If you’re feeling those seasonal blues, one of the best ways to combat them is to decorate your home with a nautical theme. This way, you can bring the warm coastline straight to you! However, you don’t want to overdecorate with a nautical theme, as it can feel overwhelming and even superficial. It’s essential to strategically plan your nautical-themed home to capture a calm, relaxing aesthetic as if you were sitting at the beach.
Decorate Using a Neutral Color Palette
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
The beach has typical colors that everyone associates with the ocean. To incorporate shades of the ocean and beach, stick to white, beige, soft blues, and sandy neutrals. These soft shades will evoke a calm, beachy vibe. They will also make your space feel airy and brighter, making incorporating and blending other beachy elements and colors into your home easier.
Decorate with Nautical Stripes
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
Nothing screams nautical more than those stripes! To create a nautical feel without overwhelming the space, use subtle, horizontal stripes on pillows, throws, curtains, and accent pieces. If you overdo the stripes, they might be too strong a decoration and feel overbearing, especially if you’re decorating a small room.
Rope Accents
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
You don’t want to overuse rope in your home decoration. Still, incorporating nautical rope into furniture or decorative elements makes your home look cohesive and natural. You can tie it around a vase or use it as a curtain tieback. You can also tie utensils together, wrap a bundle of flowers, or hang them from your ceiling as a hanging shelf.
Coastal Artwork
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
To truly bring the coast into your home, you can visually recreate it. Use simple seascapes, abstract blue and green ocean prints, or minimalistic coastal photography in gold or silver frames. You could create a stunning gallery wall with rope accents to bring the artwork to life and make you and your guests feel like they’ve just stepped into the ocean.
Blue & White Porcelain
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
You can choose more subtle decorations in a refined way and add blue-and-white ceramic pieces, like vases, to evoke the traditional maritime look. For added decoration and to freshen up your space and make it feel brighter and more airy, incorporate bright, colorful flowers in the vases.
Vintage Nautical Maps
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
Hanging a vintage map of a coastline or ocean route can incorporate a vintage, timeless aesthetic into your home and tie it into the nautical theme. This adds a sophisticated yet maritime touch and can be a focal piece for your living room. Surround the vintage map with other abstract artwork to build a unique gallery wall.
Driftwood Decor
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
Driftwood collected from the ocean is an excellent piece of decor to put on display for your nautical-themed home. You can use driftwood as a centerpiece, picture frame, or small sculpture to bring the outdoors in. If you plan to head to the coast soon, leave space in your suitcase for pieces of driftwood to incorporate into your home decor.
Woven Seagrass Baskets
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
You can either make these yourself or purchase woven seagrass baskets. Using these natural materials for storage solutions is a great way to maintain an earthy nautical vibe in your home. They’re multifunctional and can store smaller items like keys, coins, wallets and larger items like notebooks and gloves.
Glass Bottles
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
Display clear glass bottles or jars to evoke the nostalgia of finding a message in a bottle! For a beachy aesthetic, you could even fill it with a fun note or other items, possibly sand or small shells. If you want to create a focal point, display a large glass bottle of sand or shells on a coffee table in your living room. You’ll only need to decorate with a couple of glass bottles, which can act as decorative accent pieces in your home.
Decorate with Nautical-Inspired Rugs
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
To make decorating easy, use a nautical-inspired rug in your home. Choose a rug with simple patterns, such as seashells, anchors, or funky rope designs that won’t dominate the room or make it feel overwhelming. Instead of using a large rug covering the entire area of your bedroom or living room, use these pieces as entryway rugs in front of your door, in front of your bedroom, or the bathroom.
Linen Fabrics
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
Nautical decor, like the beach, is all about spaciousness, lightness, and airiness. To bring these elements into your home, use natural linen for upholstery, throw pillows, and curtains. This will add lightness and comfort to the space. Use soft, neutral colors like white and beige to avoid overwhelming the space.
Natural Wood Furniture
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
Looking at pieces of wood immediately brings to mind the ocean, the shoreline, and the beach. To mimic the feel of cottages and huts lining the beach, you can incorporate light, weathered wood furniture such as tables, chairs, and shelving. For a cohesive look, decorate the tables and chairs with woven fabric.
Subtle Anchor Motifs
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
Head to your local thrift or antique shop and include anchor-themed items like small sculptures or subtle anchor prints on linens or accessories. If you find tiny anchor trinkets, jewelry, mugs, or other accessories, grab them and place them around your home. Though small and subtle, they’ll add to the overall nautical aesthetic.
Whitewashed Furniture
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
Have you ever noticed that the ocean usually has distressed, whitewashed wood? Incorporate some of that into your home by choosing furniture with a distressed, whitewashed finish. This will create a relaxed, coastal feel and bring the ocean into your living room. You can incorporate whitewashed coffee tables, picture frames, and wooden bookcases.
Shell Collectibles
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
Walking down the beach and collecting seashells is one of the best ways to bring the ocean home. If you have a small collection, you can display a few carefully selected shells on shelves or glass jars as simple, practical beach accents. The shells can be any shape and size; the more mismatched, the better.
Ocean-Inspired Candles
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
The scent is one of the most critical aspects of the ocean, so candles shaped like seashells or with ocean-inspired scents, such as sea breeze or salty air, are necessary. Use soy or beeswax for natural, organic, toxin-free candles.
Nautical Lanterns
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
These look great as subtle decorations or focal pieces in your living room, bedroom, or bathroom. Metal or glass lanterns can easily be used as lighting or decor for a maritime touch. Grab some dimly lit bulbs for a warm, cozy aesthetic.
Wicker and Rattan Furniture
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
One of the best things about wicker and rattan is that it’s a durable material made to last years. These work well in nautical-themed homes. You can easily incorporate wicker furniture or rattan accessories to add texture and a beachy charm to your living room or dining room. There’s nothing better than ending your day in a wicker rocking chair and picking up a good beach-themed book.
Coastal-Themed Bedding
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
Soft, ocean-themed colors are an excellent way to bring the coast into your bedroom. Opt for crisp white bedding with navy or seafoam green touches for a relaxed, coastal-themed bedroom. To tie the look together, you can also use bright blue or beige throw pillows.
Sailboat Models
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
As you did with the anchors, you can easily display small, elegant sailboat models on shelves or side tables to evoke a nautical mood. These work well as tiny trinkets or larger ships acting as centerpieces for your dining room table. You can also incorporate one into your bookshelf.
Sandy Textures
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
Grab a glass vase filled with colorful sand and rocks to create a nautical decoration. You can also incorporate sandy tones and textures into the decor, such as woven textiles or stone accessories, throughout your home. Display these on your bookshelves, in your dining room, or on your living room coffee table. To mix up the sandy texture, add sea glass.
Seashell-Decorated Picture Frames
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
Look at your memories and select ones from your time spent near the ocean or at the beach! To bring the beach indoors, frame your favorite photos in simple, seashell-adorned frames. You can use seashells collected from the beach to decorate your frames or head to your local craft store and purchase decorative seashells.
Tropical Indoor Plants
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
There’s no better way to bring the outdoors into your home than by adding indoor plants like palm fronds or aloe vera to keep the tropical vibe alive. Display these around your main living room area, or place them in the middle of the dining room table. These plants also help remove toxins from your home. You can also use aloe vera on your skin for its moisturizing and cleansing effects.
Teak Wood Accents
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
Incorporate teak or oood accents for shelving, trays, or furniture to create a rich, nautical warmth. This looks excellent when paired with distressed whitewashed furniture, which complements each other in a nautical-themed home. With teak, you’ll create an inviting, stylish, cozy space.
Coastal Wall Hooks
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
For a nautical-themed home, you’ll want to incorporate tiny trinkets that make it feel cohesive. Install hooks resembling ship wheels, anchors, or oars for a practical yet decorative feature. You can use tiny hooks in your mudroom or larger hooks in your kitchen or living room to hold items like pots, pans, purses, and jackets.
Vintage Lifebuoys
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
You’re in luck if you find a lifebuoy at your local thrift or antique shop! These pieces make fabulous additions to your nautical-themed home, and you can hang a vintage lifebuoy on a wall for a nautical reference that’s still minimal and elegant. These work well as the centerpiece for a gallery wall or on your dining table.
Wooden Oars
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
Another quirky, fun item you can use for your nautical-themed home is a wooden oar. You might find these at your local thrift or antique shop, and you can easily hang or lean a pair of vintage wooden oars on the wall for a subtle yet striking nautical decor element. Decorate the area around the oar with tiny trinkets and ocean-themed artwork.
Nautical Tile Backsplash
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
For a subtle yet powerful nautical addition to your home, you can install a backsplash in light blue or ocean tones or tiles featuring wave patterns in the kitchen or bathroom. You can also blend themes here and incorporate Moroccan tiles with flowers, mandalas, and other quirky lines.
Nautical-Inspired Curtains
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
Bring those beachside cottage decorations into your home by opting for light, airy curtains in simple striped or solid colors. Add whitewashed window frames adorned with tiny anchor hangers to complete the look.
Glass Terrariums with Beach Themes
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
Incorporating a glass terrarium filled with beach-themed items, such as shells, sand, and small plants, is an excellent way to bring a miniature version of the beach into your living room. You can display it as a centerpiece on your dining table or in the corner of your living room.
Sea Glass Accessories
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
Large pieces of sea glass look great for nautical-themed homes, not only because they’re subtle decorations but because of their gorgeous deep green color. Placing sea glass around your home is a great way to incorporate the coastal aesthetic, and you can easily add sea glass in vases, jars, or decorative trays.
Outdoor Nautical Porch Decor
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
If the inside of your house is wholly nautical-themed, then the outside of your home must be, too. Incorporate nautical-inspired outdoor furniture, like weathered wood rocking chairs or striped cushions, for a cozy porch area that’s welcoming and serene. This is where you can truly bring the beach to your home by incorporating a mini sand pit, whitewashed furniture, and tiny anchor motifs in the patterns of your pillows.