Coastal colour schemes - 10 of the best

Introduce nautical style into your own home with our coastal colour schemes

Let the waves and hue of the ocean roll into your bedroom with a living room with a whitewashed colour scheme. Paint walls a fresh white and team with stone, or wood flooring. Add simple white blinds or voile curtains. Team this look with white linen furnishings and a rattan armchair. Team with blue accessories such as a coastal blue mohair throw and inky-blue wool cushions for added texture.

Add a pop of colour to a coastal colour scheme with a tropical print. Keep the walls a fresh white, or icy blue  and team with bright orange, jade green and azure blue to echo the hues of a tropical seabed.

Rustic wood panelling adds a wonderful coastal feel to any room. Paint it a calming white and team with nautical blue and white striped bedlinen. Team with a sandy coloured carpet for a beach hut vibe.

Driftwood is a wonderful material to add a feeling of coastal colour schemes. Choose furniture crafted from natural driftwood or coastal-themed accessorise such as pebbles, starfish and shells positioned around the room. Position a pile of driftwood under a console table or in a corner of the room for relaxed coastal chic.

1/10 Cool coastal décor

pillows on bed with teapoy

(Image credit: Future PLC/Simon Scarboro)

Add a feature wall in your bathroom or kitchen to evoke the colours of the sea. Soft blues and metallics are a great look for a coastal-themed wallpaper. Epitomise beach-hut chic with rustic storage ladders and coastal-style accessories.

Sea-blue sofa with red, white and blue cushions

Could this decking area be any more idyllic. The sea-blue sofa seat pad, cheerful cushions and crisp white bunting are all the colour needed to accompany this beach-side view.

Bunting
The Cotton Bunting Company
Day bed
Feather & Black

2/10 Blue and white striped living room

living room with sofa set and lamp

(Image credit: Future PLC/James Merrell)

Bold blue and white stripes add impact to this cool whitewashed living room. Soft voiles at the window allow the light to filter through and industrial-style accessories such as this functional floor lamp add a nautical feel.

Sofa
Laura Ashley
Pouffe
Marks & Spencer

3/10 White and blue bedroom scheme with coral throw

bedroom with bed and pillows on it and lamp beside

(Image credit: Future PLC/Simon Scarboro)

If a white and blue colour scheme is too cool for your liking, warm it up with a shot of bright red and orange in the form of a coral print like this bedroom throw.

Bed
Chic Shack
Duvet
Linum
Lampshade
John Lewis

4/10 Soft grey and pink bedroom

bedroom with bed and pink pillows and lamp beside

(Image credit: Future PLC/Tim Young)

If you prefer cosy colour schemes take inspiration from driftwood and use a relaxed palette of warm woods, soft greys and light pinks for a laidback bedroom scheme.

Driftwood furniture
Notonthehighstreet.com
Bedding
Next

5/10 Soft blue and green wallpaper

blue and green wallpaper with rope

(Image credit: Future PLC/Spike Powell)

Natural materials are key to this look, so if you're not sure which colours to use try putting wallpapers and fabrics against natural wood and textures to see how they work. Sky blue and sea green are always winners.

Wallpaper
Wallpaper Direct

6/10 Seaside-style dining room

dining room with dining table and chairs

(Image credit: Future PLC/Simon Whitmore)

To create a laidback beach-feel in your home try using a colour palette of bleached wood, soft white and natural materials like this relaxed kitchen-diner.

Shelving unit
Ikea
Dining table

John Lewis
Rug

Crucial Trading
Pendant light

GardenTrading
Dining chairs

Ercol

7/10 Grey and white living room detail

living room with books on desk and greuy wooden wall behind

(Image credit: Future PLC/Paul Massey)

If a nautical life is the one for you, get the look in your living room with a stripped-back colour palette of softly bleached greys and whites.

Antique model boat
The Vintage Model Yacht Group
Antique shutters
Lassco

8/10 Blue and red striped dining room

dining room with dining table and chairs on white flooring

(Image credit: Future PLC/Oliver Gordon)

For a jaunty English seaside look in your living room you can't beat a bright striped fabric - choose a red and blue colour palette against a fresh white backdrop.

Table
John Lewis
Chair slipcovers
Bemz

9/10 White and grey coastal dining room

dining room with dining table and chairs and flower vase on it

(Image credit: Future PLC/Robert Sanderson)

If bold stripes are a bit too much, try a soft grey colour instead for a more relaxed take on this look. Team with white walls and furniture for a relaxed kitchen-diner.

Bistro chairs
The Conran Shop
Tablecloth
Scandi Living

10/10 Grey and pink bedroom scheme

bedroom with bed and pillows and wooden wall behind

(Image credit: Future PLC/Emma Lee)

Beach-house chic is given an update in this soothing bedroom by replacing blues with pinks. Set against a wood-panelled wall and rough-wood furniture, the rosy furnishings ensure a boudoir that's both relaxed and romantic.

Bed and bedside tables
Jona Warbey
Ottoman
Spina
Bedcover
Zimmer + Rohde

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Thea Babington-Stitt
Assistant Editor

Thea Babington-Stitt is the Assistant Editor for Ideal Home. Thea has been working across some of the UK’s leading interiors titles for nearly 10 years. 

She started working on these magazines and websites after graduating from City University London with a Masters in Magazine Journalism. Before moving to Ideal Home, Thea was News and Features Editor at Homes & Gardens, LivingEtc and Country Homes & Interiors.