Every summer, we try to fit in as many road trips to the beach as we can. Whether it’s to the Cape, the Jersey shore, or Malibu, it’s our “happy place.” There is nothing better than sharing long walks with friends, evenings under the stars, or my personal favorite: the chocolate peanut butter ice cream dripping off the sugar cone. Most of all it’s our chance to live, eat and reconnect with the outdoors.
The beach house is the hub that makes it all happen. It’s the place where we congregate, meet up with family and make dinner for more people than fit around the table. When it comes to the look and feel of the spaces, there are many different aesthetics, but the common theme is that the beach house is casual and often 360 degrees different from what we have at home.
Decorating a beach house is a chance to be daring, maybe using materials that are more colorful or eco-friendly. Eco-design is easy and intuitive at the beach.
Great light, natural materials, wood accents, and refurbished artifacts make environmental sense. They also feel exactly right when paired with driftwood centerpieces, found shells, and craft objects.
At the beach, you get to try out a totally different color pallet. This year’s most popular colors teal, coral and taupe help punctuate the space in a way that feels clean, fun and a little romantic.
Bringing the outdoors into the home is key! At in2green we use eco-materials as a canvas, we re-interpret traditional beach motifs (like the starfish or sand dollar) and then add colors and textures in a way that is fresh and modern! Our coastal throws are typically 50″x60″, machine wash and dry and made with 75% recycled cotton. See here
Check out this list for other great eco beach house design tips:
1. “Let there be light!”- Make use of natural lighting to not only add that magical, ethereal quality to your interior, but to also cut down on the usage of artificial, energy-inefficient lighting options. We recommend minimal use of blinds, opting for gauzy curtains that don’t filter out that diffuse beach glow, and using candles and lanterns for lighting up the evening.
2. Opt for wood furniture – Teak, wicker, walnut, or maple are often held together by basic wood joinery techniques, rather than adhesives which are responsible for VOC (volatile organic compound) emissions. Thus, they are both a more stylish and a greener option for revamping dulled-out interiors. While darker wood tones give the warmth and charm of a winter chalet, using softer, lighter tones or painting woodwork and sanding it down gives that lofty and tasteful (but not overdone), vintage (but not outdated), summer look perfect for those sweet sunroom slumbers.
3. A touch of greenery – Turns out, a potted fern in a ceramic planter can not only improve your home’s aesthetic, it can also improve your home’s health. Studies show that plants absorb gases, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs), therefore cleaning your air. Even a fresh basil or mint plant in the kitchen could do just the trick for the interior, and for your appetite!
4. Organic treasure hunt –assembling spare trinkets in a wooden or ceramic bowl, or adding a piece of coral or driftwood can make a rustic and charming centerpiece.
Last but not least (and a little plug for in2green…)
5. Feeling natural fibers – Make “natural” and practical choices regarding your beach house textiles. Ideal for transitioning from a day at the beach to an evening clam bake outside on the deck, a summer music festival to a camping trip, choose a machine-washable, soft, yet durable eco-throws made of recycled fibers to take with you both in and out of the beach house and all around. More on recycled cotton.
