Beach house art for a bedroom
Beach house art works best here when it keeps the same calm colours as the room. Start with one sea view and choose its size for the wall above the bed.
Start with the colour of the sea, not the colour of a beach towel
The calmest coastal rooms take their colours from water and weather: pale greens, blue-greys, chalky whites and sand. Bright navy and red stripes read as a theme. Keep strong colour to a cushion or a lamp.
Use natural textures
Linen bedding, a wool throw, a jute rug and painted or pale wood do more for a coastal feel than any motif. They also age well, which themed pieces rarely do.
Choose one picture for above the bed
The wall above the bed is the room's focal point. One calm picture works better than several small ones. A wide seascape suits a double bed: Open Water, The Cove or Sea Fret are the calmest pieces we make. All three are in our coastal prints.
Get the size right
A picture that is too small above a bed looks lost. Measure the bed's width and try a paper template on the wall before you choose. Our print sizes guide lists every size we make, from A4 to 70x100 cm.
Choose a palette from one picture
The easiest way to make a coastal bedroom feel pulled together is to pick the picture first and take the room's colours from it. If the print has a pale sage sea, use that green on a single wall or in the bedding. If it has a warm ochre beach, repeat it in a throw or a lampshade. Two or three colours, all taken from the same picture, will look calmer than a whole shop's worth of blues.
Frames and finishes
A natural wood frame suits a room with pale floors and linen. A black frame gives a soft seascape a crisp edge in a room with white walls. Canvas suits the misty, painterly pieces, where its texture adds to the brushwork. Match the frame to the bedside tables rather than to the picture.
Light it softly
Warm, low lamps suit a sea-coloured room better than a single bright ceiling light. Pale walls and soft greens change through the day, much as the sea does. If the picture sits opposite a window, check it at midday: glass and glossy finishes can catch the light.
Keep the theme simple
One shell bowl or a piece of driftwood is enough. Let the colour, texture and a single good picture do the work. If you love the look, carry it into the bathroom with our bathroom prints.
A picture of your own place by the sea
If there's a boat, a harbour or a beach that means something to you, a print of your own photo can be the picture above the bed. See our boat portraits and photo prints, or browse our coastal prints.
Craig Fearn runs Still & Wake. He writes the guides and journal.