Out of a traumatic worldwide pandemic, we find ourselves changing some of our recent home décor stylings. With social distancing and the need to keep our homes fully ventilated, the Beach Style has made a comeback. With double open doors and alfresco living areas, whitewashed walls, and happy, bold-colored prints, our homes are opening for a fresh new beginning.

Here are ways to bring that outside feel into any home, to capture that laid-back casual feeling that we experience when on vacation at the seaside or at the lake house. Most coastal homes use texture in their home décor, coupled with a light color palette, which is proving to be popular at this time.

Don’t over-accessorize; less is more when decorating in a beach style. Texture can be introduced using bamboo photo frames, conch shells in the center of a whitewashed wood coffee table, or an ornamental Abalone shell ashtray. Nautical knot handles on storage units are essential in keeping a neutral style, and this allows your accessories to be interchanged throughout the year.

One of the simplest ways to achieve a beach feel is to use sisal or seagrass as your window dressing choice over wooden shutters. These shades will keep the light feeling that you are aiming for. Follow this textured theme through to your floor coverings and choose hard-wearing coir which will handle the indoor-outdoor flow. Because it is made from coconut husks, it is the ultimate in beach island-style living.

Our imaginations or memories instantly go to wicker or rattan as the furniture of choice for beach living. Seagrass baskets for towels and flip-flops, as well as some indoor palms, will instantly make the space warm, inviting, and casual. Driftwood art pieces and round porthole windows or mirrors will complete the room.

Stone kitchen counters with blue trim or a backwash of hand-painted blue and white tiles by a local coastal artist would finish off the kitchen perfectly. Consider choosing a deep blue crockery set and antique silverware. Table clothes of blue and white linen with some pastel yellow table napkins and fiery red coffee mugs to represent the awesome ocean sunsets.

The addition of a rope hammock strung lazily across the porch under a large rattan overhead fan would be a welcome addition to some large wooden pallet furniture with soft, comfy cushions to enjoy a lazy afternoon drinking homemade lemonade.

Beach homes traditionally were built of clapboard, and the use of wood paneling and a color scheme of ship grey, white, coral, and blue will cement the beach vibe. If you are designing your beach-inspired home, consider a cupola. The cupola’s original purpose was to allow ventilation and, depending on the materials used, it brought light into the house.

What a lovely feature to include in a beach-inspired home; we must consider a different way forward in these post-Covid times. Vents, overhead fans, and cupolas are a few ideas that we can include to ventilate our beach-style home living.