February 1, 2016 INTERIOR DESIGN
The project featured on the Bacarella Interiors’ home page is one of the more popular. This vacation home in Nantucket, Massachusetts features beach house decorating ideas from Bacarella Interiors.
NANTUCKET, MASSACHUSETTS, USA INTERIOR DECORATING
Nantucket is an island accessible by ferry 30 miles south of Cape Cod. A popular vacation getaway for residents of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Nantucket features a favorable summer climate, beaches, and more privacy than traditional beach communities.
| The voice of the sea speaks to the soul. The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace. – Kate Chopin
Vacation homes and estates, including the one featured on the Bacarella Interiors’ home page, line Nantucket’s shoreline. Some of these homes are occupied only part of the year and are subject to more severe storms, creating interior design challenges.
The challenges of beach house decorating are applicable to homes in all beach communities. On the Jersey Shore or elsewhere, it’s important to understand the home’s function and primary usage before proceeding with its decorating.
BEACH HOME INTERIOR DECORATING CHALLENGES
With ocean storms so close and a varied occupancy schedule, decorating a beach house can be a challenge. A lot of questions must be answered:
Will residents occupy the home out of the summer months?Will the home be the primary residence?Will the home be rented or shared?What type of activities will be staged in and around the home?Will its residents be entertaining, and if so, will the entertaining be casual, formal, or other?What type of storm protections will be in place?What type of winterizing will be necessary?Will its occupants be strict about tracking sand and salt throughout the home?
This nautical inspired setting is featured in a Nantucket Beach house designed by Bacarella Interiors.
Before decorating any beach house, its owners need to be realistic about its use. If its occupants envision themselves tracking their wet clothing and sand through the home, it might be best to layout a floor plan with recreational rooms separate from more formal environments.
| When anxious, uneasy and bad thoughts come, I go to the sea, and the sea drowns them out with its great wide sounds, cleanses me with its noise, and imposes a rhythm upon everything in me that is bewildered and confused. – Rainer Maria Rilke
NANTUCKET BEACH HOME INTERIOR DECORATING IDEAS
If the home is to be rented, why invest in items that might be damaged or stolen? Decorating a beach house can be a challenge, so before you hire an interior designer, it’s important that they understand these conditions.
The Nantucket beach home project features a number of ideas useful for any beach home. For example:
Sandy taupe, ivories, and pale browns work well
Wicker furnishings are stylish, practical and versatile
Silver fixtures compliment a sandy-palette beach home well
Try simple artwork with beachy illustrations like shells or nautical designs
A calligraphic saying that reflects a vacation philosophy on a wall can set the mood
Bright colors reserved for the guest bedrooms promote a cheerful atmosphere
Marble is cool and works well in the hotter, summer months
Seashells and flowers are great accessories for end tables
Want some more ideas? Please visit the full Nantucket gallery.