Beach Cottage Decorating Ideas for Summer With Coastal Charm

Looking for summer decor ideas for your home? As the summer months roll in, there’s no better time to create a fresh and inviting coastal vibe for the season. Take a tour of my 1920 beach cottage where I’ll share simple summer coastal decorating ideas that will transform your home into a serene and relaxing beachy oasis.

Using natural elements and classic coastal colors is a perfect way to give your home a charming coastal cottage style during the summer months ahead.

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Summer 2023 Home Tour

Today I’ll be showing you my beach cottage living room and kitchen with you. I’ve gone with a coastal cottage decor style this summer and can’t wait to share my ideas and inspiration with you.

I’m so excited for you to see even more summer home decor inspiration this week with 26 other home tours.

Today is day four of the 2023 Summer Home Tours blog hop hosted by Marty from A Stroll Thru Life. She has brought 27 talented bloggers together this week to share our summer homes with you.

If you’re hopping over from Cindy of County Road 407, thanks for being here, and welcome to my blog. I’m sure you loved her festive summer decor. And the fact that her ideas were both easy and inexpensive was even better!

Be sure to visit all 27 homes on the summer tour this week. You can find every blog link at the end of this post.

For your shopping convenience, this post contains affiliate links. As a Reward Style and Amazon affiliate, I earn commission on sales at no extra cost to you. Read my full disclosure here.

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Welcome to Shiplap and Shells

If this is your first visit here, welcome to my home. I’m Kim and you can find out a little more about me HERE. Shiplap and Shells is a lifestyle blog where I share my Pacific Northwest home, gardening, our Puget Sound boating adventures, and so much more.

We moved into our “forever home”, a 1920 small beach cottage, eleven years ago and literally renovated, refurbished, refreshed, and remodeled every inch of the house.

My husband, two dog boys, Jax and Ollie, and I live along a cove in Puget Sound. located in Washington State. If you’re not familiar with this body of water, it’s basically a sound of the Pacific Northwest which is an inlet of the Pacific Ocean and part of the Salish Sea.

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Our Summer Beach Cottage Home Tour 

It’s that time once again when sunny days are the new norm, and open windows let the fresh air flow through your home.

You don’t have to have a coastal home to embrace a beach cottage look for the summer. Using coastal elements such as seashells, vintage oars, or glass bottles is not only easy to decorate with but is relatively inexpensive.

Here are some of the other summer tours I’ve shared on the blog in the past.

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Coastal Living Room

I’m starting off my beach house tour with our living room.

As you can see, I have a small space to work with so it can be quite challenging to decorate my home without becoming cluttered. This is a challenge I’ve faced since we moved here.

The trick to a clutter-free (alright, who am I kidding…moderately clutter-free) space in our small cottage is to pick only some of my favorite things and try to show some restraint.

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Coastal Style Coffee Table Charm

The perfect place to start adding coastal-style decor is the coffee table.

There are so many great coastal living room decor items you can add such as seashells, flowers in glass jars, or coastal-inspired books.

A gray and white striped scarf I bought in Greece last year was the foundation for my coastal cottage coffee table vibe. It provided much-needed texture and added warmth to the stark white table.

One of my favorite beachy cottage decor pieces to display in the summer season is a vintage glass container that I fill with sand and seashells.

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I found this round whitewashed wicker basket at HomeGoods a couple of weeks ago and decided to replace my vintage wooden dough bowl to mix it up. This was more of a beachy style.

The aqua glass vases were also from HomeGoods and were a great price. I’m sorry I don’t remember how much they were now, but I bought 3 so I must have loved the price. I know they were under $10 each.

I’ve had the faux flowers for years and love them in these vases.

A vintage white enamel oval tray is perfect for displaying a glass float, starfish, and clean cotton candle. I love this fragrance for summer.

SHOP CANDLES FOR SUMMER

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Bring in Fresh Flowers for Summer

There’s nothing better than bringing fresh flowers into the house all summer long. There are so many vessels to choose from when arranging them, including glass bottles, mason jars, and vintage galvanized buckets.

Lavender and rosemary are also great options to show off in the summer.

For those of you that are new to Shiplap and Shells, what you might not realize is that I grow a cut flower garden every summer so I can have fresh flowers ANYTIME I want during the season.

Here are a few of the cut flowers I grow every year… and the list goes on.

• dahlias
• snapdragons
• sweet peas
• zinnias
• cosmos
• strawflowers

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Coastal Accents for a Summer Beach Coastal Cottage

Sea glass, coral, and nautical-inspired decor is a great way to create a beach house look that exudes coastal charm.

Some beach house decorating ideas include vintage books in coastal blues and shades of beige and sand, glass fishing floats, and starfish and seashells.

Use bowls, trays, and jars to display seashells and glass floats.

Seashells are simple to use and are budget-friendly.

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Natural Fibers and Textures

Lighten up textures for summer by switching to cotton and linens.

Light throws and pillows on our living room window seat help to create a coastal haven.

For a more coastal feel, incorporate natural textures and fibers into your beachy cottage decor. A jute rug adds both visual interest and a beachy feel to your living space.

Crisp white slipcovered chairs are a classic beach cottage necessity.

Wicker baskets and furniture are a perfect coastal home decor choice for the season and play off beautifully with summer whites.

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Summer Coastal Colors in Our Beach Cottage

When it comes to coastal cottage decorating, blue colors are an obvious choice. Opt for pale blues that remind you of the sea for a feeling of tranquility.

Use blue, white, and sand colors in pillows, curtains, throws, and upholstery.

Because we are out on our deck so much in the summer, a pile of light throws is available when the sun goes down and the temperature drops.

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Wood Tones

The wood tones in our ceiling beams and wood flooring add warmth to our beach cottage.

Wooden oars, dough bowls, and vintage wood stools used as side tables are other coastal decor ideas for your home in the summer.

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Natural Elements for Coastal Cottage Decor

Use natural elements like driftwood, seashells, and woven baskets to bring a touch of the beach indoors.

Incorporate these natural materials through wall art, decorative accents, and even furniture to enhance the coastal vibe.

My shiplap white walls are a blank canvas that reflects white, making the space feel brighter and more open. It also provides a perfect backdrop for my cottage decor.

The oversized hanging basket in the corner has been a great investment piece. Since the summer cut flower garden hasn’t started blooming yet, I filled the basket with dried eucalyptus in the meantime.

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Coastal Kitchen

Our bright and cheerful coastal kitchen is inspired by a beachy color palette, open shelving, and seaside decor.

This is where the living room meets the kitchen.

We were so lucky to be able to keep this black cabinet here next to the kitchen. It’s where we store the white vintage ironstone but had no room for it in our small kitchen.

I get many comments about there being a floor trim piece separating the two rooms. This is because the kitchen was slightly elevated and wasn’t level where the flooring came together after taking down a wall.

There used to be a wall dividing the kitchen and living room. All that was there was a small opening into the kitchen. You couldn’t see the table at all.

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Coastal Color Palette

The summer colors I chose this year were white and a mix of blue shades, including navy, aqua, and mid-blue tones. This color palette gives the kitchen a sense of tranquility and a connection to the sea.

This year I added yellow accents with bowls, lemons, and pillows on my window seats to the color scheme. but you could also use sandy beiges or corals with your beach cottage decor.

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Use Open Shelving to Show Off Your Coastal Charm

Display beachy elements like starfish, crisp white dishes, and fish-themed dishes on your kitchen open shelving.

I love incorporating vintage pieces like white ironstone dishware and this scale on the shelving as well to create interest.

Storage Solutions for a Small Kitchen

Pot Rack

We made the iron pipe pot rack for more storage. We hang our vintage copper pans and utensils, colanders, baskets, and dried flowers.

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Kitchen Island

Our kitchen island is a repurposed antique dresser we found on Craigslist. Our contractor installed a butcher block top that he found from a Dunkin Donuts that was going out of business.

This piece is the perfect size for our small cozy kitchen.

I’m still looking for the perfect vintage barstools to sit here. I’ve always had mismatched ones and I will celebrate the day that I find the perfect set.

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Vintage Cabinet

It was meant to be.

This old cabinet, which was orange when I first saw it, was love at first sight for me. I found it at an antique store in Gig Harbor over 20 years ago. For those of you that live in this area, the store was located in the same building where the Dolly Mama Boutique is now. I loved that place and miss it every day.

I love that there are glass doors to show off certain things and closed doors that store the not-so-pretty kitchen items.

This is probably the boldest color I’ve ever painted a piece of furniture but it’s the first thing that people see when they walk into the kitchen.

The perfect coastal color!

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Natural Textures and Materials

I’ve added wicker chairs in the kitchen for more of a coastal cottage style.

Add the charm factor to your coastal kitchen with woven placemats and table runners.

Wicker baskets are an essential item in our beach cottage kitchen.

Whether they’re picnic baskets, hanging from the pot rack, or used for storage and organization, they make quite a statement.

This basket is perfect for holding my vintage wooden rolling pins and breadboards.

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Here’s a fabulous summer candle fragrance…Coastal Linen.

SHOP FOR CANDLES HERE.

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Summer Dining at the Beach Cottage

We don’t have a formal dining room but do have this eating space in the kitchen that looks out to the bay.

I love my rustic farmhouse table from Dutch Crafters in this space with wicker chairs and window seating.

Our pendant lights are from Barnlight Electric Company.

We added the window seat after living here for a few years. There wasn’t much space for entertaining so this works nicely. The new seating also gave me extra drawers underneath for storage.

We have fun coastal tableware for summer dining which you can see in another post. The link is below.

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The Coffee Station

Remember when I told you (several times) that our kitchen is small?

I’m always thinking outside the box when it comes to our 1600-square-foot home. Just to the right of our refrigerator is the coffee bar. It’s actually across from our walk-in pantry (which used to be a bathroom).

This is basically a small hallway from the laundry room and primary bedroom to the kitchen.

We put a narrow dresser in the space for the espresso maker and a shelf for seasonal decor. Just recently we installed reclaimed wood to the ceiling of the hallway.

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As you can tell, we always find a way to use every inch of space in our cozy coastal cottage.

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Enjoy Your Home This Summer With a Coastal Vibe

Decorating your home or beach cottage for the summer season is a perfect way to bring the coastal style into your home. By incorporating natural elements, coastal colors, and a variety of textures, you can create a fresh and inviting space that captures the feel of coastal living.

So, open your windows, enjoy the sunny summer days, and use some of these beach house decor ideas that will transform your home into a coastal haven you’ll love to call home.

If you have any questions or have a message for me, I’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment below. And be sure to share this blog post link with anyone who may find these coastal-style decorating tips inspiring.

Next up on the tour is my talented friend Pasha from the blog, Pasha is Home. You’ll love her fabulous faux flower finds for summer. Be sure to check out the other blogger’s home tours below.

Until next time,

Happy Summer Decorating!

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More Summer Home Tours to Inspire You

Click on any line below to catch up or see any tour.

Monday, June 5th

A Stroll Thru Life – Simply2Moms – Our Southern Home – The Tattered Pew – Whispering Pines Homestead

Tuesday, June 6th

Eleanor Rose Home – The House of Silverado – Calypso In The Country – StoneGable – My Wee Abode – Southern Home and Hospitality

Wednesday, June 7th

Worthing Court – Thrifty and Chic – The Stonybrook House – Decor To Adore – Chalking Up Success – She Gave It A Go

Thursday, June 8th

Shiplap and Shells – Pasha is Home – DIY Beautify – CitrineLiving – Thistle Key Lane – Country Road 407

Friday, June 9th

White Arrows Home – It All Started With Paint – Southern Crush at Home – Amy Sadler Designs

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