Ask ten people to picture a coastal interior and nine of them will describe the same room: white walls, navy stripes, a starfish on a shelf. It's a formula that has its place, but after twelve years designing homes along the Connecticut shoreline, we've come to believe the most successful coastal palettes are the ones that take their cues from the place itself — and the place isn't actually blue most of the year.
What follows are five color schemes we've returned to again and again, none of which involve a single nautical stripe.
1 · Sand and pewter
A warm putty on the walls (we love Farrow & Ball "Skimming Stone"), softened by upholstery in oatmeal linen, and grounded by pewter or unlacquered brass on the hardware. The result reads coastal because it reads like a beach in November — windswept, quiet, the color of driftwood and stone.
2 · Sea glass and oyster
If you want a hint of color, look to the actual sea glass that washes up at Sherwood Island. It's never the saturated turquoise of a swimming pool — it's a muted green, more lichen than aqua. Pair it with oyster-white trim and a single piece of vintage rattan and the room sings.
3 · Salt-bleached cedar
Borrow from the shingle on the side of every Westport cottage. Walls in a soft greige, cabinetry in cerused oak, and floors in a wide-plank white oak finished in a custom Bona stain that lands somewhere between honey and ash. This is the palette for a house that wants to feel grown-up, not nautical.
4 · Fog and slate
For homes with a lot of glass and a lot of overcast light, a deeper palette can actually feel airier than a pale one. Walls in a true fog grey, slate-blue cabinetry (yes, blue, but only one piece of it), and a single warm wood — typically walnut — to keep the room from feeling clinical.
5 · Limewash and rope
Our most-requested palette of the past two years. A textured limewash on the walls (we mix our own with our painter), a rope-colored hemp rug, and woven pendants overhead. It works in a 1920s cottage and a contemporary new-build alike, which is the highest compliment we can pay a color scheme.
The best coastal interiors don't shout coast. They simply feel like the kind of place a coast would produce.
If you'd like help selecting a palette for your own home, our whole-home color consultation is the most efficient way to do it. We spend a half-day in the house and deliver a complete paint and finish schedule for every room.