October 2015 - The Pineapple Girls

Beach House Decorating Ideas

Published on October 30, 2015January 3, 2017 by The Pineapple Girls6 Comments

The goal of many beach house decorating ideas is to give your space an airy, effortless style. There are some key décor elements that embrace this way of living, and bring a contemporary coastal style to your home year-round, all seasons.

Chic ideas for your coastal-inspired décor include:

Pleasing paradoxes.

Many beach house decorating ideas embrace unique paradoxes and contrasting elements. For instance, the merging of wide, unadorned windows with casual slipcovered furniture. Pair patterns and prints that have a common feature, such as a color, and mix and match throughout your beach-inspired home. Modern glass and vintage teak pieces create a relaxed coastal look, with an inspired, yet ironic, flair.

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Making magic.

Shimmering metallic accents and airy gauzy textiles create an ethereal, almost magical, atmosphere in your home. Mix in nickel fixtures with crisp white countertops in either quartz or marble, and choose light, nubby linen for furnishings, window treatment, or throws throughout the space. When illuminated in candle-light or the setting-sun over the sea, your home will transform into a fresh, restorative sanctuary.

Tempting textures.

Look for elements that bring warmth to your coastal home, especially in cooler weather. Throws, pillows, and even the fabrics of your sofa or chairs contribute to creating warm sensations in your beach-inspired vision. Make spots welcoming and inviting, from the spaces in front of a fireplace to a patch of sand outside where you watch the stars. Toss large, cotton pillows and thick, nubby throws for comfort and an effortless style.

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Coastal colors.

A great coastal color palette includes all shades of blue, crisp whites, gray, green, as well as neutrals. These hues basically echo the colors seen in nature, or along a stretch of beach. Keep wall treatments light to reflect light and make the room appear larger and higher; keep floors covered simply, with cotton coverings or tiled surfaces. Exposed wood flooring makes a convenient, easy-to-maintain surface for those homes that are near or exposed to water.

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Family-friendly furniture.

The underlying theme of a coastal home is comfort and convenience. The elegant factor comes from the simplicity and clean aspects of these oceanic spaces. Buy pieces that are comfortable for sitting, dining, and living, but also that will be easy to clean and maintain. This includes cotton slip-covers and crisp linen window panels.

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Airy accents.

Invest in a few coastal-inspired accents that really embrace the look and feel that you are looking for. This might be a large wood whale cutting board, for a dramatic display, or it could be a shimmering nickel anchor that accents your built in or side table. Reclaimed wood picture frames with family and friends’ photos lining your hallway also gives your home a warm comfortable, lived-in coastal feel. Carved stone also suits a coastal scheme and brings a cool, contemporary look to a simple beach-inspired space.

Now, put it all together:

Pair elegant accents on weathered-wood furnishings for an appealing contrast in coastal schemes.
Mix and match textiles and tie them together with a common color or print, and use them liberally throughout your home.
Keep schemes simple and choose accents carefully to maintain the easy, effortless nature of beach-inspired décor.

There is something serene and satisfying about a room or space that is inspired by nature, especially when it echoes a coastal theme. Try these beach house decorating ideas in your own home to transform it into the seaside cottage of your dreams.

Fall Decorating Ideas for Coastal Living

Published on October 26, 2015September 10, 2016 by The Pineapple GirlsLeave a comment

If you have embraced a coastal way of living, your home likely reflects the clean, crisp feel of a chic, or casual design style. Each element in your home, from teak furnishings to cotton furniture slipcovers, contributes to the light, airy feeling that coastal living embodies. With fall approaching, you need only make minor tweaks to your current scheme to transition to cooler weather.

Some fall decorating tips for your coastal lifestyle include:

Get Cozy at the Beach with Throws & Pillows

A useful accent for your fall design schemes might include lots of cotton or throws and pillows to keep the autumnal chill away. Look for vibrant blues, clean whites, and patterned variations that integrate the colors of your coastal-inspired home. Carry the blue hues throughout your scheme with a cotton Brahms Mount throw in soft white & shore colors. Check out textured throws to add warmth and visual interest to these simple accent items; mix and match patterned pillows to give your room a fun, but pulled together designer look. These are perfect to drag down to the beach for an evening bonfire this fall, too!

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Bring the Outside in with Awesome Porch Decor

Bring the outside in with awesome porch and patio décor, and use lanterns to create a cozy, comfortable outside living space. These bring just the right amount of ambiance to the exterior spaces that you enjoy spending time in. This gives you the opportunity to implement, oversized pillows, and linens that meld with the look of your coastal surroundings, while also embracing the crisp, modern look of a contemporary coastal home. Weathered teak wood is a natural choice for a porch, patio, or lanai, and it complements marine blue, linen white, and navy perfectly. Be sure to choose fixtures and accents that can hold up to the chill of fall, and that will keep you comfortable during this cooler time of the year.

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Accessorize Seating Areas with Coastal Decor

Often times, it is the simple things that create the mood and atmosphere of your room so accessorize accordingly. It is easy to get carried away with accents, but keeping the space a bit sparse can lend to the airy, sophisticated designs that work great on the coast, but also in other regions, when looking for a casual, crisp, and comfortable space. Use color and texture to convey a coastal vibe in a chic way, and to warm up the space during cooler months. Take the opportunity to extend your look through the necessary features of the space, such as the floor coverings, window treatments, and furnishings. Look for clean lines and natural materials to recreate a design that is as functional as it is stylish.

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There is plenty of Power in Flowers

Fresh plants and flowers have the ability to brighten up any area and add a bit of life to your space. Use the vessel or planter to echo the color scheme of your coastal-inspired space, and look for plants that promise to thrive and bloom in the autumnal weather. Even a simple ivy or orchid provide oxygen and a healthy accent to the home, giving it a summery touch year-round. Try bringing your outdoor plants indoors during cooler seasons, but don’t overwhelm the interiors with foliage that will require a lot of sun and that could crowd or obscure the natural light coming in through the windows.

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Slide a Coastal Slip Cover Over Your Favorite Nook Chairs

Slide a colorful cotton or linen slipcover over your favorite nook chairs to transform them from simple seating implements to coordinating fixtures of your coastal lifestyle. This is a simple fix for mismatched furnishings or second-hand finds, and also ensures you will always have ample seating for entertaining and guests at a moment’s notice.

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Embrace the coming season and enjoy fall in a coastal setting with these design tips. With the right furnishings, features, and accents, your home will reflect and exude a day at the beach all year long!

The Ultimate Coastal Pumpkin Decoration

Published on October 16, 2015September 10, 2016 by The Pineapple Girls2 Comments

Traditional autumnal color schemes- browns, yellows, and reds- don’t always work in a modern, beach-inspired space. The clean colors of a chic coastal home, such as blue and white, often clash with the conventional pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns found during this spooky time of the year. There are some ways to adapt your Halloween decorating to meld well with your coastal style, and that will still bring a holiday touch to your decor this fall.

Some ways to create coastal-inspired pumpkins and décor include:

Decoupage.

Decoupage is an excellent way to change the looks of an ordinary pumpkin, without losing the autumnal flavor that these gourds possess. Soaking strips of paper, foil, or even fall leaves in decoupage glue, which dries clear, allows you to place them securely on the pumpkin shell. Use scraps of wallpaper, or fabric, that embody your home’s color scheme to make a cohesive accent that you will be proud to display in your home.

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Nautical Carvings.

Coastal Pumpkins — Image source: http://sandandsisal.com/2013/09/coastal-pumpkins.html

If you are able to find a white pumpkin (or want to paint one), give it a coastal look by carving a starfish or other sea creature design instead of traditional Halloween carvings. Glue small seashells in the shape of an anchor or other nautical symbol, and use natural moss around the stem. These will reflect the soothing, tranquil style of your home, while also paying homage to the Halloween holiday.

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Modern, Meet Organic.

We created this look with chevron patterned duct tape and high gloss enamel white paint to use as a store display. It works perfectly with our white slipcovered sofas and blue and white patterned pillows that perfectly melds the two styles creating a relaxed coastal style.

Paint.

Perhaps the simplest treatment for a beach-inspired pumpkin is paint; you may choose to paint them all-white, blue, or other ocean-inspired shade. Leave the stem unpainted, and allow to fully dry. A bright, oceanic blue makes a great accent when displayed in pairs on your patio, lanai, or tabletop.

Another idea is to use paint-pens to create designs over the entire shell of your pumpkin. Use each segment of the pumpkin for a different pattern with black, blue, or metallic pens to create a cohesive collage.

Happy Halloween!

For a cool and cohesive autumnal accent that will enhance your South Florida style, try some of these unique treatments for the conventional pumpkin. This traditional symbol of the season gets a contemporary, coastal-inspired makeover with these fun and easy ideas. Furthermore, these beachy accents will bring a bit of fall flavor to your home décor, without clashing or conflicting with your current schemes and design themes.