It’s that time of year when beachcombing for coastal interior style is in full swing on the blog. With winter’s storms behind us, this year’s surf rolls in with a colour palette where thundery North Sea greys meet the balmier tones of Atlantic and Cornish coastal blues. A sea spray of sepia tones wash over 2024 coastal styling, highlighting the textures of antique and vintage treasures along with wavy scallop shapes and the magic of artisan-made shell decoration.

Coastal colour palette

Perhaps with more unpredictable weather patterns, I am drawn this year to a moodier coastal palette. The clash of cooler greys with warm turquoise blues also ensures a coastal scheme that has contrast and isn’t too obvious. Sprinkling a scheme with flashes of coral colour and pattern make a lovely contrast as seen here with Seakist’s exterior window paint in South Queensferry, Fife.

Shell decoration

The magic of grotto-inspired shell work is always on my list for creating coastal interior style, especially as splashbacks for powder rooms and bathrooms.

The exceptionally talented Katherine Lloyd works mainly to commission, creating and restoring decorative features for gardens and interiors, using natural materials such as shells, fossils and crystals.  She works on projects ranging in size from delicate table lamps and mirrors to bathrooms, grottoes and shell houses.

Coastal style by Elizabeth Hay Design

Singapore-based British interior designer Elizabeth Hay has interpreted a delightful coastal-style bedroom for one of her clients with a cheerful but muted colour palette of blues and yellow.

You can rely on the carefully thought through comfort of country house tradition with Elizabeth’s designs. A nod to the East (note the bamboo side tables) give her designs a nice bit of storytelling whilst I always enjoy Elizabeth’s colour and pattern choices.

In this bedroom project, gentle sea references are incorporated with wavy striped headboard fabric, along with scalloped bedlinen and rattan woven pelmet. Sea urchin style ceramic table lamps add an additional layer of coastal texture. Creative too is the use of Sarah Vanrenen’s Isabelle Large trailing floral wallpaper which offers an almost seaweed-esque backdrop to Elizabeth’s blue and yellow coastal scheme.

Vintage coastal art

Tempestuous beach scene found on Instagram via @le_jardin-robo featuring Long Island Beach (detail) c 1875 oil on canvas by Mauritz Frederick Hendrik De Haas (1832-1895). It feels right for this year’s coastal colour palette.

British coastal style by Neptune for 2024

Neptune have chosen a nostalgic British coastal theme for their Spring/Summer 2024 collections which they photographed on location at Atlanta Trevone, luxury self-catering holiday homes in Padstow, Cornwall. Cleverly, the lighting and colour choices for this collection have created an atmospheric sepia effect for the photographic styling.

The new collection features rattan and scallopy shaped accessories that combine with a new upholstery and soft furnishing collaboration with Fermoie.

Coastal rattan scallops

Scallopy, wavy shapes make a suitable accompaniment to the coastal look. Add some rattan texture with the Loama Braided rattan console table, £270 from La Redoute and curtain pelmets from Madebyind on Etsy.

Handmade coastal signs

Hannah Watchorn is an illustrator, textile designer and ex Country Living and Elle Deco magazine stylist who produces these wonderful bespoke handpainted signs in her garden studio in West Sussex. Look out too in Hannah’s online shop for her house portraits and pretty handpainted shell pictures.

Vintage coastal styling

I first came across Katie Bell’s wonderful vintage styling at Elise McGreevy-Harris’ White Door Brocante in 2022. Katie also sells on Instagram and at several brocantes and fairs around the country.

Vintage coastal style on the High Street

Perfect for beachcombing or for keeping gulls at bay from your picnic, this cute vintage coastal style picnic basket, is NEW in at £35, from Marks & Spencer.

Childhood memories of Aldeburgh

In March, I reunited in Aldeburgh with my journalist school friend Lucy Mason Jensen (who now lives on a ranch in California) and her childhood friend Liz Lyons to attend the launch of their new book The South Lookout, Our Aldeburgh Childhoods. The book celebrates their idyllic childhood in the 1960s and 70s growing up next door to each other on the Suffolk coast.

Behind the iconic South Lookout and one row back from the pebble seafront, their two families were in and out of each other’s houses on King Street, due in part to a shared love of art and music. The Snape Maltings Concert Hall was a huge draw for both families, particularly Liz’s mother who was a classically trained singer. Lucy’s mother was an artist (I remember her as glamorous with 60s black khol around her eyes) and a fantastic cook. The grown-ups shared outdoor ‘feasts’ with a long table traversing their joined-up gardens with the kids paid to be waiters.

Lucy, Liz and their siblings knew all the locals and had a tremendous amount of freedom cycling amongst the lanes, music making, beachcombing for amber (with some success) as well as swimming. But never without a parental chaperone in the sea.

Anyone who knows Aldeburgh and who grew up in the ’60s and ’70s will find this an irresistibly evocative account as seen through adult eyes. Just need Richard Curtis now to write the screenplay! The book is available in the Aldeburgh Book Shop and online from Amazon.

Blog rewind

And here are a few postcards from past coastal style posts, just click the link and enjoy!

British coastal style 2023

Coastal Grandmother Style

Shop the blog

A handsome pair of early 20th century bobbin candlesticks, £70/pair available in my online vintage shop. The candles are from a selection at Bucklebury Trading’s The Corner Shop.

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With many thanks,

Charis x