Whether your home is by the sea or you want to feel as if it is coastal-inspired interiors can help bring that feeling of the ocean's soft light indoors. When designing a coastal kitchen, you'll want to keep in mind the colors of the beach, the feel of a sun-drenched day, and the rush of a refreshing breeze on your skin.
Coastal kitchens make the most of soft colors with a hint of the sea. Think whites, pale blues, sand tones, and warm natural woods. Lighting should be soft and natural; maximize it with understated window treatments.
Coastal interiors can lean toward modern, rustic, or even traditional, but the primary key is to stay away from dense dark woods and dark countertops and steer toward fresh and light. Each of the examples below showcases ways in which a coastal kitchen can make you feel as if you're on permanent vacation. Check them out.
Put these coastal ideas together with these coastal-themed living rooms!
Natural Woods And Whites In The Coastal Kitchen
One way to bring that coastal feeling home is to think about the tones of driftwood. Soft grays, beiges, and white can intertwine for a feeling of being seaside. This kitchen, with its natural wood stools, whimsical white-washed ladder, and tastefully placed wicker baskets, all speak to its coastal flair.
Natural Stone In The Coastal Kitchen
In the following two examples, we see the use of natural stone, like the rocks found along the coast of Oregon or Maine, utilized to bring in that coastal feel. Natural rock is a super way to incorporate your theme as it provides the color of sand and the feel of the organic.
Open Shelving As A Design Tool In The Coastal Kitchen
The following kitchens all use open shelving and glass-fronted counters to give a free, airy look to the storage space. Rather than utilizing bulky fully enclosed upper cabinets, consider using open shelving where you can add in natural greenery, highlight a collection of ocean blue dishware, or house a collection of seashells brought home as treasures for your home.
Lose The Window Treatments, Maximize The View
Sometimes the cost of a renovation is just too much, but all you need is what's right outside your windows. In that case, consider removing the window treatments to take advantage of your killer views. It's cheaper than replacing granite and heavy cabinets and brings the ocean right up and in your face.
Soft Blues And Grays Bring The Coastal Kitchen To Life
When you're looking at ways to create a coastal feel in your kitchen, think about the colors of the ocean at dawn. Soft blues, muted grays, and subtly hued whites are a fantastic palette for a coastal look. We've got a collection of designs that bring this palette to life for you. From island color choices to flooring to lighting, these are some fantastic inspiration kitchens to get your coastal kitchen started.
Natural Elements And Personal Collections For The Coastal Kitchen
We are drawn to beachcombing for a reason. The ocean tosses up treasure on every shore, and as humans, we are drawn to its gifts. Sea glass, seashells, driftwood, we love the natural abundance the ocean delivers, so it's no wonder a charming coastal kitchen might feature its share of collectibles. Think of how you can use these to advantage. Whether you choose a sunny host of succulents, crock pots stuffed with cooking utensils collected at beach-side thrift shops, a well-placed basket of citrus, or a host of outdoor greenery brought indoors, your collection will highlight your design and take it to a new level.
Lighting In the Coastal Kitchen
One of the big things about choosing a coastal theme is soft, beautiful natural inspired light. When selecting light fixtures, you'll want to stay away from heavy, dark accessories and go with something more weightless. Pendants in clear glass make a good choice or open-sided lantern type chandeliers if you want to have a bit of dark for your eye to draw toward without weighing down the room. If you have skylights, pair them with recessed lighting for the cloudy days, and sunshine will rule supreme in your coastal kitchen. When choosing types of bulbs, go with soft, white light rather than warm, yellow light.
Be amazed by these minimalist kitchen ideas!
Backsplashes And Countertops In The Coastal Kitchen
In many coastal kitchens, you'll see cabinets in white and countertops, as well. Consider painting your island base a soft ocean-inspired hue to break up the white. Or use a cut stone backsplash in soft grays and blues. Butcher block makes a great natural countertop if you're looking to bring in that sand tone to your coastal kitchen. With your flooring, consider softer wood-tones in greys, driftwoods, and lighter caramels. If your floor is dark, then think of anchoring it with a darker tone on your island while lightening up the rest of the space in soft whites.
The Use of Natural Wood In The Coastal Kitchen
As we mentioned before, natural wood in the choice of furniture and accents can help bring the coastal feeling home, but it can also be used to more significant effect in your cabinets and even as an accent wall. These two examples show us how natural wood is used in a more structural manner in the coastal kitchen. From the natural wood cabinets and wooden cross beams in the ceiling of the first example to the accent wall of honey-colored planks in an all-white coastal kitchen. Can you say beautiful? And how about that amazing ocean blue stove? It draws your eye to the blue wall and the ocean right outside. Makes you want to head straight out to the beach and forget the cooking altogether!
So there you have it. Coastal kitchen ideas in a variety of images. Remember, in your planning that it's all about the color and the light and keeping it soft. Pick out your palette and keep it in mind as you choose your design elements. And if your budget is limited, and you can't make major changes to cabinetry or flooring, think about how you can pull in the best of these details to maximize the coastal feel. Lose the window shades, use paint to advantage, highlight your collections. There's no limit or rules when it comes to creating the coastal feel as long as you keep the ocean and the beach and that soft breeze in mind. Happy designing!
Try these rustic kitchen ideas if you're thinking of another design.
Do you know where the solid wood stools are from in the first photo?