How to Use Coastal Bedroom Decor Ideas for a Serene Retreat
Coastal-style bedrooms are known for their airy feel and peaceful decor. Creating a coastal retreat for your own home can be easy! Check out these 7 essentials using coastal bedroom decor for a cozy and relaxing space to come home to at the end of the day!
Have you ever seen the advertisements for the tropical or coastal resorts? Each room has the perfect coastal bedroom decor ideas combined with luxurious comforts to make you feel right at home…or even better than home! Creating a coastal feel in your bedroom can help you turn an ordinary bedroom into a space that feels like your own coastal retreat.
The best difference, though, is that you’re already at home. It’s not a vacation where you have to leave! Does that sound good to you? I am working on some coastal bedroom decor ideas to create a cozy and luxurious retreat right at home. So, I’m inviting you to come along!
There is still so much more I want to do, but I’ll share all of the coastal bedroom decor ideas I have and you can see where I am in the process. Fair warning: it’s a slow process and I’m trying to mostly work with what I already have. However, it’s coming along and I am already enjoying this cozy space at the end of the day, especially now that we are into the relaxing, somewhat “care-free” days of summer!
Well, as care-free as a mom can ever get, right?! Haha!
Let’s chat about 7 main elements of the coastal bedroom decor ideas that you will want to consider as you use coastal decorating ideas to turn your space into a beautiful coastal bedroom!
How do I make my bedroom look coastal?
There are 7 main elements that you need to create a coastal master bedroom. We will break these down with examples of each element and tips for mixing the coastal bedroom decor ideas into your own space too!
- Coastal colors and soft colors
- Cozy and luxurious bedding
- Functional bedroom furniture
- Light fixtures
- Coastal bedroom decor for the walls
- Use natural elements
- Incorporate natural materials
The coastal look is so fun for a bedroom space because within each of these 7 coastal bedroom decor ideas, there are seemingly limitless options to create your coastal retreat! In that case, how do you decide what you should do first in your new coastal themed bedroom?
We are going to chat about that too!
What is the modern coastal design style?
First, though, it can be helpful to at least somewhat define the style we are going for. I almost never have a room that just completely fits one certain design style. However, figuring out what you love and giving yourself some perimeters can be helpful as you get started with your coastal bedroom ideas!
Essentially, the modern coastal design style emphasizes a light color palette with soft shades of sea-inspired colors. At the same time, the modern coastal style combines soft furnishings made from linen and cotton with textural furniture and decor, such as natural sisal rugs, sea glass, jute, slipcovers, and simple prints and patterns.
The modern coastal style is simple with clean lines and emphasizes cozy bedroom designs with an airy feel. Often a neutral color palette sets the stage for a calm and relaxing environment in the beautiful bedroom.
How to Use Coastal Bedroom Decor Ideas for a Serene Retreat
Coastal Bedroom Decor: Bedroom Color Scheme
The ultimate goal of a coastal retreat is to have a space where you feel like you can completely relax. At the end of the day, you want to come home to a peaceful space. Your coastal bedroom decor can create the perfect place to unwind and rest.
Doesn’t that sound so nice?!
I’m going to take a quick minute here to just speak to moms. My bedroom used to be the catch-all for literally almost everything. Even though there were neat piles, there were still piles staring me in the face when I went to bed and wouldn’t you know it, they were there when I woke up too! Being a mom is a wonderful, blessed job. However, you cannot pour from an empty cup! If at all possible, keep you bedroom a serene space that can truly feel like your personal retreat. It can be simple, budget-friendly, and even be a tiny space! Your retreat doesn’t have to fancy. However, it does need to be a place where you can set aside your responsibilities and rest.
Okay, back to coastal bedroom decor ideas! One of the first things to consider is a bedroom color scheme. Most often, coastal-style bedrooms stray away from bright colors. Instead, they feature colors that remind us of the sea! Blue colors of the ocean, white sand, and soft shades of neutral tones of natural elements combine for a refreshing color palette and coastal vibe.
Using soft shades of paint colors, bedding, and decorative accents are a great way to create a coastal themed bedroom. While blue bedrooms are very common for coastal design, you can also incorporate soft earth tones, going to the warmer side of the color wheel. At the same time, mixing a soft blue with a mostly white palette and touches of warm earth-tones can create a very warm and inviting space!
To make my coastal bedroom decor refresh budget-friendly, I opted to mix and match bedding and decor that I already have. The light earth-tones mixed with cream and white remind me of the colors of the sea shells we most commonly see here on our South Florida beaches, making this soft color palette of neutral colors a subtle nod to the coastal feel.
Coastal Bedroom Decor: Bedding
Choosing the right bedding is absolutely essential for any decor style. Whether you have a spacious spaces or small bedrooms to work with, the bedding is the focal point and sets the tone for the entire style. One way I am able to refresh my master bedroom for the seasons is by investing in white bedding and other bedding with neutral colors and patterns. This allows me to mix and match pieces to create a unique look while still feeling like a “new” space!
Pro Design Tip: Invest in a high-quality set of neutral colored bed linens and white bedding (quilt, duvet, or comforter). These become pieces that can be layered with any other bedding and used for any season.
Then, you can swap around decorative pillows in euro or standard sham sizes, throw blankets, throw pillows, and even different colored and patterned quilts.
Pro Design Tip: One of my favorite tips to save money on a bedroom refresh is to buy a quilt or coverlet to lay at the foot of the bed.
Even though I have a king-sized bed in my own room, I sometimes purchase a queen-sized quilt or coverlet to lay at the foot of the bed!
It is usually a little less expensive than a king-size and takes less space to store, especially if it is something that I’m not leaving out all year.
Here are the bedding items (or similar to) that I used to create my summer coastal retreat:
- light colored sheets https://amzn.to/3yyzbgk
- waffle-weave cooling blanket (seriously, the best blanket EVER!!!)
- block print quilt
- tan and white gingham duvet cover
- gauzy coverlet (reversed to the solid cream side)
- gauzy throw blanket (perfect choice for a light-weight summer throw blanket!)
- cream euro shams
- down euro inserts
- light clay-colored euro pillows
Coastal Bedroom Furniture Ideas
In general, furniture for coastal bedroom decor will be somewhat “mix and match” to create a curated look. Also, painted pieces are common. If you have a lot of bedroom furniture with dark wood tones, this is a great time to pull out the paint brush and use some light paint colors, such as white or a pale blue. Thirdly, rattan and cane furniture are great accents and give a subtle nod to the coastal cottage look.
If possible, even in small bedrooms, work toward a furniture layout that is extremely functional and meets all of your practical needs. At the same time, it allows for an open, airy feeling.
My bedroom is very small and the bedroom layout is honestly pretty tight. However, using mostly white painted furniture and lots of light colors and accents helps it feel a lot more open than it actually is!
Soft furnishings are another really important way that you can add a coastal vibe to your personal spaces. For example, a comfy ottoman to put your feet up in a cozy corner chair is a great opportunity for a pretty stripe fabric pattern or fun jute texture (like my jute ottomans that we use in the family room!).
A cushioned bench at the foot of the bed or even an upholstered head board are places where soft furnishings not only make sense, but look so beautiful and luxurious too!
While we are talking about finishes, make sure that your coastal spaces have some touches of light wood tones. It can be anything from a lamp to a chair to a headboard or bookshelf. Even small decorative items can give that light wood tones that are important in a coastal home.
Light wood is commonly found in the picturesque coastal cottages, so, if you’re looking for that coastal feel, incorporate a touch of lighter wood tones into your space too!
Coastal Bedroom Decor: Light Fixtures
Light fixtures are a great addition to a coastal themed bedroom space. As I mentioned, I am working with what I have for this little coastal bedroom decor refresh. I love this vintage chandelier that I got many years ago at a yard sale! The white color ties in perfectly with my earth-toned coastal design. White is always a great option for any coastal bedroom accessories, furniture, or accents.
Rattan light fixtures are also a perfect choice for a beach-themed bedroom or coastal design. You can use rattan lights in any room where you want to add a subtle nod to the coastal design. We recently added two rattan pendants over the kitchen island and they look so pretty! There are so many gorgeous options, and here are a few of my favorites:
Natural light is really important in coastal design, so uncover those windows or at least open the blinds and let the light in! Even though we cannot keep open windows with our heat here, I do open up the curtains every morning to let the sunshine and natural light flood in!
For a cozy space, ambient light is also a great addition to your coastal bedroom decor. In my bedroom, I love having two beautiful DIY lamps we made with old wooden corbels. You can find that tutorial HERE!
Secondly, we added THESE brass sconces over our bed and they are PERFECT! They are battery-operated so there is no hardwiring required and they are super easy to hang. Also, they work with a remote so you can dim or brighten them without ever getting up out of bed. Talk about a relaxing retreat, right?! Finally, they are very budget-friendly and honestly, are a gorgeous addition to any room. The gold ties in perfectly with the coastal grandmother decor style (yes, that’s an actual decor style! Find out more about it HERE!) that I enjoy through the rest of our home too!
Here are some beautiful options for light fixtures for your coastal bedroom decor:
Coastal Bedroom Decor: Bedroom Wall Decor
If you want to refresh your bedroom, a fresh coat of wall paint will always make a big transformation! I really enjoy simple white walls throughout most of our home. However, in coastal-style bedrooms, a pale blue would also be so soothing and beautiful! You can even paint just one wall as an accent wall!
If you have a little more budget, consider some kind of special feature installation or accent wall. For example, we have some rooms with shiplap walls in our home so it was pretty easy to go ahead and add one shiplap wall as an accent wall behind our headboard. White shiplap, bead board, or planks are a beautiful way to add a coastal style to your walls!
For wall decorations, there are so many options out there! One year, I hung a bunch of flat and shallow thrifted baskets in a collection over the bed. For even more of a beach house vibe, I added all of these thrifted straw hats over the bed. Anything grouped in a collection can make for a really interesting and pretty wall art installation!
In a smaller space, I love THIS set of gorgeous vintage-style coastal art. This art is incredibly budget-friendly and there are a lot of styles available. THIS is my favorite for beach style bedrooms though!
Here are some of my favorite options for coastal wall decor:
Coastal Decorative Elements: Natural elements
How do I make my bedroom look coastal?
Once all of the big pieces are in place and you have a great furniture layout, it is time to add the details. In a coastal master bedroom, you don’t need a lot of decorative accents. The coastal look, overall, is more simple. However, bringing in some natural elements is essential for coastal interior design.
Rather than adding a lot of beach-themed decor and specific nautical styles, try a subtle nod toward the coastal vibe with simple accessories, strategically placed.
Here are some perfect examples of subtle coastal bedroom decor ideas:
Coastal Bedroom Decor: Natural Materials
Natural materials are also really important to pull off a classy coastal master bedroom. We mentioned wall treatments but one of my dream additions to our bedroom is to add a pecky cypress ceiling! This is not a budget-friendly project but it’s on the list for “someday”!
Even if you can’t add a stunning pecky cypress ceiling right now either, try adding some light wood tones with furniture (antique European pine is perfect!) or even a small driftwood accent styled on a tray with a vase of flowers! THIS driftwood piece is perfect for vignettes.
Most people enjoy adding a rug in the bedroom. So, if you’re going to have a rug anyway, go ahead and add a jute rug for the perfect, beautiful coastal bedroom look! Other jute accents such as pillow covers, ottomans, and poufs tie into the coastal themed bedroom.
Other natural textures, such as rattan, marble, wood, and glass can help create the coastal feel. Remember, you don’t need a lot so invest in the pieces you really love!
Here are a few favorite decorative accessories for coastal bedroom decor:
As you can see, I love coastal bedroom decor and enjoy adding it to our coastal master bedroom each summer. Since we can’t be on vacation all summer, it’s fun to think of it as bringing the vacation to us!
The coastal look is truly a timeless style that you can enjoy for many years. With a primarily neutral base and foundation for your bedroom furniture, colors, and decor, it is a style that can easily transition through the year with seasonal decorative touches.
You can browse more of my favorite coastal summer decor, curated HERE on my storefront. Separately, I have curated a special list of pieces that you can use to create the coastal grandmother style too. That cozy, curated list can be found HERE!
No matter what style you decorate with this summer, I hope it’s an amazing summer for you and your family! I hope you can find time to truly rest and refresh, not just your home, but your head and heart too!
You may also enjoy these coastal and summer home decor blog posts:
- 34 Easy Ideas for the Coastal Grandmother Home Decor Style
- 21 Ways to Decorate a Living Room with Coastal Beach Decor
- How to Make Coastal Farmhouse Decorating Easy
- 25 Best Ideas for Easy Summer Home Decorating
- Simple Patriotic Decorating Ideas for Summer Under Five Dollars
- 9 Easy Tips to Mix New and Vintage Home Decor Pieces
- How to Decorate for Summer: 34 Ideas to Thrift for Summer Decor
Blessings,
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