Seashore finds to brighten up the home

Inspiration for home decorating can come from some surprising sources. As you start thinking ahead to your summer holidays this year remember to take a notebook and camera along with you. The nautical look is a perennial favourite in fashion and now it seems seaside-style has moved into the home.

Think of sun-bleached wood, muted yellow sand colours and bright sky blue and white stripes. Recreating a breezy, summery look in your home couldn’t be easier and fits in perfectly with the trend for more relaxed living spaces. Done in the right way coastal chic can look thoroughly modern and will give your home a sunny, open feeling all year round!

• Look out for any driftwood you find along the seashore. It may be worth drying it out and seeing if you can hang it on a wall like a natural work of art. If you’re down at the seaside you may even find a couple of local artists selling furniture and artefacts made out of driftwood finds.
• For an authentic ‘beach hut’ look consider using tongue and groove, in the bathroom perhaps. Paint walls in a faded white wash or the palest cornflower blue. Pale grey is another good base colour to work as a backdrop for your seaside finds.
• Keep your furniture simple and try and use natural wood. That shabby-chic, slightly lived-in look works best here. Teak is perhaps the most authentic wood to use for traditional nautical décor. Or consider sanding down old furniture and repainting it in whites, creams and navy, or even pale grey. Re-cover sofas in creams and add a splash of colour with linen scatter cushions in red and navy. You could even have a real deckchair in traditional stripes as an extra occasional chair.
• If you can cope with keeping them clean, whitewashed floorboards add to the beach hut look. Scatter striped cotton rugs or cover floors with sea grass for extra warmth. Look out for natural calicos and pale linens for curtains and blinds, using rope as tiebacks.
• Subtle use of accessories will really help define the look you are trying to achieve. Remember seaside cottages you visited as a child. Source antique shops for vintage china in pretty tea rose florals, slightly battered Panama hats, walking sticks, sepia photographs, old biscuit tins and tea caddies. If you come across an old rowing oar, prop it up in the corner of the room for an authentic finishing touch.
• Shells are another useful decorating tool to help achieve the seaside look in the home. Either look out for large curly conch or cone shapes to sit on the mantelpiece or buy a bag of tiny pearl shells to decorate a jewellery box or picture frame.