Fresh California Coastal Living Room | Shoppable Design Board
Gray Track Arm Sofa | Armchairs in "Rattan, Chambray" | Vintage Persian Style Rug | Round White Pedestal Coffee Table | Woven Round Side Table | Floor Lamp with Fluted Shade | Gray Table Lamp | Marble Side Table | Teal Floral Block Print Pillow | Taupe Cross Pillow | Blue Tribal Pillow | Gray Dash-Dot Pillow | Chiangmai Burgundy Pillow | Abstract Landscape Canvas Print | Button Fern | Decorative Bead Strand
Designing a Fresh California Coastal Living Room
It’s been awhile since I’ve shared a design board here on the blog, so I’m excited to put this one out into the world! I’ve come to realize that my design style has slowly evolved into a mashup of a couple of different styles. The best words I can use to describe it are Coastal California meets Modern Traditional.
If you’ve ever struggled to describe your design style, you’re not alone! Most people like at least one or two different styles and worry that their style doesn’t fit “neatly” into just one.
So often, my e-design clients struggle with that too - they can’t quite put it into words, which is why I ask to see their style through inspiration photos. Putting together a Pinterest board or a folder of images is an important part of the process that really helps me hone in on what they want their home to look like, and then I can get to work creating a design that’s tailored to their style, needs, and budget!
I pulled some inspiration images for the living room I designed for today’s post so you can see the flavor I wanted it to have. Take a peek at the design board at the top and then scroll on down through the photos below and I think you’ll catch the vision!
via Amber Interiors
I wanted the room to have a cozy, lived in feel, but be tailored as well. So you’ll see a lot of clean lined furniture in these photos, but also loads of texture and mixed patterns. I think that’s what brings in a lot of depth and character so that your eye moves around from place to place.
I also like a balance of warm and cool colors. Take note of the mix of warm woods with white or gray upholstery, as well as as textiles that use both warm and cool shades. and then layered in with a rug and pillows in a mix of those warm and cool colors.
via Lindye Galloway
The colors I wanted to use were more muted and soft, like terracotta instead of a true red or orange, or muddy medium blue instead of a navy or teal. I also added touches of brass and black metals - my two go-to metal finishes!
via McGee & Co.
On a side note, people also often ask me if it’s ok to have different shades of wood in the same room - the answer is yes! Mixing different wood tones actually adds depth and character, and gives you more of a collected-over-time look, which is a good thing!
Take a look at the image above from McGee & Co. It’s a perfect example of light how well light, medium, and even darker shades of wood can work beautifully together. The key is to use woods that have similar undertones - they’ll blend together nicely even if they’re different.
And now we’ve come full circle to today’s design!
This fresh California coastal living room design would be perfect in a family-friendly living room since the upholstery is all performance, high durability fabrics, and the round coffee table is great for little ones! It feels grown up, but still laid back enough to be fit right into a casual family room.
If you take a look through the different pieces, you’ll notice that some fall into more of an “investment piece” category and some are more budget-friendly. For example, those pretty curved back chairs are on the higher end at $1,500 each, but that big vintage style rug is under $600 and the side table is just $100! My goal is to spend where it counts like on upholstery you sit on every day, and to save on smaller accent pieces.
You’ll find links to all the pieces in this design at the top of the post under the image, or below this one in a clickable image form (if you’re on a feed reader or in email, you’ll need to click over to the full site to view them!).
Fresh Coastal California Living Room Design Board with sources to furniture and decor. Designed by Mix & Match Design Co.
*This post contains affiliate links, which means Mix & Match Design Company earns a small commission for your purchase at no cost to you.