How to Create a Coastal Dining Room on a Budget
Coastal design is all about bringing the beach indoors. It’s a great way to add some relaxation and tranquility to your home, especially if you live in a cold, dark climate. In this blog post, we will show you how to create a coastal dining room on a budget!
What best describes a coastal design style?
Coastal design is defined by natural materials, light colors, and a focus on comfort and relaxation. The coastal design style was inspired by the colors and textures of the sea, sand, beach, and sky.
The goal of coastal design is to create a relaxed atmosphere that reminds you of a day at the beach.
Coastal design is achieved through the use of natural materials like driftwood, sea glass, and shells. Also, the style typically incorporates light colors such as green, blue, and white and patterns that are striped, painted walls, or wallpaper related to your theme.
And finally, furniture in a coastal dining room design style is typically very comfortable with an emphasis on relaxation.
What colors should be used in a coastal dining room home decor?
Coastal dining rooms should be light and airy. White is a great base color for a coastal dining room.
You can then add accents of blue and green to create a more beach-like feel.
The sand-colored wallpaper below has a nice texture and may help with your inspiration. If you have a small dining room, it is wise to stick with bright or light colors, so this could be a good choice.
If you are looking for paint inspiration, check out the Benjamin Moore range; the color sea foam below is very fresh and will make a great accent wall in a dining room.
See our article on colors for a coastal living room
A coastal dining room design
The walls of the dining room
We took our inspiration from the colors and materials that you might see when you visit the beach. Think of blue and white, greens, and neutral sand tones.
We started with lightwood flooring and decided to keep the whole of the coastal dining room space in a very light, airy style.
The walls, rather than just plain white paint, have been covered with white wallpaper, which has a shiplap effect of making it look like a building you may see along the beach, similar to Cape Cod.
You can purchase the wallpaper at just $37.99 a roll, and it is packaged in a single roll and measures 20.5 in. x 18 ft. = 30.75 sq.ft. The paper is very easy to apply as it is peel and stick.
The furniture for our coastal dining room ideas
Let’s start with the dining table. Ideally, a wooden dining table would fit perfectly into the scheme, but nothing too dark.
We were inspired by the washed effect of the planks on the wallpaper and opted for a washed-out effect for the dining table.
A nice sturdy table that seats up to six people, so perfect for small dinner parties and family dinners.
The worn weathered finish portrays an antique and coastal feel, the table legs are styled reminiscent of Provencal, and the top is hand carved.
The dining table is made from carefully selected, high-quality wood that is kiln-dried to remove any excess moisture, which helps prevent splitting.
The dining table measures 66 W x 42 D x 30 H inches, but the added bonus is that it can expand to 84 inches in length as it does have a hidden leaf. Priced at $1,100 and made from hardwood, this table should last you for quite a few years in your new coastal dining room.
Related Post: Green Accent Wall – Dining Room
Stylish dining room chairs
Six chairs will fit comfortably around our dining table, but we have a cost for four chairs in our design.
Keeping with our coastal dining room theme, we chose a natural woven rattan seat supported by unfinished mango wood legs.
The chair is a very modern shaped design and will look striking against the dining table. The chairs can be purchased in a set of two which is very reasonably priced at $472.84, and they measure 26.4W x 20.1D x 38.6H inches.
How to take care of rattan dining chairs
Rattan dining chairs are a great choice for a coastal dining room. They are made of natural materials and have an airy feel. But how do you take care of a rattan dining chair?
Rattan dining chairs can be used indoors or outdoors. If you use them indoors, they should be kept in a cool, dry place. If you use them outdoors, they should be kept in a shady spot.
To clean rattan dining chairs, simply wipe them down with a damp cloth. You can also vacuum them if they start to collect dust.
Related Post: Farmhouse Dining Room – Budget and High End Designs
A beach-inspired wooden credenza
Storage for a coastal dining room area is very important. Easy access to dinner plates, glasses, table mats, and cutlery is paramount. Most families have a good set for dinner parties and an everyday set for family dining.
We selected the perfect storage in the form of a credenza inspired by the coastal theme and the color green.
This beautiful four-door credenza will definitely add a pop of color to our coastal dining room.
The vintage washed and rubbed finish fits well into the dining room design, and the credenza has shutter-style door fronts, which reveal a very spacious interior that is shelved.
The credenza can be placed up against a plain white wall as a focal point. The dimensions are 48.03W x 15D x 28.74H in, and it is priced at $902. Download our free PDF.
Dining in style with your own bar
A dinner party with guests in your coastal dining room could be elevated by incorporating your very own drinks station or bar.
For our design, we have incorporated a bar trolley.
Styled in the shape of a wooden globe, this quirky piece of furniture opens up to reveal a large bar. There is ample room for your spirits, wines, and glasses, and they are all easily accessible.
At the base of the globe is a handy extended table where you can store more bottles and glasses.
The whole globe is wrapped up in an old nautical map, and the base features renaissance era paintings – basically a complete work of art. The bar trolley is also available in three different colors.
To make your life so much easier, the bar trolley can be wheeled easily from the corner of your room, ready to serve your guests. Priced at $180.94 – a fantastic item to invest in and style up your coastal dining room.
The lighting for coastal dining
The ceiling pendant lighting
Overhead lighting is a must when dining at your table. It makes the dining experience more enjoyable, and your guests can see what they are eating – well, you put in all of the effort to cook the food, and you may as well show off with your plating skills.
Over our dining room table and an added focal point, we are installing pendant lighting with a nautical feel to it.
This particular pendant light attaches to the ceiling by metal chains and will suit not only a coastal dining room but also a farmhouse-style decor.
The design resembles a basket and has a white-washed faux wood finish giving it a rustic beach feel to it.
If you are fortunate to have dimmable switches, this ceiling fixture will also work with them and will be great when you need to lower the lights a touch when enjoying after-dinner drinks.
The dining room light measures 38-1/2-inch width by 17-inch height and can be purchased for just $499.
Accent lighting for coastal dining
Add to your dining room ideas with two woven table lamps on top of the credenza.
These rattan table lamps stand 27 inches high and are made from wicker, and have a drum shade.
The lamp design has been styled to a coastal style and is priced at $99.99 each.
The bottom pedestal of the base is 5 1/2″ wide x 1″ high. The shade is 14″ across the top x 16″ across the bottom x 10″ high. Weighs 4.18 lbs. Download the free PDF.
Related Post: Small Dining Room Ideas
Curtains for a coastal dining room
If your dining room space has windows, we need to add in either curtains or blinds. I think the curtains look more elegant in this coastal dining room decor, but it needs to have a modern feel to them.
We have chosen a set of two panels that are available as blackout curtains. There are a variety of colors available, but we went for the mint color to keep within our coastal dining room ideas.
Measure your windows carefully when choosing your curtains to make sure you have the right length and width.
These curtains are also perfect for bedrooms, nurseries, etc., as they help prevent the daylight from shining through. They are made from 100% polyester and are very easy to clean. You can even put them in the tumble dryer on low heat. The price is just $27.00
Softening the floor with a rug
Our next choice of home decor is a coastal-style rug to warm up the wooden floor.
The rug will help create texture and pattern in the space and has a nautical style to it.
This five-foot by seven-foot rug has a coastal tone to it with a wave-type pattern.
The rug is very durable and made in Turkey. It might be wise to attach pads to the back to stop it from moving in other rooms, but with a dining room table on top of it, you probably won’t require them. The price for the rug is $83.
Additional decor and accents for our coastal dining room
I always find this is the fun part – adding accessories and accents to the final design. These are obviously all optional, but I feel that these particular choices fit in well with the theme.
Nautical mirror
A well-placed mirror can make a dining room look so much larger than it is. You may not want a mirror; you may decide on a piece of artwork or family photographs; whatever your choice, try to keep within the seaside theme.
This rattan mirror is easy to hang and is coastal-inspired. Made in Indonesia, it measures 35″W and 35″H and will hang neatly above your credenza or storage cabinet.
Priced at $127, you can find the links on our free PDF.
Set sail with a model boat
Our coastal dining room now needs a little more styling, so we are going to add a model boat to our dining room design; what better nautical accessory?
This rustic model boat stands at just under 14 inches high and can be placed anywhere with a flat surface.
The boat is made from sturdy wood and is priced at just $25.
Flowers and plants for the dining room
Let’s now put some nature into the dining room by way of a plant and some artificial flowers.
Our tall fake 43-inch cheese plant stands majestically in the corner, giving a tropical vibe to the theme.
The price is $67, and all you need to do is regularly dust it down.
The final addition to our coastal dining room is a small vase of artificial flowers. You can use real flowers but keep them simple.
These baby breath flowers are 1.64 ft, and there are four in a pack. Made from silk and cloth, just pop them into your favorite vase for just $14.
Our final design for a coastal dining room
The total cost for the furniture and accessories in the mood board comes to just under $4,200, which includes –
- 1 x dining room table
- 4 x rattan dining chairs
- 1 x large rug
- 1 x credenza
- 1 x ceiling fixture
- 4 x panels of curtains – mint green
- 1 x bar trolley
- 2 x table lamps
- 1 x model boat
- 1 x wall mirror
- 1 x pack of 4 fake flowers
- 1 x tall cheese plant.
So get decorating and create your coastal dining room on a budget.
