25 Laidback Coastal Living Room Ideas

Incorporate Natural Materials

Farmhouse living room — James Nathan Schroder

Use natural materials to bring texture and muted tones into your living room. A round coffee table made from pieces of driftwood and a braided jute area rug create a calming backdrop for a deep blue sectional and patterned swivel chairs.

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Layer Area Rugs

Coastal living room with layered rugs — David A Land

Create a lived-in feel and make your living room extra comfy by layering area rugs. Use a natural jute or sisal rug as the base layer and top it with a textured, colorful, or patterned rug to create distinction. Make sure the bottom rug is about a foot larger than the top so that enough of it shows to make the layers distinct.

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Create a Layered Look

This coastal living room does the laidback, layered aesthetic to perfection. It layers a variety of textiles through throw pillows, blankets, and a faded area rug, but also different styles of furniture through a mix of traditional cane chairs, a modern brass coffee table, and a pair of boho-style stools. The color palette may be limited, but layering tone on tone neutrals with a couple pops of blue makes for an effortlessly chic space.

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Choose Denim Fabrics

Living room with denim upholstery — Tom Story

Give your living room a cool and casual makeover with an unexpected upholstery fabric—denim! This deep denim sectional channels a laidback coastal feel and pairs beautifully with soft white walls and light wood accents. Instead of artwork, hang a collection of surfboards for fun beach-inspired wall decor.

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Mix Patterns

Sofa pillows in a mix of patterns — Jason Donnelly

Create a layered, cozy, and casual look by arranging throw pillows of different sizes, colors, and patterns on your living room sofa. Mix solid pillows with small and large-scale patterned pillows for a relaxed, lived-in feel that'll make your sofa oh-so inviting.

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Maximize Vaulted Ceilings

Skylight vaulted ceiling — KELLER & KELLER PHOTOGRAPHY INC

A stunning vaulted ceiling covered with a coat of warm white paint creates an open and airy feel in this coastal living room. The simple color scheme keeps the open floor plan from looking cluttered and busy and a stone fireplace and hardwood floors enhance the warmth of the space.

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Adorn the Walls

Go all out with coastal-themed wall decor in your living room. Don't limit yourself to two-dimensional pieces; in addition to paintings, drawings, and prints, hang or display three-dimensional objects such as a seashell or piece of coral to add some depth and dimension.

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Hang a Statement Piece

An oversized wood piece depicting a large fish makes a statement in this coastal living room. The wall art draws the eyes up to visually enlarge the room and ties in the other wood elements in the space for a cohesive design.

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Decorate with Beach-Inspired Accents

Living room beach inspired accents — David Land

Bring the beach indoors and style your coffee table with stacks of blue books, a couple seashells or a starfish, a rope-covered object, and sea glass-inspired vases. These subtle touches convey the decor theme without going overboard or looking cheesy.

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Add Pops of Blue

Blue and white living room — John Stoffer

Scatter pops of blue throughout your coastal living room to add depth, color, and a water-inspired element. Use varying shades of blue, from light to deep indigo, and surround them with warm neutral tones for visual balance.

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Display Collections

Coastal style with seashell collection — Brian McWeeney

No matter the design style, your home should include personal touches that make the space uniquely yours. Coastal style offers a great opportunity to add charm and character. Display collections of seashells you've picked up at the beach, hang beach-themed artwork you found at flea markets, or stack books you've collected over the years.

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Paint the Ceiling

Living room with blue ceiling — Michael Partenio

You don't necessarily have to paint your living room walls blue to give it a coastal spin; turn your gaze up instead and give the ceiling a fresh coat of paint. This calming blue color is just saturated enough to stand out against the crisp white beams and serves as an unexpected design touch that instantly makes the room more interesting.

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Incorporate Basket Decor

Living room basket decor — Annie Schlechter

Carry the coastal theme throughout your living room by using baskets of various styles and sizes. Bring in a lidded basket to store extra blankets and pillows, and extend the texture to your walls by hanging a collection of patterned baskets for a cool beachy wall accent.

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Layer Neutrals

Neutral coastal living room — Colleen Duffley

Stick with calming neutrals for a coastal living room that exudes peace and serenity. Layer tone-on-tone neutrals for a luxurious look that feels effortlessly sophisticated and timeless. Instead of turning to an array of colors, use an array of tones, textures, and materials.

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Use Rattan Pieces

Living room with rattan furniture — Adam Albright

For a quintessential coastal look, you can't go wrong with rattan. Use it sparingly through smaller pieces such as a coffee table, baskets, and trays to add a textural element that pairs beautifully with warm neutrals and beach-themed decorative accents.

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Style a Coastal-Themed Vignette

Create a coastal-themed vignette on top of a console table in your living room. Add height with a tall table lamp, hang and lean artwork, corral items in a rattan basket, and drive the theme home with a couple of large shells or stones you found at the beach.

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Decorate with Turquoise

Turquoise and white beachy living room — Atlantic Archives, Inc. | Porter Studios

Infuse your living room with an energizing dose of turquoise for a fun beachy feel. Brighten white walls and furniture with pops of the bold color through throw pillows, artwork, and decorative accents that'll instantly enliven the space.

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Maximize Natural Light

Coastal style embodies a light and bright aesthetic. Maximize natural light in your living room through sliding doors or floor-to-ceiling windows, avoid using dark and heavy furniture, and use plenty of white throughout the space to bounce light around.

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Purchase Slipcovered Furniture

Living room with slipcover furniture — Jean Allsopp

White sofas and armchairs are a coastal living room staple, but if you're concerned about keeping them clean, purchasing slipcovered pieces is a practical option. That way, you can wash them as needed to prolong their life and maintain their crisp brightness.

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Stick with Blue and White

For a traditional coastal living room, stick with a blue and white color scheme. Mix solid and patterned pieces to prevent it from looking flat, and ground the two colors with textured neutrals, live greenery, and natural accents such as a stone fireplace and hardwood floors.

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Accent with Pink

Coffee table coastal decor — David A Land

Bring in a dose of cheery energy with pink accents to brighten your coastal living room. It pairs well with deep indigo shades as well as natural wood and rattan pieces that bring out its warm tones.

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Use Natural Window Treatments

Living room coastal decor — Annie Schlechter

Window treatments are an often-overlooked room feature that serves as the finishing touch that helps a living room feel put-together. Give them a coastal spin and go with woven wood shades that maintain a neutral color palette while bringing in a beach-inspired natural texture.

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Create a Focal Point

Neutral living room — Kritsada Panichgul

A fireplace is typically the natural focal point of a living room and therefore a great way to showcase coastal style. Highlight the design style's simple, laidback nature with a natural stone fireplace and add built-in shelve that provide a decorative surface for beach-themed items.

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Focus on the Cozy Factor

A coastal living room is one that invites you in and begs you to lounge around and linger. A cozy reading corner is the perfect way to convey this, and what could be better than a comfortable chaise layered with plush pillows and a warm throw. Add a stylish floor lamp for direct lighting and instead of a traditional end table, stack two rattan baskets for a unique look and additional hidden storage space.

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Use Varying Wood Tones

Coastal living room with wood tones — Kritsada Panichgul

Don't be afraid of mixing varying wood tones when designing your coastal living room. Here, warm-toned wood beams and a paneled door are used in the same space as a driftwood sculpture and a weathered wood cabinet and coffee table. This helps create layers of interest while maintaining a cohesive look with a common material.

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