The kitchen is arguably the busiest area of the house, so having a coastal-themed kitchen may create the perfect balance of calm to the chaos.
As the name implies, coastal kitchens exude a beachy vibe. They’re supposed to be spaces where you feel relaxed, calm, and eventually refreshed – because these are the feelings you get when you spend time by the ocean.
Coastal kitchens are all about soft tones, sturdy yet simple furniture, and natural wood elements. Put it this way: you should aim to create a casual, comfortable, breezy feel for your kitchen.
Achieving a coastal kitchen does not necessarily mean you have to have a home by the beach. It all boils down to your design elements. To help get you started, we’ve gathered 31 of our favorite coastal kitchen ideas.
All in the Accents
Sea-themed accents are among the mainstays of a coastal-themed kitchen. Read on to see some inspirations for accenting your coastal kitchens.
1. Attention to Detail
The subtle accessories create the ocean feel in this elegant white kitchen. It starts off with the stained wood finish concealing the modern range hood and followed by the nautical kitchen towel atop the kitchen sink with matching maritime floor runner on timber flooring.
If you have an extremely keen eye for detail like the owner or designer of this kitchen, you will also notice the rustic fishing bucket on one of the open shelves. Isn’t this a brilliant way of adding a rustic sea feel to this modern luxurious space?
2. Straw Accents
The straw oval rug and barstool seat foam padding give the perfect coastal touch to this otherwise crisp white kitchen. A combination of the shutter wall windows and see-through pendant lighting illuminates this cozy space – creating a bright, airy feeling.
3. Ocean Blue Kitchenware
Create a beach-themed focal point in your kitchen by having open shelving featuring ocean-blue kitchenware. To maintain the warmth and inviting feel, use wood for your shelving material.
Wood was the perfect choice in this setting, giving the ideal color and texture contrast from the marble benchtop.
Another great thing about having open shelving atop your kitchen sink is the ease and accessibility of putting the dishes away after washing and drying them.
4. Aqua Accents
If you want to stick to white for your kitchen paint and cabinetry, add a dash of the ocean through aqua-colored accents, like this kitchen. The glass-doored kitchen cabinets are perfect for displaying aqua kitchenware.
The all-white backsplash was set off by the transparent aqua vases beside the kitchen knife set, and the patterned aqua rug creates a stark contrast to the dark hardwood flooring.
5. Ocean Gradients
Sometimes, all you have to do to achieve a coastal feel is to go crazy with the kitchen accents. Choose pots and canisters like the ones in this kitchen. They come in different gradients of blue – similar to how the sea colors change depending on their depth.
6. Bamboo Kitchen Utensils
Coastal kitchens are all about embracing the natural elements. An inexpensive way to enhance the coastal theme of your kitchen is by displaying wooden features – such as these functional yet decorative chopping boards and bamboo kitchen utensil set.
7. Red is Also Coastal
If you think you can only use shades of blue for coastal kitchens, think again. This beachside kitchen used a beautiful, calming shade of red in its kitchenware and cookware, creating the stark contrast to the crisp white kitchen.
When using red, avoid using bright and bold red shades. Instead, go for soothing hues – think of the red tones in the gorgeous sunsets and sunrises when you’re at the beach.
8. Indoor Vine Plants
The aquatic blue cookware in this kitchen is just one of the elements that complete the coastal theme. The use of wood shelving, dried plants, and that gorgeous decorative sculpture reminds us so much of sea wood and other dried sea elements.
The flowy vine indoor plants, on the other hand, creates the illusion of seaweed overflowing from this beachy space.
9. Mix the Elements
We are in love with the teal salt and pepper shakers and cooking pot in this kitchen! But that’s not the only coastal element in this space.
The generous use of wood tones in the kitchen utensil set, fruit bowl, knife block set, kitchen cabinetry, kitchen island, and bar stools make this space warm and welcoming, just like the beach!
10. Tropical Indoor Plants
This white kitchen instantly converts into a coastal room with the addition of the large indoor tropical plant, wooden barstools, wooden kitchen utensil set, chopping board, and timber flooring. The deep-sea blue vases and teal cookware inject subtle colors of the sea.
11. Sea Accents Galore
This kitchen would win the coastal accent awards if there were such a thing. The dining chairs resemble the colorful coral reef, and that blue couch and kitchen knife set just screams ocean. The exquisite Capiz shell chandelier steals the spotlight in this sea-view kitchen.
12. Shades of the Sea
If you’ve been paying attention to the previous ideas, you will know by this stage that open shelving and blue kitchenware are inexpensive ways to give your kitchen a coastal feel.
If we could add a thing to this, it’s not to be afraid to mix different textures and shades of blue – much like the sea, where the many shades of blue enhance its beauty.
13. Coral Pink
This modern beach-house kitchen features white cabinetry and wooden barstools on timber looking tiles. The predominantly white kitchenware supplemented the pristine space, and the coral pink mug and bowls sprinkle just the perfect amount of ocean life feel.
14. Sea Wood Lamp
This kitchen already has gorgeous beach views, so having it modern and simple is the way to go. We love the hint of drama given by the corner sea wood lamp.
15. Spot the Shark
This kitchen would be a fun space to play a sea-themed hidden objects game. Where do we start? There’s the sailboat on the soffit corner, the lighthouses by the window, the decorative fish on top of the induction cooktop, the tortoise-shaped chopping board, and the starfish and seahorse decors.
Of course, we can’t miss the massive floating shark – undeniably the focal piece of this spacious kitchen.
16. Use Art
This large kitchen maintained its modern, elegant feel by sticking to neutral tones and sleek shaker cabinets. To add a hint of the ocean to this sophisticated space, the owner aptly put up a large piece of art depicting sailboats cruising along the magnificent sea.
Hamptons Style Kitchen
Hamptons-styled kitchens are known for their chic, refined, yet casual and coastal feel. Here are some of our favorite coastal kitchen designs.
17. Blue Cabinets
If you don’t want an all-white Hampton’s style kitchen, paint your cabinets a light tone of blue. This duck egg blue cabinets are perfect for a relaxed, calming feel.
It’s the kind of color that just takes all of the stress away. The gold industrial pendant lights and kitchen faucet fixtures maintain the sleek, Hampton elegance.
18. Oversized Pendant Lights
This kitchen ticks a lot of boxes for a Hampton-styled kitchen. From the glossy subway tiles, marble countertop, large kitchen island, to the sleek shaker cabinets. We also love the oversized jute rope pendant light, adding to the nautical vibe of the room.
19. Ceramic Backsplash
This kitchen captured the Hampton-style kitchen with the use of neutral shades seen in the white paint on the center island and gray hues for the rest of the cabinetry.
Another Hampton feature is the use of ceramic tile backsplash, like the vertical mosaic of tiles used in this kitchen, perfectly highlighting the stainless-steel range hood.
20. Ceilings and Beams
Exposed beams and pitched ceilings are architectural styles of a Hampton home. This kitchen is an example, which also features some open shelving. There’s also the oversized industrial pendant lights, which infuses a modern touch to this relaxing beachy space.
21. Cozy Hampton
This kitchen is a simpler take on the Hampton-style but still ticks the boxes, nonetheless. We see elements such as the barstools, shaker cabinets, timber flooring, ceramic herringbone backsplash, and aqua-colored cookware.
A stark contrast against the white kitchen elements was achieved through the dark cabinet hardware and black kitchen faucet.
22. Modern Hampton
This kitchen design is a more modern take on the Hamptons style with metallic barstools and a modern induction cooktop, plus a dedicated media nook across the marble-topped kitchen island.
23. Wooden Barstools
Spruce up an all-white Hamptons-style kitchen by using rattan barstools. This simple element can create a warm and relaxing atmosphere in the room.
24. Neutral-Toned Hamptons
This chic Hampton’s kitchen stuck to a neutral color palette, with gorgeous matching tones for the backsplash, the marble countertop, and the barstool foams.
The shutter blinds on the white-framed lengthy windows perfectly illuminate this space, making it appear all the more spacious.
Backsplash It
A detailed backsplash can go along way when creating your coastal kitchen. Here are a few examples.
25. Fish Scale Backsplash
Nothing says “sea” more than this fish scale tile backsplash set against a monochromatic palette. The dark, cold tones of the kitchen soffit and stone island and benchtops are contrasted by the glossy white cabinetry and off-white barstools.
The timber wood flooring creates the perfect balance of warmth, perfectly matched by the wooden chopping board and kitchen utensil set.
26. Sand and Sea Backsplash
This kitchen used a combination of two backsplash designs to achieve a creative sea theme. The use of shades of blue and white in the tile mosaic celebrates the ocean, while the large tiles perfectly depict the tones of sand.
27. Wavy Backsplash
The monotony of the white subway tiles in this kitchen was given an eye-catching break with the addition of artwork just above the kitchen sink, behind the kitchen faucet.
The wavy design of this piece of art not only contrasts the straight lines of the kitchen, but also mimics the ocean waves, with a mix of colors to represent the sand, sky, and sea.
More Coastal Ideas
Here are more coastal design kitchen ideas for your inspiration.
28. Blue Walls
You can still incorporate a coastal vibe even if you’re not a fan of colored kitchenware or if you simply want to maintain your kitchen’s modern style.
Simply paint your walls a shade of blue, such as the stone blue shade used in this kitchen. You can also add subtle accents, like the nautical striped kitchen towel hanging on the oven handles.
29. Windows for Days
If your kitchen is set in a high-rise apartment with magnificent sea views such as this one, having floor-to-ceiling windows is enough to give your heart of the home it’s coastal feel – literally, and figuratively.
Keep it white – this will illuminate the natural light coming in, making your space feel even more spacious and airy.
30. Bring the Sun and the Ocean In
If you have dark cabinetry and dining furniture, like this retro beach house kitchen, invite as much natural light as you can by maximizing your window spaces. This kitchen window bring in abundant natural light and allows for fantastic ocean views.
31. Wood Planks
This open plan modern kitchen incorporated the warm sea vibe with the timber flooring, straw floor runner, and a large indoor tropical plant.
The narrow wood planks used in one of the walls is also very reminiscent of dock planks, which is again in keeping with the ocean theme.
Conclusion
Remember, coastal kitchens are all about mixing comfort and style, but don’t forget to inject a bit of your character, too. After all, how will you relax in a space that doesn’t truly feel like you, right?
What was your favorite coastal design? Let us know in the comments below.
Where can I buy the white island chairs in the first picture?