even forget you aren’t next to the beach. Complete the look by adding a parasol and bean bags.

Photo by Nicola Dreyer on Unsplash

6. Go crazy with your garden shed.

Some coastal homes feature nautical style stripes and this can be in the shape of either painted homes or by use of furnishings and decorations. If you don’t want to be as bold as to paint your home in stripes why not turn your garden shed into a little beach hut by painting it. If you decide to go for stripes or just a nice bright colour you can easily create the look.

Photo by Grant Durr on Unsplash

Why not try some of these ideas to give your home a beautiful coastal feel. Of course there are plenty of other ideas you can incorporate to achieve this fantastic look so if you have any ideas we haven’t mentioned please feel free to send them to us; we love to hear from you. Better yet if you have recently created this look on your home or you are planning to we would love to see your pictures.