How do you avoid the pitfalls that take your décor into the land of kitch?  What is kitch you ask – think pink flamingos and tacky lighthouses.  The pitfall is never intentional it is just so easy to get caught up in the tide.  Par the pun.  It all seems great when you look at it in the store but when you get it home and all in one place you end up crossing the line into kitch land.  Why?  Most of the time, it is simply too much.  You’ve gone from 1 or 2 items that were fine to 7 or 8 and it went too far.

We thought we’d offer up some advice that House By The Shore lives by.  First of all – exercise restraint.  While the fun crab nightlight, lamp and towels look really cute, you might do better just choosing one of them so that it stands out and makes a statement – the right statement that is.  When you get too many it all blurs together and loses impact in your décor.

Think about color choices.  Now many will recommend going with bright whites and keeping it all neutral.  We don’t believe that is what you have to do.  Take this pretty dining room we found on Decoist.com.   

The walls are painted a beautiful navy.  White ceiling, cream rug and dark finish furniture.  The white slipcovered arm chairs at either end of the table lighten the look of the dark wood.  The rattan blinds carry the dark finish of the wood to the windows and the white draperies soften and add light. The brass chandelier adds the perfect hint of sparkle. The key to this room is that it is balanced.  Light and dark work together beautifully.  The room has a nautical feel simply with the navy and white but nothing is overdone.

This brings us to our next tip – don’t overdue the nautical.  We hinted at that above but it deserves to be stated again.  This dining room could have been overdone with a ships wheel chandelier, model ships on the table and upholstery festooned with anchors.  See where we’re going here?  You want a chic, calming space to dine – not to feel like you walked into the local seafood tourist trap restaurant.

Think about textures – we love to see rough-hewn wood combined with some sparkle from shiny metals or glass.  Take this room for example from Décor 4 All.  The rattan coffee table and the rough wood of the end table give depth to the light white walls and slipcovered sofa.  The sisal carpeting gives texture as well.  The sparkle from the glass jars and the mirror help to balance it all out.

Use fabric, finishes and patterns to give a nautical, coastal feel without taking things too far.  For example natural linens not only look great in coastal décor but they’re extremely well suited for beach living.  So are heavy cotton twill or denim slipcovers.  Use stripes and patterns that reflect the nature around you.  Pillows with pretty sea life patterns and stripes can look nautical without being overbearing as you can see here with this pretty combination from House By The Shore.

Choose wisely and practice self-restraint – that’s the key to having beach chic décor!