Cape coastal chic: establishing a design style
Coastal chic living room, phase 1
It’s been a whirlwind summer here on Cape Cod and at the Little Farm interior design studio. Multiple design projects (along with amazing Cape adventures like clamming, kayaking, and beach exploring) have kept me super busy and not posting.
The time has come to fix that, with a new series on a fantastic work-in-progress interior design project right here on the Upper Cape. Each post in this series will explore a different aspect of the project, not sequentially. Today’s post will be about establishing a design style for the home and exploring what it means to be coastal chic.
Big changes for the home and its owners
My clients enjoying a lobster dinner on the Little Farm on move-in day
The house is a three-bedroom ranch for a near-retirement couple relocating to Cape Cod after a lifetime in central Massachusetts. Seriously, an entire lifetime. My clients grew up in the same town, started dating as teenagers, married in their early 20s, and raised a family there. They bought their first house 45 years ago and lived there until last month.
I share this bit of background to give scale to the enormity of change these folks are undertaking. I give them serious props for their openness to new adventures, new ways, and new styles.
Transforming a newly purchased, but very dated home from the 90s into a modern, coastal chic oasis is a journey to say the least, and I’m honored to be sharing it with them as their interior designer.
Choosing the direction of coastal chic
Living room, before
The design process began early. I was invited to a real estate showing in May (even before my clients made an offer), as a way of helping envision what the home could be in the future. This was facilitated by the incomparable Livia Monteforte, owner of Compass - Freitas Realty Group. She represented my clients in their home purchase, and is quite simply the best at what she does.
The ranch-style home was built in the early 90s and had not been updated in any meaningful way since then. It took some imagination to see the potential, but it was there! Structural renovations would be necessary to create spaces for more modern living and my clients’ priorities. That’s for another episode in the series. (Check out this post on designing a kitchen renovation.)
While the real estate transaction unfolded, we began exploring design styles for the new home. Some early style quizzes and design activities quickly pointed us in the direction of coastal chic. Both clients shared an affinity for this style, which made it easy to choose a general direction.
Finding the balance of “coastal” and “chic”
Inspiration board exploring coastal chic style
In terms of inspiration, there is a wealth of content available showing homes representing coastal chic style. Interpretations can range from super casual beach cottages to formal rooms with majestic ocean views.
Inspiration boards with various images representing the style are a great tool for the concept phase. They helped us clarify the defining elements of the coastal chic style, and develop a shared vocabulary for our interpretation.
The general color palette was easy. Blues and bright neutrals emerged, obviously inspired by the abundant seascapes of Cape Cod.
The tougher part was finding the right balance of both “coastal” and “chic.” On this particular project, we formulated a question. How might we achieve the welcoming vibe of a casual beach home (coastal), while elevating the style beyond clichéd, themed decor choices (chic)?
This question has been the crux of the entire project, and has guided all of our subsequent design decisions.
Selecting coastal chic furnishings
While establishing our style, we were also hard at work exploring how the space would be used, and planning for significant structural renovations. As mentioned, that will be another post (or 10) in this series. But suffice it to say we had our style concept, and our layout and budget were coming together. It was time to select furnishings for the space!
To start, we focused on living, dining, and main bedroom, ensuring that all rooms would be cohesive with our interpretation of coastal chic style. Light and airy. Casual and inviting. Modern and sophisticated.
Coastal chic main bedroom, phase 1
Our palette of materials came together, featuring:
Natural wood tones
White canvas upholstery
Various blue materials
Flax linen textiles
Rattan
Matte brass accents
For paint, we chose semigloss trim in Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace, which is a gorgeous pure white. The walls are an incredible shade from Benjamin Moore called Ultra White in matte finish. It is marketed only in the Canadian catalog for some reason, but can be mixed at any Benjamin Moore reseller. It’s a bright white with subtle blue gray undertones that is truly magical. Highly recommend!
Putting together phase 1
The procurement process progressed throughout the summer, and my clients relocated to their new home in August. The main renovations (kitchen, bath, converting a bedroom to a dining room) won’t happen until the fall. But we have been able to put together a solid phase 1:
We got the most of the main floor painted, thanks to the spectacularly professional and efficient ladies at Mermaid Painting. They do super high-quality work. What a transformation!
We have updated most of the light fixtures, which has made a huge difference in modernizing the space. (Not shown in the photos, or the video below.)
We installed gorgeous coastal chic furnishings in the living room, main bedroom, and other areas. Art and decor are still in progress.
The project will continue through the end of the year, and so much more is still to come. It’s hard to imagine a better moment, though, than when my clients first arrived to see their new coastal chic home coming together.
This moment is truly what inspires me as an interior designer — creating beautiful, approachable modern spaces where people will love spending time together with family and friends.
