Blooming Rose

Blooming Rose

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Looking For A New Style For A House On The Beach

I have been helping a friend decide on a decorating style for his house on the beach.  He
has tired of his all white look and wants something new with a little color but still beachy
with a tropical feel.

Right now we are working on the bedroom and an inside balcony area.

I would like your opinion, please.


Remember, he wants a very beachy/tropical feel to his place. The question is...do you
think these colors and the look are too feminine for a man’s beachfront home?


I like the symmetry of this room. I think the cane and rattan headboard can be very
masculine.  Do you think making the lampshades and the roll pillows a darker blue
would make it more masculine? Or, do you think it’s fine for a man just the way it is?




The next picture is of an indoor balcony/loft area. I like the upholstered wedges that can
be pushed together for an ottoman.  Do you think the colors are too feminine...remember,
it is at the beach? I was thinking maybe not using the middle round table and pushing the
ottoman together and just having a narrow side table would look good.  That way the
wedges can still be separated for extra seating if necessary.




This next picture happens to be the look I thought would really work. I love the
grasscloth walls and the driftwood floor lamp would be perfect for the beach.  The
problem with this room is that he doesn’t like green(but that can easily be changed to
another color) and he doesn’t like grasscloth or any covering on the wall.  Oh well.




What’s your opinion, are the rooms too feminine or fine for any house on the beach?
I would love to know.

(All photos courtesy of Coastal Living magazine)

18 comments:

Pondside said...

I like the bedroom, but would prefer darker shades and rolls for a man's room.
I love the second room but find it very feminine. If he doesn't like anything on the walls you have your work cut out for you!

Acquired Objects said...

I asked my husband and he said the rooms were to feminine because the colors were to pale for a man. What kind of person hates grasscloth???? It's fabulous and comes in so many colors, does your friend know that?

Stephanie @ La Dolce Vita said...

I really love them! But I don't think they are quite masculine enough. You're definitely on the right track, though. And now I wish I had any one of these rooms!

Privet and Holly said...

Before I even
scrolled down
to look at the
pics, navy and
white popped into
my mind!! I was
thinking of a
Ralph Lauren take
on the beach. I
love the grass-
cloth; perhaps a
compromise would
be to keep those
great matchstick
roman shades and
paint the walls a
similar color to
the grasscloth?
What a fantastic
project ~ I would
love helping a
friend with this!!
Keep us posted,
please : )
xx Suzanne

a quiet life said...

first, i need those lamps in the first photo please~ the photos scream beach to me, i don't get any gender feel for them, but i have the beach on my mind :) i also sort of have the opinion that i don't ask my husband, i just decorate on my own, but i see this is not always the case... for me i think doing darker woods would make things masculine, i want white and light, but grounding it with heavier furniture and still using the light beach colors would work for me in a masculine way.

Giga said...

Gdybym miała wybierać między trzema pokojami, z pewnością wybrałabym ostatni. Bardzo mi sie podoba zieleń w domu i błękit morza za oknami. Ale to jest sprawa gustu i trzeba dobrze znać osobę, żeby jej narzucić swoje pomysły.Pozdrawiam

Anonymous said...

Hi Susan! How fun to help your friend choose a new style. Those are all beautiful inspirational photos! I think it depends on if your friend is a bachelor or not. The rooms definitely have a femine feeling, but not too femine... more for a couple... with the thought of a woman and man in mind. The second photo is the most femine out of the three, I think. But, I'm definitely not a pro... ;-)
Happy Monday, my friend!
XO,
Jo

Olive said...

Dear Lord! No green! Well the tradition navy blue with crisp wite and red accents is quite beachy to me. Men!

René said...

It would be hard to choose because I love them all. I have always been attracted to the aqua and blue & white combination though, especially for a beach house. I don't think any of the rooms are too feminine. Too bad he doesn't like the grass cloth because it s is very gender neutral.

Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces said...

The green was my favorite, too! Maybe he would like gray and white, with tan accents...

French-Kissed said...

I do love the first room, but would make it stronger by making the lampshades black as well as the bases of the benches at the foot of the beds black. Even though this house is at the beach, I think that the black could be used with the blues and whites to make it more masculine. My other thought would be to go with browns, beiges and cream...a very sea shell palette with a mix of warm brown and sun bleached woods and then finish it off with blue and white stripped rugs and lots of blue and white porcelain or pottery and a small sprinkling of aqua colored glass.
What a fun project!

~jermaine

Sarah @ Modern Country Style said...

I think it's the choice of fabrics that look a bit girly to me. I might go for something with a bit more of a graphic print...just a thought!

Sarahx

chateaudelille said...

My son has recently chosen new bed linen on a beachy theme and it is similar colours except there is more dark blue strpes added. Also we have used taupe lamp shades on dark metal bases and he is quite happy cos he didnt want all white like the rest of the house.Maybe I should post about it. Fiona

Kathysue said...

Oh Susan I wish I were there to play with you and your friend at the beach house.
I like the idea of crisp white and navy with accents in sand, black. The only ocean motif in shells and driftwood with would give you some of your sand color. Of course I would have stripes in there and maybe some great window pane plaids. No soft colors but crisp all the way!!! Oh my mind would spin with ideas for a beach house!!! Have fun sweet friend, Kathysue

Mona thompson said...

I love the dark rattan headboard and the blue but would change the pillows to a dark or navy blue. That is actually quite trendy right now so great fabrics and accessories would be easy to find. go back and look at the Somethings Gotta give House for Inspiration. It was classic and great. I think a man or woman would fit in just fine there. How fun. Wish I was there with you.

Donna said...

How nice of you to help your friend decorate his beach house! And how lucky he is to have a beach house! **sigh** I love the first two photos. The blue and white really seems perfect for a sea side setting. Since he does not like either green or grass cloth, I would say the last one is out! As to looking too feminine, I would suggest maybe going with a more graphic print, such as bold stripes, rather than the florals or damasks. I don't think the light blue is too feminine, I guess it mainly boils down to your friends preferences. And maybe adding some rough textures, like sisal rugs (if he likes that look!) or accessories featuring twine and rope. Have fun decorating, and good luck!!

Completely Coastal said...

I agree...., I'd go with darker accent colors in room one, and different patterns, or just solids.

You might get a kick off scrolling through my bedrooms (subcategory)..., here's the link:

Bedrooms

Last room..., I had that up to rate, find it funny how they turned their back to that amazing ocean view!

Blooming Rose Musings said...

I just had google translate Giga's comment:

If I had to choose between three rooms, certainly I'd choose the latter. I really like the green in the house and the blue sea outside the windows. But it is a matter of taste and you need to know the person well to it to impose its pomysły.Pozdrawiam