Modern Coastal Decorating Ideas for Your Home

Recently, I realized that since I started adding a touch of modern coastal decor to our home, I don’t need to do a lot of seasonal decorating. By sticking with a color scheme that reflects the ocean and sky — including crisp whites, deep blues and neutral hues — everything seems to work together, no matter what time of year it is!

Although there are many versions of coastal style, my favorite is modern coastal interior design, which is light, minimal, and fresh, incorporating a mix of relaxed beach house and classic Hamptons styles.

Inspired by the organic colors and textures of nature, contemporary coastal décor might include light woods, baskets, natural fiber rugs, woven light fixtures, various shades of blue, gray, white, and neutrals, and easy-care textiles like cotton and linen fabric.

Pure Salt Interior Design

When incorporating coastal modern design in your living room, bedroom, and home, try to use a light touch. 

Since modern beach house style is essentially carefree and relaxed, it’s easy to go overboard with coastal decorating.  (Believe me, I’ve gone there and am still editing!) 

Some things to avoid overdoing in a modern coastal or beach themed home include signs, rope accents, anchors, nautical themes, ocean waves, and lobster, crab, sea urchin, and starfish motifs.

For a modern coastal look, start with a background of white walls, as well as soft natural colors of the sand and sky, and crisp, casual fabrics like cotton and linen. 

Then add in some natural materials, including lots of baskets, light woods, and lovely textures through rugs, throw pillows, and throw blankets.

For inspiration, you might want to take a look at sites like Serena and Lily, Dear Keaton, Arhaus, or Pottery Barn, all of which beautifully convey what modern coastal style is looking like in 2024.  

Brandon Architects – Patterson Custom Homes

Modern Coastal Decorating Ideas for Your Home

Below, you’ll find beautiful coastal inspired spaces showing how to incorporate fresh, contemporary coastal decor in different rooms in your home.

Modern Coastal Living Room Ideas

This beautiful family room, with its soft neutral tones and abundance of layers and texture, is a great example of modern coastal style.  

Pure Salt Interiors

This chic California casual style living room is another great example of coastal modern interior design. 

Jenni Kayne

A neutral color palette, contemporary furniture, light touches of blue, and natural elements add a light and airy beach house feeling to this beautiful space:

Pure Salt Interiors for Katrina Scott

Wooden beams, accent pieces, ceiling windows, natural fibers in the jute rug, and a soft blue color scheme bring a serene coastal feel to this stylish coastal modern living space:

Kate Marker Interiors

Soft colors and a round wood coffee table create a warm and inviting space to relax. 

Pure Salt Interiors – similar coffee table can be found here

Hanging rattan chairs, white furniture, sea glass blue accents, and a natural sisal rug add a contemporary take on beach cottage style to the living room, as shown in this chic coastal style home:

Julie Howard for Timber Trails Development Company

Soft colors, a woven coffee table, and striped round ottomans lend a modern coastal feel to this contemporary space.

Pure Salt Interiors – round ottomans – chairs

Here’s a beautiful open-concept living room, kitchen, and dining area with modern coastal style.  

Pure Salt Interiors – chairs

Here’s another view of this lovely coastal inspired living space, with its natural fiber rug, large ottoman, and abundant natural light:

Pure Salt Interiors – chairs

Neutral tones and textures, combined with a subtly-patterned rug, a raffia-covered coffee table, high ceilings, and large windows, bring a touch of coastal boho interior style to this open concept great room. 

Ames Interiors

Here’s another beautiful living room design with a modern take on coastal style.  I love everything about this beautiful home design.

Pure Salt Interiors – similar sectionals can be found here, here and here – similar coffee table can be found here – woven light fixture

Woven side chairs, a natural fiber rug, and light wood shelves add the perfect touch of modern coastal style to this beautiful living room. 

Pure Salt Interiors

Wooden beams, a neutral color palette, striped pillows, and a touch of blue on the cabinetry and in the rug, bring a fresh feeling to this modern coastal living room:

Lindye Galloway Studio

This space is actually a sitting area adjacent to a master bedroom; however, I thought I’d share it here because it’s a great example of how to decorate a small living room or family room with modern coastal style.  The statement chandelier add a chic and cohesive look to this space. 

Pure Salt Interiors

Here’s another modern coastal living room I love.  The wood console table and soft neutral color palette bring a cozy feeling to this space.  

Pure Salt Interiors

I love this beautiful keeping room featuring woven lounge chairs, a tiered chandelier, round rug, wood coffee table, and dreamy coastal artwork.  

Courtney Egli – chandelier – rug

A large sectional, jute or sisal rug, and a round ottoman create a warm and inviting space to relax in this open-concept kitchen and family room. 

Pure Salt Interiors – ottoman

I love the contemporary classic look of this coastal themed living room, with its round woven ottoman and four light gray swivel chairs. 

Salt Design Co. – ottoman – swivel chairs

This beautiful small space adjacent to the kitchen, called a keeping room, incorporates soft neutrals, wood beams, and a gorgeous grouping of swivel chairs around a striking coffee table to create a luxurious, yet approachable, coastal living room design.  

Pure Salt Interiors – swivel chairs – coffee table

For more coastal living room decorating ideas, see this post:  Modern Coastal Living Room Ideas I Love.

Modern Coastal Dining Room Ideas

This beautiful modern dining room features a round wood dining table, wishbone dining chairs, and a statement woven chandelier:

Pure Salt Interiors – chandelier

The lovely dining room below shows how versatile and elegant modern coastal decor can be.  From the soft ivory slipcovered chairs, to the large coral decorative piece on the credenza, to the natural wood elements, this space evokes a feeling of casual elegance — and the stunning light fixture reminds me of a cascading waterfall!

Jill Egan Interiors

This chic dining room features cane dining chairs, a white-washed dining table, coastal artwork, and a modern linear light fixture.  

Pure Salt Interiors

I love this beautiful dining room — it’s a great example of how simple touches like a striped rug and shaded chandelier can add a fresh, modern coastal vibe to a space:

Light and Dwell – rug – chandelier

Soft neutral tones and a white dining table and chandelier lend an elevated, modern coastal feeling to this stunning dining space:

Kate Marker Interiors

Love this beautiful modern coastal dining area with neutral furniture and decor and an elegant chandelier. 

Pure Salt Interiors – chandelier

This chic dining room features curved dining chairs, a striped rug and a statement oversized pendant light.

Intimate Living Interiors

For more dining room decorating and furniture ideas, see my post, Modern Dining Room Decorating Ideas.

Modern Coastal Kitchen Ideas

Whether you opt for lots of woven elements, glass & brass, light woods, or just an abundance of fresh white, there are many ways to bring a touch of modern coastal decor to the kitchen, as shown in the lovely spaces below. 

Brandon Architects and Patterson Custom Homes

There’s so much to love about this beautiful kitchen. It’s a great example of how to blend the elements of light and dark, cool and warm, and airy and inviting. 

Pure Salt Interior Design

The gorgeous combo of blue, white and brass in this lovely coastal kitchen gets me every time!  The cabinet color is Hale Navy by Benjamin Moore. 

Andrea McQueen Design – pendant light fixtures

Woven pendant lights bring a modern coastal feeling to this light and airy beach house style kitchen.  

Pure Salt Interior Design – similar pendant lights – similar counter stools

This beautiful coastal kitchen features modern black and white pendant lights, stylish woven counter stools, and the perfect shade of blue-gray (Benjamin Moore James River Gray) on the island. 

Julie Howard for Timber Trails – pendant lights – counter stools

Beautiful pendant lights over the island and a mix of white oak and white kitchen cabinets add a striking focal point to this coastal inspired kitchen.

The Cabinet Gallery Utah – Cambridge Home Co.

Here’s a great example of modern coastal style in the kitchen, with the gorgeous pendant lights and woven counter stools taking center stage.  

Pure Salt Interiors – pendant lights – counter stools

The light and airy coastal-inspired kitchen features beautiful woven counter stools, and a lovely mix of white and brass finishes.  

Studio McGee and Erin Hansen for Christine Andrew – counter stools

A great example of modern coastal decorating, the kitchen below features an abundance of white, striped counter stools, and a gray-blue kitchen island (in Sherwin Williams Smoky Candle).  

AGK Design Studio and Home Bunch

Warm wood counter stools, exposed beams, and coastal style pendant lights make this lake house kitchen feel cohesive and inviting:

Park and Oak Interior Design – pendant lights – counter stools

Woven seating, pendant lights, natural woods, and an abundance of white perfectly convey beach house style in this open-concept kitchen and dining area.

The Grove Byron Bay

Love this modern two-toned kitchen design with white cabinets and a black island color.  The woven counter stools and wooden beams add a contemporary coastal feel to this space. 

Pure Salt Interiors – counter stools

Beautiful pendant lights and counter stools add a striking focal point to this coastal inspired kitchen.

Studio McGee – pendant lights – counter stools

For more coastal kitchen ideas, you might be interested in my post, Beautiful Coastal Style Kitchen Design Ideas.

And for kitchen design trends, you might be interested in my post:  Beautiful Kitchen Design Ideas, Trends and Decorating Styles for 2024.

Modern Coastal Bedroom Ideas

There are countless ways to bring a touch of contemporary coastal style to the bedroom, as shown in the beautiful spaces below. 

Here’s a light and lovely coastal inspired bedroom featuring a cane bed, modern coastal artwork, and textured neutral pillows and rug. 

Pure Salt Interiors – bed – artwork – rug

Gorgeous neutral tones and layers upon layers of soft bedding create a calm and restful coastal bedroom retreat.  

The Heart and Haven

A relaxing modern master bedroom with a wood canopy bed with upholstered headboard, light wood nightstands, and a cushioned bench at the end of the bed.  

Pure Salt Interiors

Such a gorgeous space!  I love the mix of soft neutral tones throughout this bedroom.  The woven light fixture, vintage dresser, and wood beams add a touch of texture to offset all the soft finishes.  

Janette Mallory Interiors – woven pendant

Here’s one of my favorite coastal bedrooms.  The shiplap and four-poster bed add a hint of coastal farmhouse style to this space:

Marie Flanigan Interiors

This might be the space that inspired my love of modern California coastal decorating.  I love the chic look of this boho coastal bedroom design.  Here’s a source for the chair (and here’s a similar option):

Amber Interiors – chair

This lovely master bedroom suite features a modern black canopy bed and wonderful sitting area surrounded by windows.  

Pure Salt Interiors

This master bedroom is a beautiful example of modern coastal style, including a soft natural color palette, natural elements, a cane bed, blue and white patterned rug, and white nightstands.  

Courtney Egli

A beautiful wood canopy bed, a chunky handwoven rug, different shades of neutrals, warm woods, and natural fabrics bring a modern yet approachable feeling to this lovely coastal bedroom.

Pure Salt Interiors – rug

This dreamy coastal inspired bedroom features a woven bed, rattan nightstand, black chandelier, and lovely soft tones of blue and blush.  

Design Loves Detail

Contemporary artwork is a great way to add a touch of modern coastal decor to the bedroom, as shown in this beautiful space.

Pure Salt Interiors – bed – artwork

For more coastal bedroom ideas, you might also be interested in my post, Modern Coastal Bedroom Ideas and Trends for 2024.

And for bedroom ideas in all styles, see my post:  Modern Bedroom Decorating Ideas and Trends for 2024.

Coastal Bathroom Ideas

The bathroom is one of the best spots to try out a touch of modern coastal decor — especially in a small powder or guest bath, where you can really get creative.

AKB Design Studio

This is one of my all-time favorite modern coastal bathroom designs!  I love the mix of white and light wood cabinetry, as well as the brass sconces and black-framed mirrors. 

Pure Salt Interiors

Wall molding, a striped fringed hand towel, and touches of brass add a coastal aesthetic to this beautiful small bathroom:

A Thoughtful Place

A dark blue vanity, as well as brass lantern sconces, and a large basket give a coastal feeling to this lovely bathroom. 

Mindy Gayer Design

The light wood vanity, as well as the chrome fixtures and striped rug, create a beautiful coastal-inspired bathroom.  

Pure Salt Interiors

The soft green color on this bathroom vanity brings a touch of modern beach house interior design to this space.  I love how beautifully it pairs with the brass faucet and fixtures:

Studio McGee

A mix of white and wood cabinet finishes lends an elegant coastal touch to this chic primary bathroom.

West Bay Homes

For more coastal bathroom ideas, you might also be interested in my post, Beautiful Coastal Bathroom Ideas and Trends for 2024.

And for bathroom ideas in all styles, see my post, Beautiful Bathroom Design Trends, Styles & Decorating Ideas for 2024.

Modern Coastal Entryway Ideas

Shiplap walls, a natural fiber rug, and a glorious blue door create the quintessential coastal entryway, located on Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina. 

Barrow Building Group

A backdrop of white paneled walls, wood flooring, a natural jute rug, and modern artwork bring a contemporary coastal aesthetic to this light and airy entryway design:

Salt Design Co.

I love this beautiful beach house entryway with its round entryway table and mix of white and wood elements:

Pure Salt Interiors

For more entryway and foyer ideas, see this post:  Stylish Entryway Ideas for a Beautiful First Impression.

On the Patio

With its casual atmosphere and separation from the rest of the house, the patio is the perfect place to experiment with modern coastal decor. Here are a few outdoor spaces with a fresh, contemporary coastal look. 

This is one of my favorite outdoor spaces – I love the striped pillows and bench seating next to the fireplace. 

Teresa Hlista Design

This beautiful patio area, with its slipcovered furniture, striped pillow, and touches of bamboo, sets the ideal tone for summer relaxing and entertaining.

Pencil and Paper Co.

A beautiful outdoor dining area and covered patio.  The oversized woven pendant lights, gray-washed dining table, and unique dining chairs add a modern coastal feeling to this space. 

Pure Salt Interiors – round pendants

Striped cushions, sleek lanterns, and stylish outdoor furniture create a beautiful modern coastal outdoor living area. 

Design Works

Hanging rattan chairs and a light fixture reminiscent of driftwood add a touch of modern coastal decor to this beautiful covered outdoor space:

Shop sKout – hanging chairs

On our covered patio, floaty white outdoor curtains, baskets, and an abundance of blue and white bring a coastal feeling to the outdoors.

our patio sources

For more patio decorating ideas, see this post: Beautiful Patio Ideas for Relaxed Outdoor Living.

Is coastal decor still in style for 2024?

Modern coastal style is a timeless look that continues to evolve, expand, and grow in popularity each year, and I don’t see it going out of style anytime soon. 

In fact, Arhaus recently released an expansive new coastal furniture and decor collection, joining Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn, both of which launched new contemporary coastal home collections last year.

As design styles and trends change, coastal style can easily evolve and adapt — for example, incorporating lighter wood tones rather than dark, or featuring softer neutral hues rather than bright colors — and because it’s based on natural elements, coastal décor will never go out of style. 

What is coastal grandmother style?

Another twist on coastal decor, coastal grandmother design, incorporates a mix of Hamptons-inspired Nancy Meyers style and modern coastal style. 

In coastal grandmother interiors, you’ll see lots of white slipcovered furniture, neutral hues of the sand and sea, fresh flowers, and natural elements – all of which speak to a thoughtful and intentional way of living and decorating (even if you don’t live near the coast and/or aren’t a grandmother!). 

To learn more about the coastal grandmother aesthetic, you might also be interested in these related posts:

• What is Coastal Grandmother Style? (and why I love it)
• My Favorite Nancy Meyers Interiors (and how to bring a touch of her style to your home)
• Chic California Casual Style Decorating Ideas
• Modern Beach House Decorating Ideas for 2024

I hope you found this post informative and helpful.  Please let me know if you have questions about adding  contemporary coastal style to your home.  Have a wonderful day!  xo Jane

modern coastal decor and furniture

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Beautiful Coastal Bathroom Ideas and Trends for 2024

Modern Coastal Bedroom Ideas and Trends for 2024

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