
Cottage by the Sea fashion is my private tackle coastal adorning—an inviting mix of allure, authenticity, and timeless consolation. This fashion offers a mild nod to traditional coastal design whereas weaving within the heat of cottage residing, the character-rich allure typically present in New England properties, and a relaxed Pacific Northwest sensibility.
At this time I’ll share 5 methods to embrace the cottage by the ocean fashion–regardless of the place you reside!
Whether or not you’re close to the coast or simply dreaming of it, this fashion can invite you to decelerate, savor your environment, and create a sanctuary that displays the peaceable tempo of seaside residing.
What units Cottage by the Sea fashion aside is its authenticity. It’s not about following a specific adorning fashion however in regards to the want to embrace what actually conjures up you — whether or not it’s on pattern or not.
When you find yourself strolling by the ocean, you are feeling a way of peace wash over you that doesn’t require you do to something however breathe within the therapeutic energy of the salt air. I like that visible for my residence and my life, too.
– Melissa Michaels, The Impressed Room
For many people, the ocean embodies what it means to stay a stunning life. It invitations us to decelerate and be current. It’s not about speeding however stress-free.
Relatively than being in a rush to purchase decor that you could be remorse when the developments change, slowly encompass your self with what genuinely speaks to your coronary heart and soul.


Cottage by the Sea fashion isn’t solely about adorning in a conventional coastal sense—it’s about making a temper that helps the life-style you need. The objective is to create a real sanctuary in each sense of the phrase.
– Melissa Michaels, The Impressed Room
ONE: Contemplate design parts of a cottage by the ocean fashion:
• Mushy, sun-washed materials and moody seaside tones in neutrals, heat whites, and ocean-inspired blues and greens
• Pure textures resembling traditional wooden tones and weathered items, linen, rattan, and seagrass
• Mild and ethereal moods with loads of pure mild and uncluttered areas
• Informal, lived-in allure—assume cozy, slipcovered or sturdy upholstery, indicators of life, high quality items you’ve collected over time displaying the patina of age, nothing too treasured, unpretentious shelving to show stuff you love.
• Delicate coastal touches— like driftwood, seashells, marine-inspired paintings, lanterns, and informal stripes. Embrace your collections and persona, with out feeling the necessity to make every part theme-y or overdone
• Recent combos–draw inspiration from conventional cottage structure and furnishings, however combine in parts that may preserve your cottage by the ocean fashion distinctive, contemporary and carefree! Fear much less about “the fitting manner” to brighten and as an alternative embrace what you’re keen on, these private touches will at all times be in fashion. Incorporate enjoyable assertion items to set the temper, resembling a traditional striped couch or a bamboo chair on the desk, or a rattan shelf to show quilts.
These parts evoke the feeling of being close to the water—think about a salty breeze coming by way of open home windows, the solar dancing on the waves, or the peaceable rhythm of tides. By mixing consolation, simplicity, authenticity, and pure magnificence you’ll be able to create a house that looks like a mild exhale. A spot that looks like a retreat from the stress of life and a every day reminder of all that’s lovely in it.
Carefree, peaceable, cozy, and lived-in.
TWO: Create a Cottage by the Sea Temper
Create a temper with a colour palette is impressed by the coast itself. In my residence I draw palette inspiration from the coastal Pacific NW — these colours can be lovely in different related climates! Suppose mushy, sun-washed colours and barely moody tones, weathered woods, breezy linens, and pure textures that call to mind salt-kissed air and walks alongside the shore. Soothing shades of ocean blues, sea glass greens, and heat whites that really feel each contemporary and welcoming.
Supplies are pure and relaxed—I desire a mixture conventional and weathered woods, wicker and rattans, mushy linens, striped and botanical patterns that convey within the allure of a cottage by the ocean. When you like a bit extra colour, incorporate an accent of a good looking pink or butter yellow to convey further colour and persona to your house.


THREE: Embrace the Serendipity of a Fashion Collected Over Time
Cottage by the Sea fashion is a gently layered look, refined with that means and reminiscence. Embrace the serendipity of a mode collected over time, it will likely be filled with surprises that may convey a singular and layered allure to your private home.
Despite the fact that there’s a little bit of the sudden, it’s in the end about being in intentional in your choices. That is what really makes this fashion your personal.
The items you gather can definitely be associated to the ocean, there is no such thing as a disgrace in being true to what you’re keen on. In fact, one doesn’t should make a daring nautical assertion to seize a sense, you’ll be able to quietly weave in coastal accents and different light nods to what sparks pleasure.
There’s additionally freedom to embrace one’s personal persona — including some quirk or distinctive character in your furnishings and equipment will improve the connection you are feeling to your private home.
My philosophy is to at all times begin with what you will have and collect what you’re keen on over time. It’s slower however extra significant adorning course of.
The important thing to this cottage by the ocean fashion is to include who you’re and the life you reside and aspire to, to not be in a rush or gather meaningless tchotchkes simply to complete a room.
Embrace what brings pleasure and sweetness to your life and residential.
This fashion will embrace treasured finds gathered by way of the actual adventures of life and parts that encourage you to stay the life you’re keen on.


In my very own cottage by the ocean you can find shells from walks on the seaside, work from seaside cities, a fairly pinecone picked up on a stroll by way of the forest. We’ve botanical prints and hen decor as a nod to the natural fantastic thing about the place we stay within the Pacific Northwest, we gather rattan and bamboo objects, in addition to show different particular collections and mementos from our household and life right here.
I additionally love to seek out furnishings with distinctive particulars (we have now a classic cupboard in our bed room that returned with my grandparents from abroad with gold ship engravings) and I even love to seek out furnishings with shapes which have curves. For instance, our Fb Market Mattress jogs my memory of the waves of the ocean.
It takes time to seek out these particular items and add them to our residence.
In a Cottage by the Sea, every ornamental ingredient needs to be chosen with intention—to not sustain with any pattern, however to create a peaceable temper and convey delight to the individuals who stay within the residence.
-Melissa Michaels, The Impressed Room


FOUR: Search for a Relaxed and Refined Combine
There’s an ease in how every part is organized—nothing too excellent or compelled. Only a quiet mixture of what feels sensible pure, inspiring and welcoming.
It’s not about formality or fuss, it’s a permanent fashion that helps the life you wish to stay.
A Cottage by the Sea embodies a snug steadiness of relaxed and refined fashion. It’s the sort of fashion that invitations you to kick off your sneakers and breathe deeply, whereas nonetheless surrounding you with magnificence designed with intention.
-Melissa Michaels, The Impressed Room
This fashion brings collectively the laid-back allure of coastal life with considerate, timeless parts that add character and a top quality that elevates on a regular basis residing.
Incorporate relaxed however traditional parts that won’t solely stand the check of time, however will add patina and character of a life well-lived.
Add traditional architectural particulars resembling tongue and groove paneling, wallpaper and natural parts resembling marble, soapstone and wooden.
Suppose timeless high quality over amount, simplicity over fuss, and adorning in a manner that feels pure to you over following inflexible styling guidelines.


5: Create a seaside sanctuary, not a very styled showplace.
Woven into each adorning element in a cottage by the ocean is the reminder that your private home needs to be a sanctuary.
– Melissa Michaels, The Impressed Room
To be able to create a sanctuary, what you incorporate into your private home ought to improve your every day rhythms, not overly complicate them. In a cottage by the ocean fashion, hunt down fairly over excellent. Discover pleasure in being a homekeeper and taking good care of the issues you will have and love, fairly than seeing your private home merely as an obligation to maintain up.
Consider making a cottage by the ocean as a life-style that ought to nourish you, too.
To embrace the life-style, choose straightforward care materials and incorporate parts which are beautiful — not solely visually however convey magnificence to the act of caring for them.
Contemplate your temper phrases and the way you wish to really feel as you beautify. Show sufficient mementos to inform the story you wish to inform and create the sensation you wish to really feel, however not present a lot that you just grow to be overwhelmed or distracted in life by attempting to maintain up the looks of perfection.
Cottage by the Sea fashion about residing properly within the on a regular basis. It’s about utilizing what you will have, selecting what issues, and creating magnificence within the easy moments. It’s much less about “adorning” and extra about nurturing a lifestyle that feels peaceable, private, and filled with coronary heart. —it’s about evoking the feeling of life by the ocean.


Study extra and get prompt entry to my model new digital journal Cottage by the Sea Spring Dreambook




Be part of me for Room Recipe: a enjoyable step-by-step course that may information you thru the method of adorning over time. Discover ways to categorical your distinctive fashion, select your fashion setters, incorporate important room substances, formulation and tricks to organize and elegance your private home and a lot extra. This course is included throughout the HomeBody Gathering Place membership — you’ll additionally discover programs on House Rhythms and Seasonal Rhythms that may encourage you to like your private home extra.