Coastal homes with a beach aesthetic are highly desirable and usually conjure memories of days spent boating or swimming in the sea. This style of house can be found in various areas throughout the United States, from New England to the Pacific Northwest to Florida’s Gulf Coast. Coastal style is as varied as the cities and towns you find it in, but a beach aesthetic is always at the heart of the design. Here, we’ve put together a roundup of some of our favorite coastal home designs with a beach aesthetic to inspire you.
Contemplating updating your coastal home? Our expert team of designers can help you visualize a beach aesthetic for your dream home before you commit to any costly changes. Learn more about our virtual exterior design services.
What Is a Coastal Home?
Coastal homes can range from contemporary to rustic to tropical, depending on the region they’re located in. A coastal home on the rocky shore of Maine will look different from a coastal cottage in Florida, for example. While a traditional coastal home in Florida might feel like a tropical vacation pad, a coastal property in the Northeast might lean more rustic and charming. And in certain parts of California, you’re more likely to find large modern homes versus quaint beach cottages.
Generally speaking, though, all coastal homes share some similarities that give them their highly sought-after beach aesthetic. The color palette of coastal homes is typically reminiscent of the beach — think soft blues and greens, off-white tones, and washed-out wood stains.
#1 // Modern Coastal
This Florida home is the perfect example of a modern coastal house. With its combination of stucco, siding, and wood elements, this property would look right at home overlooking the ocean. The light exterior paint colors also play into the home’s beach aesthetic.
#2 // Historic Shingle-Style Split-Level
Shingle-style homes like the one above are common on the East Coast and are a popular choice for beach retreats. This historic split-level home features gray shake siding and light brick painted in Sherwin Williams’ Alabaster. A relaxed seating area and loveseat swing on the porch make this home’s entry extra inviting.
#3 // Stucco and Storm Shutters Combo
Stucco is a popular cladding material for beach homes. Our designers achieved a beach aesthetic for the owners of the home above by pairing light-colored stucco with wood accents and storm shutters, also known as Bahama shutters, painted with Benjamin Moore’s Greyhound, a cool gray with beautiful blue undertones.
#4 // Quintessential California Beach Aesthetic
This modern beachfront house is quintessential California. This sleek design features multiple types of siding — all painted with Benjamin Moore’s Simply White — and modern touches like the glass railing enclosing the porch and patterned floor tile.
#5 // Coastal Cottage Beach Aesthetic
This 1920s home got a modern update to help it better fit in with the other beachy coastal-style houses in the area. Light exterior paint colors — Benjamin Moore’s Seapearl on the siding and Palladian Blue on the shutters — help achieve the coastal cottage feel the homeowner desired. Additionally, our designers created a comfy outdoor living space featuring a firepit and lounge chairs, and a porch swing.
#6 // Contemporary California Chic
This contemporary California home represents sophisticated beach living at its finest. This design features multiple outdoor spaces and folding doors on the first floor that make indoor-outdoor living a breeze.
#7 // Updated Ranch with Beach Aesthetic
Our designers created a coastal beach aesthetic for this home by updating the red brick chimney, shutters, and front porch area. A fresh color palette — new James Hardie siding in Light Mist and Benjamin Moore’s Simply White on the columns and trim — also help evoke a beachy vibe.
#8 // Beach Town Double Decker
This coastal home fits perfectly in the New Jersey beach town where it’s located. Outdoor planters, a large second-story deck, and a firepit surrounded by stylish lounge chairs make this home’s exterior a standout.
#9 // Waterfront Backyard Oasis
The front of this new build is stunning, but the backyard is where the beachy vibes really come to life. From the pool to the lounge area to the dock, this home features some of our favorite coastal design elements. The soft blue exterior paint color also helps the exterior blend beautifully with its surroundings.
#10 // Fresh and Modern Beach Aesthetic
Cozy outdoor living spaces — like the one seen in this design — are quite common in coastal homes.Multiple seating areas and a firepit add to the modern, beachy aesthetic of this California home.
The Bottom Line on Coastal Homes
Coastal homes come in many shapes and sizes — from beachy bungalows to cozy cottages. Whether you live on the ocean or a few blocks from the beach, consider a coastal design for your home.
The beach aesthetic you’ve been dreaming of is just a few clicks away. Our expert team of designers is ready to help visualize your coastal home. Get started today.
Summon sandy, warm beaches with neutral paint colors. An easy backdrop for swapping out accessories and breathing vibrant colors into any space, neutrals are a staple hue in the coastal home. Beiges, taupes and greiges pair effortlessly with crisp white trim.
Fiber cement is the only type of home siding for coastal climates that combines the durable performance of masonry with the look of clapboards, shingles, or stone or brick. The material is rot-, fire-, and termite-proof and unaffected by wind or cold.
What Is Coastal Design Style? Coastal design is characterized by the reflection of natural seaside elements—surf, sand, and sky—in the home through color and texture. It is often confused with nautical design style.
Fiber Cement is the Best Siding Material for Coastal Homes
Plus, with the built-in rainscreen of our architectural wall panels, fiber cement siding is designed to manage moisture easily and is a great choice for beach homes that are used seasonally and for primary residences alike.
Soft blues are some of the most popular coastal hues out there, which is probably why this category received an overwhelming number of recommendations from the paint color experts we polled. The gray-green turquoise of Behr's Ocean Boulevard conjures images of clear blue skies and sparkling ocean waves.
Feel free to choose cool light blues, blue-greens, or blue-gray hues. Other popular beach house paint colors include white, cream, or sandy beige, as well as warm bright shades such as coral or yellow.
It varies from region to region, but the most popular color of vinyl siding is a timeless, classic white and similar shades of cream. Gray is a close runner-up.
Materials such as fiberglass and aluminum are excellent choices due to their resistance to corrosion and deterioration caused by salt air. These materials ensure your doors maintain their structural integrity and visual appeal over time, even in the face of harsh coastal conditions.
"Coastal style emphasizes lighter tones in shades of blue, green, beige and white to communicate a relaxed feel. [It also] embraces casual furnishings slipcovered in neutral layers to create a cozy interior while welcoming sisal rugs, sea glass details and gauzy linen drapery."
“Coastal design tends to be more tailored, traditional, and refined, whereas a beachy look feels more like relaxed fit jeans,” adds Solis. A coastal space often makes use of clean lines and definition of shape in furnishings, whereas beachy homes are more laid back.
Think soft, soothing colours such as whites, creams, beiges and blues, with the addition of green for a gentle, earthy feel. Fabrics should be soft and inviting, with a mix of plush upholstery and natural materials like linen and cotton – inspired by nature – to create a serene and peaceful atmosphere.
While light wood cabinets are certainly an option in the coastal kitchen design, white cabinetry tends to be more common for this breezy kitchen style. Choose glass-front doors to reflect natural light, and accent the cabinets with a mixed blue mosaic backsplash.
Before we launch into our designs, let's take a look at the specific features that make up coastal homes. Open concept living, neutral and airy colors, natural materials and simplistic design are key to creating a truly coastal feel.
The white color reflects the biggest part of the dazzling light, preventing the houses from getting warm and that was a basic goal of the traditional architecture. Making the houses heat resistant, the summers are much more tolerable and pleasant.
Sandy neutrals, nautical blues, soft yellows, and easy-going white paint colours come together for a casual coastal colour palette that radiates charm.
Coastal color schemes borrow from vivid sunsets, sandy beaches, deep-blue seas, and lush, tropical surroundings. Another beach house must is adding textures from local, natural materials like seagrass, jute, raffia, sisal, and bamboo that bring in the outdoors while being incredibly durable.
Just pair watery hues with natural textures, like rope, driftwood or wicker, and mix in a few nautical touches like anchors, oars or shells. Whether you live by the sea or miles from the nearest body of water, incorporating just a few beachy decor touches can give any space a cool, coastal vibe.
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