Right, so you want that breezy, just-stepped-off-the-beach feeling in your dining room? Brilliant. Let’s have a proper chat about it. I remember last summer, down in Salcombe—gorgeous little harbour town—staying in this holiday let that got it so right. And, oh, a few I’ve seen that got it so terribly wrong. Makes you want to weep, honestly.
First off, toss that rulebook out the window. Cohesive doesn’t mean matchy-matchy. It’s a vibe, a feeling. It’s the smell of salt in the air and that soft, worn feeling of linen. Start with your walls. Sandy beige? Lovely. But for heaven’s sake, don’t just slap on one flat colour. I used this paint called ‘Washed Shoreline’ from Farrow & Ball in my own sitting room—has these tiny, almost imperceptible grey undertones. Makes the light dance in the afternoon. Aqua? Don’t go neon, darling. Think of the shallow water over white sand in the Bahamas. Something muted, like ‘Hague Blue’ but a touch lighter. My mate Sarah went full turquoise in her Brighton flat and it felt like a 1980s ice cream parlour. She’s still recovering.
Now, the dining set. Look, if you’re going for a proper coastal dining room set, keep it simple. A rustic, white-washed oak table with those lovely, uneven legs—like it’s been salvaged from a shipwreck. I found one years back at a reclamation yard in Whitstable, still smells faintly of the sea. Chairs? Don’t get a full matching set of six! That’s where people go wrong. Mix it up. Pair two woven seagull chairs—the ones that look like giant baskets—with a couple of plain painted ones in a driftwood grey. The texture is everything. It stops it looking like a showroom.
Fabrics are your best friend. That sandy palette needs linen. Rough, crinkly linen napkins in oatmeal, curtains in a heavy flax weave you can practically feel between your fingers. For a dash of aqua, maybe just the seat cushions. I got these stunning hand-blocked ones from a tiny shop in St Ives, Cornwall—pattern like frothy waves. Wasn’t cheap, but every time I look at them, I’m back there on Porthmeor Beach.
Lighting! Can’t stress this enough. A rusty, wrought-iron chandelier with candle bulbs? Too heavy. You want airy. A jute-wrapped pendant or a simple rattan capiz shell light. It casts the most beautiful, dappled shadows, like sunlight through palm fronds.
And for the love of all that’s holy, accessorise with things that have a story. A bowl of those striped pebbles from Budleigh Salterton. A faded vintage map of the Jurassic Coast. Not those mass-produced ‘Live, Laugh, Love’ signs with anchors on them. I saw one in a homeware chain last week and my soul left my body for a minute.
It’s about layering those memories of the coast, not just the colours. Let it feel collected over time, not bought in one frantic weekend shop. Leave some breathing room. A bare, scrubbed wooden floor with a sisal rug. A single sprig of eucalyptus in a glass bottle on the table. There you go. Sorted.
Honestly, once you start, you won’t want to stop. It’s like bringing a little bit of that holiday peace home with you. Just promise me you’ll avoid plastic lobsters.
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