Three Decorating Rules When Decorating With Coastal Themed Accent Pillows

When you're looking to give your home a coastal theme, the easiest way to start is by adding beach themed accent pillows. Accent pillows come in a variety of different colors, fabrics, and bold graphic prints. You can choose from many different coastal styles. Accent pillows are an easy and inexpensive way to bring seaside decor into your home. However, just because they are easy and inexpensive doesn't mean that every pillow will go with an established look. When decorating with accent pillows, there are three rules to know that will help give you the beach chic home decor of your dreams.

1. Have a Plan

It's important that before you start buying any accent pillows that you plan for your overall coastal decorating scheme. Study your existing furniture, is it beach themed furniture? Do you have any wall art? What about the colors or patterns on your existing sofa and chairs? What are they like?

Once you've determined what you have, next determine what complements and contrasts with it. Most often you're looking for a contrast instead of something that blends in. For example, if your sofa is a light color or has a delicate pattern, you may want to go with a coastal themed accent pillow that has a single bold graphic done in a powerful color, like a red crab for instance.

2. Odds are Better than Evens

The next rule for seaside decorating with accent pillows is that odds are more often better than evens. Specifically, if you're looking to put accent pillows on the sofa or couch, then you may want to consider five: Two large accents pillows, two medium ones, and one small one.

The smallest pillow should be the most distinct pillow, with the most interesting texture or the boldest graphic. You need something that will set it apart from the other pillows and draw attention to it. Even though it is small, it'll make a big statement.

The pair of large pillows in this example should be the most subdued. This can be accomplished with color or with a fine delicate pattern, like small white seahorses on a blue background for instance.

The medium pair of pillows should contrast with the large pillows, but still complement them. For example, if the large pillows have small graphics (like the seahorses mentioned above), then the same graphic, only larger, would work for the medium pillows. Such as a single large seahorse against a blue background.

You don't need to rely strictly on color or pattern alone to make this contrast; it can also be achieved with distinctive fabrics such as burlap, cotton or woven.

3. KISS- Keep It Seriously Simple

Above all, the number one rule in chic home decorating with seaside decor is to keep it simple. We've already mentioned that you don't want to have more than five pillows on any single sofa or couch. Loveseats should have 3 or 5 pillows, while large chairs or recliners will look great with up to three. A basic chair should have one pillow. While all pillows should be somewhat similar and complimentary to one another, they should not necessarily be the same pillow.

Be bold when you pick your pillows, experiment with different colors, patterns, shapes, and textures. Look for pillows to provide a sharp contrast but still look good together. That's the real secret of decorating with coastal style accent pillows.

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Decorating Your Bedroom in Coastal Style

If you're looking to decorate your home in beach home decor, there's no better place to start than in the bedroom. Beach bedroom decor doesn't necessarily mean redoing your entire bedroom. While it's true adding 'hard touches' such as wainscoting and shutters do make a room look more coastal, there are many 'soft decorating touches' you can do instead, that are easier, faster, and more affordable.

Soft touches involve incorporating a variety of home decoration items (i.e. accessories,) into your already existing bedroom to give it that coastal decor flair you're looking for.

Naturally, it all starts with the bed itself. The bed is the focal point of any bedroom, so it should be 'dressed' in the style of seaside decor. Bedspreads done in beach style can go a long way to making your entire room look and feel coastal. A bedspread doesn't necessarily have to have seashells on it on order to be considered coastal decorating, a patterned bedspread or soft comforter with colors of the seashore works just as well.

For an extra pop of color and to complete the beach themed look for the bed, choose beach themed accent pillows that complement the bedspread. There are many different beach theme styles to choose from: nautical with navy, red, and whites, soft beach colors in aqua, grey, and seafoam green, and a new preppy beach style with pinks, greens, and blues.

Beach wall art plays an important part in coastal decor. This can include any kind of nautical wall decor like mirrors with nautical themes, shadow boxes with souvenirs of the seashore in them, or frames done in a weathered wash finish which is a widely popular beach theme look. Another popular trend in beach wall art is vintage style wooden signal flag signs. Real signal flags have a language all their own and with the wide variety of wooden signal flag signs available today, you can actually 'spell' out messages on your wall, sharing their true meaning with the most special people in your life.

When decorating your bedroom in beach decor, don't forget the surfaces. Dressers, nightstands, and bookshelves are wonderful places to put hurricane lamps, nautical inspired tea lights, and even large glass bottles that come in the colors of the ocean such as cobalt blue, fanciful turquoise, and golden amber. These bottles can be left as is, turned into lamps, or filled with small shells and sand.

There are many soft touches you can do to your home to make it feel more like a beach house. By focusing on soft touches when decorating, you can save yourself the expense and aggravation of a true home remodel. Best of all, you can add and remove pieces whenever the mood strikes you to create the seaside bedroom decor of your dreams.

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