As soon as the sun comes out everyone wants to be beside the seaside, but that isn’t always possible for many of us. So instead we can bring a more nautical vibe to your home by adding a few key features, whether it be the obvious stripe or a simple beach colour palette. But we are also going to look at some more unusual ways of using nautical fabric to create a seaside vibe with a beach themed interior.
Key Elements for a Beach Themed Interior
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Use warm fabrics
If you look up nautical interiors you will find many images of living spaces with many cosy throws perfect for keeping out that cold draft that sometimes comes from living near the sea. We thought that the perfect fabric to make a cosy throw while still in keeping with the beach themed colour palette might be our old favourite cream bouclé possibly contrasted with navy blue bouclé.
Add a contrasting binding in a navy with a simple red Pom Pom Trim on either end. Our bouclé is 140cm wide and realistically you would want a rectangular thrown so you need around 2 metres (4 units), and then all you need to do is add a decorative Pom Pom Trim to the shorter width.
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Use Nautical Stripes
A key part of a nautical interior is the humble but ever popular stripe and you could complement a neutral beach palette with beautiful stripes on big comfy cushions, beanbags or even on curtains.
Furnishing Cotton Stripe in Powder Blue and Cath Kidston Mid Stripe Chalk
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Use indigo blue
You may have noticed that at Fabrics Galore we love a blue, (it was even the answer to one of the questions in our social media quiz recently) but we are especially fans of Indigo. Indigo blue comes in various forms as it is the basis of classic denim blue, but it’s also used in some of our Batik prints too. Denim is a great cloth to bring into beach themed interiors (cotton Panama is a similar weight) and it would make some great cushions to add a shock of indigo to any beach themed room.
Fabrics Galore denim fabric range
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Inject a bit of Tie-Dye
But if a plain isn’t gonna work with the space you are looking to make more seaside, how about tie dye soft furnishing? These tie dye fabrics are an almost soft geometric print, making them perfect for a blind or curtain as they have a slight stripe to them. They would also complement other seaside interior trends like driftwood or coral.
Scion Home Furnishing Blue Tie-Dye Fabrics
Because of the texture in the both the print and the pattern of this cloth it would also work well layered up with various other prints in a collection of cushions to add warmth and comfort to any beach themed living room.
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Use one or two colours
Classically, the colours of the seaside are blue, white and maybe a hint of red. But what about adding some bright yellow (like the fisherman’s famous waterproofs) to make it sunny even on a dull day? If these aren’t really your vibe how about going down the beach hut route and thinking about adding some pastels or ice cream colours like pinks and greens all against a background of white.
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Use Ice-cream pastels
But as we have said already, if you aren’t into blue that doesn’t mean this trend isn’t for you, a seaside vibe doesn’t have to be the coastal blue and white. It can be ice cream or pastel tones like pale pinks, greens and yellow maybe with a slightly brighter red to make it all pop. If you are struggling with what we mean, this Cath Kidston stripe sums it up perfectly.
Beach House Décor
We would all like a beach house, as they appear in sitcoms like Grace and Frankie or even films like Something has Got to Give with white painted floor boards, and beautiful natural wood with some splashes of colour, maybe a pop of deep green or as we have said, indigo blue. But sometimes we have to remember that we don’t live anywhere near the sea, and we aren’t Jane Fonda or Diane Keaton (which is upsetting on a daily basis). And so we have to create the beach house vibe on a budget and with the tweaking of what we have already….
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Add nautical stripe fabric e.g. a striped throw for your sofa or your bed - As previously mentioned stripes are a key part of a nautical beach vibe but it doesn’t have to be the very obvious deck chair type. How about creating a quilt with a few feature shades in a stripe design? Then you can incorporate some pattern into the design too, all while keeping the seaside theme. Or like a bouclé idea, you could add various coloured trims on a natural background to make a simple yet chic striped throw for the end of your bed or the back of sofa.
- Make slipcovers for sofas, chairs and cushions in a linen to achieve a relaxed vibe - if the neutral paired back look is what you had in mind for your seaside escape to the living room. How about making some simple, slightly rustic sofa covers from a slubby linen with a slightly looser fit to match the relaxed vibe.
Loomstate linen natural home furnishing fabric - Elizabeth and Anne
Our Elizabeth Linen would work perfectly against a background of white and driftwood while adding in a slightly different texture but in keeping with the colour scheme.
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When creating a neutral space, you need to do something to stop it looking too dull - this can be done in various ways maybe by adding some bright table legs to a wooden table or by throwing in some coloured scatter cushions. Or by adding a well chosen novelty print lampshade in a living room or maybe an apron hanging on the back of a door. If this appeals to you, you need to see our two best selling novelty nautical prints.
Linen Look She's Your Lobster and Cotton Panama Happy Plaice
Both of these fun prints would also make great beach bags, but they would definitely brighten up any neutral room to keep things humorous if nothing else.
Outdoor Nautical Spaces
Nautical spaces are especially perfect for right now as we enter into the warmer months of the year, as they bring to mind summer holidays and sunny days eating ice cream. So really the perfect space to bring a nautical moment to is the garden or even just a patio. This can be done in various ways and we were thinking the best results would be via bunting and your outdoor furniture.
- Bunting is always useful and is sustainable as it can be used over and over again, and even better if it rains, can simply be brought inside. In our bunting collection we have fabrics for all occasions but we thought for a classic seaside vibe you need to bring in some red polka dot spot, even if it is just because it reminds us of Fishermans' neck a chiefs…Contrast with a navy ticking stripe for ultimate seaside vibes.
Large Polka Dot Cotton Red and Antique Navy & Cream Ticking
- Outdoor Seating - We were very excited about our new outdoor fabrics; they are perfect for any nautical theme as they come in various stripes and in the perfect colour palette of blues, green and neutrals. They remind us of deck chairs and nothing says the seaside like a deck chair…
Children’s Rooms with a Seaside Theme
- The last thing we must mention on the topic of a nautical is this cotton panama fabric printed with super cute turtles. It is calling out to be made into a great children’s blind or curtain. The pattern would add a pop of fun to any child’s room and it would work brilliantly with a border or maybe a denim.
Under the Sea Turtles Cotton Panama
Browse Our Gorgeous Range of Nautical Fabric
Whether you want the relaxed neutral beach vibe or a more playful nautical look to create your beach themed interior, you can find the perfect nautical fabric at Fabrics Galore London online.
