Creating a Winter Coastal theme for your home

The delights of the beach are not just for summer. Walking on the sand beside a wild ocean on a stormy day, the wind in your hair and winter woollies wrapped tightly around you, might be a far more idyllic scenario for some people than battling the summertime hoards. Then imagine stepping over the dunes into the comforts of a homely holiday retreat and warming your hands over an open fire.

Sounds wonderful? The good news is you can channel a Winter Coastal atmosphere without having to purchase a beach house. All you have to do is employ some imagination using the various elements of our theme to create a cosy, seaside escape in your own home.

Turn your home into a holiday house during the cooler months with a little bit of home décor inspiration from our Winter Coastal theme. Here's how to do it:

Artificial Plants & Pots

Native shrubs and grasses, lining the sand dunes and bending in the strong sea breezes, are a seminal feature of Australian beaches. Today's high quality artificial plants offer an opportunity to bring realistic-looking flora into your home, without the upkeep, and introduce an instant coastal calm to your décor.

Choose grasses with fluffy pampas 'moptops' to soften the display (don't worry, fake pampas is not noxious and won't invade your garden!) and pair with wooden or spiced terracotta pots to give the impression that your grasses are grounded in soil and sand.

Cluster pots together for an eye-catching botanical tableau or dot strategically around the room to create a dramatic textural contrast to soft pillows and horizontal lines or patterns.

Shaggy Rugs, Runners & Mats

Shaggy, soft runners and rugs are the stuff of winter bliss - they produce the warmth and loveliness that makes us feel comforted and relaxed.

In getting Winter Coastal, your rugs and mats should reflect the tonal nuances of everything you find underfoot at the beach; the graduating blues and greys of the ocean and the soft beiges and browns of the sand that change depending on the rain and tidal shifts.

Blue may be a cool colour but, with the right softness and texture, it can be as cosy as hot chocolate in your Winter Coastal decor.

Wall Art, Clocks & Mirrors

Look around you at the beach and you'll see fluffy clouds, vast horizons, flying seabirds and all kinds of ethereal loveliness that culminate in a sense of freedom and escape. As you consider the coastal décor for your walls, you may like to include artwork that recalls the infinity of the sea or the drama of a wintry ocean sky to concoct a similar experience within the confines of your home.

Other items, such as large-faced clocks and well-placed mirrors, can also help accentuate this feeling of immensity or just send your mind wandering off into a dream state. Keep an eye out for anchors, ropes and other nautical curios that you may like to attach to walls, cupboards and doors to help further achieve the beach house décor look.

Jute Rugs & Runners

As opposed to the soft and shaggier style mats, rugs and runners, jute is a much coarser style of material but acts as a hardwearing and functional floorcovering for heavy traffic areas. It can also be a rustic 'Shabby Chic' textural counterpoint to the more luxurious rugs of your Winter Coastal theme, like the experience of walking from finer to coarser sand.

Cushions & Chair Pads

Creating a Winter Coastal theme in your home doesn't have to be subtle. In fact, introducing colour depth with inky deep-ocean blues, vivid seaweed greens and warm sandy yellows is the best way to make your coastal décor really come to life.

If you have a neutral base palette to your home - on the walls, floors, windows and large furnishings - you can pretty much change the colour scheme every season (and without great expense) with some new cushions, chair pads or throws. Layer and experiment with different patterns and colour schemes. This is one area of your home's interior design where you can afford to be bold and learn from your mistakes.

Shop the full Winter Coastal range here.

Enjoyed this? Read How to make your bedroom cosy during a change in season