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claga_gw

Beach Cottage Family Furnture Ideas HELP!!!

claga
9 years ago

We are purchasing a small beach cottage and need to pick wall colors asap.
We like the light colored slipcover furniture look, but have 6 grand children.
Any ideas for fabric selections for the sofa and chairs, would like to keep the beach feel without going over the top.
A wall color choice would be helpful also.
The flooring with be either Mannnington Addura Dockside Sand or a neutral brown carpet.

Thanks

Comments (17)

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    Both Sherwin Williams and Ben Moore have coastal color collections. A little more detail would be helpful. Do you want one color for all the rooms? How many bedrooms? Kitchen? Living room?

    Sand is brutal on floors. On Cape Cod, the tradition was to paint the floors because of sand. Painting floors, esp. white, also gives a cottage a very beach/cottage feel. Regardless, make sure you keep a dish pan of water, ankle height, at each door for people to rinse their feet before going into the house. This doesn't only protect the floor, but it keeps sand out of beds, off sofas, etc.

  • loves2read
    9 years ago

    If this is a true beach cottage w/lot of sand coming in the door as well as wet shoes/feet...definitely don't go for carpet. It is just contra-indicated...
    Jute/sisal/seagrass area rugs are seen in many photos of coastal/beach homes but they can be problamatic for trapping sand/dirt and not that comfortable on bare feet...

    Consider a good quality luxury vinyl plank flooring w/the look of wood--
    some of them come in styles like a "limed" finish which is very coastal and they are easy to keep up and comfortable to walk on--
    We have LVP in our FL house--not on the beach--but have been very happy with it...

    And if you want an upholstery fabric that is pretty much stain free--consider Sunbrella fabrics--
    they are more expensive than most but come in very comfortable finishes now--not harsh and scratchly like you might remember from patio furniture...
    and some of the micro-fabrics can be very stain resistant--but might not be the right color/design choice for "cottage" look...

    As far as colors--we have late 70s ranch on FL Gulf Coast and repainted all the original trim in decorator white by BM, used various shades of tan--
    Khaki/Vapar is in our master w/white coastal furniture, Arizona Heat/Kelly Moor is in master bath (only thing we could find to go with the original faux marble acrylic, Barbados Sand/BM is in the rest of the family areas...
    We had to work around the flooring/kitchen cabinetry choices the sellers has used when they remodeled--
    if you don't have those restricts then you have much more freedom obviously.

  • mtnrdredux_gw
    9 years ago

    Washable slipcovers for the furniture. Off white looks best, light denim will require less frequent washing.

  • writersblock (9b/10a)
    9 years ago

    I love this sitting room in Flea Market Trixie's beach cottage and it's pretty practical (although I also live at the beach and hate sisal/jute, too, for the same reasons mentioned by loves2read):

    Here is a link that might be useful: Beach Cottage Sitting Room

  • Sueb20
    9 years ago

    We have a beach cottage with 3 sofas -- two with washable slipcovers and one with Ultrasuede, which is super cleanable and durable.

    Hard to recommend paint colors without knowing anything about the house, location, etc., but a few of my favorites from my house (all Ben Moore paints) are Healing Aloe, Quiet Moments, Rich Cream, Colony Green, Edgecomb Gray, and Everlasting.

  • claga
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Here is alittle more information about the cottage.
    It;s in gated community in southern coastal Maine, approximately 1 mile to the beach. The cottage is 760 sq ft. with 2 Bedrooms; a 3 season porch (approx 14'x14'') with a catheral ceiling.
    The main area in the cottage is a kitchen/dining room combo with a catheral ceiling and a small loft area.
    Some people use the extra space adjacent to the kitchen as a living room and put their dining room out on the porch.
    We are going with the standard Schrock Reflection (white thermofoil) Kitchen cabinets. With Bianco Sardo granite countertops. The flooring in the main kitchen/living room area is Adura Mannington Dockside Sand color. We are leaning towards using the same flooring on the three season porch, and using a neutral light brown carpet in the bedrooms.
    We have the 2 bedroom sets and would like to get a harvest table for the dining area.
    Again if you could please provide ideas and opinions for the furnishing on the porch keeping in mind we have 6 grandchildren, and paint colors.
    Thanks

  • loves2read
    9 years ago

    Love the LVP flooring--much like what we have in our master suite--
    If you keep the carpet for bedrooms consider commercial, low nap with a pattern like a sisal/seagrass rug (if they make it)...and get top-level pad--
    more resilient carpet but also carpet easier to vacuum if it has no nap...

    As far as dining-- 14x14 is larger than most dining rooms in homes under 200 sq ft. If you have 6 grandchildren will they all visit at some time w/their parents? How many people do you envision there normally? 10? 14? 8?
    Makes a difference on how you design your dining space.
    I would suggest one larger/permanent table seating the number of adults--
    then card tables for grandchilren when you have everyone there...
    card tables can be folded/stored when not needed...
    And you might also look for some stackable stools or consider benches that can go against the wall and be fairly unobtrusive when not needed...

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    I would not use carpeting in an oceanside area. Too much dampness. You'll regret it. Use low-nap area rugs, indoor/outdoor rugs, etc.

  • claga
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    what do you think of this selection of fabric for the 3 season porch? Any thoughts for a wall color?

    http://www.outdoorfabriccentral.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Sunbrella-50th-Anniversary-Lanai-fabric.jpg

    it's the photo with the beige sofa, blue ottoman, and chair with beige background with blue and green pattern

    thanks

  • mtnrdredux_gw
    9 years ago

    What do you mean by selection of fabric? Are you buying these pieces? Or having things made custom from these fabrics? The latter is more costly.These don't look like slipcovers, either, which I think it a mistake.

    Buy slipcovered pieces in a solid, then drive over to Home Goods (there is one very near you) and go pillow crazy for not much money,

    Agree heartily w Tibbrix on carpet. Dash and Albert has great indoor outdoor rugs.

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    I think those are beautiful colors, esp. for Maine, frankly. Beachy, but also warm, so they'll be good in NE autumn as well. A perfect combo of colors.

    Just tell the grandkids no eating on the furniture. Done.

    Depending on how old the grandkids are, you can also get a stash of beanbag chairs to pull out for them when they visit.

  • claga
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Tibbrix,
    Do you have any wall color suggestions?
    The sofa is actually a little dark it's a Rowe's sofa in their Natural color fabric...
    The second chair is the color of the ottoman.

    Thanks

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    Yes! SW Maison Blanche. Perfect for a beach cottage and with that furniture and those colors.

    Blue bedrooms, though. Waking up in a blue bedroom at a beach is so perfect. Check out BM Nantucket Fog, SW Sea Salt, BM Yarmouth Blue.

  • claga
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thank You Tibbrix,
    The colors are very nice...
    We are using BM Smoke in the kitchen/dining area (white cabinets and Mannington Adura Dockside Sand flooring).
    Now we are having second thoughts on the porch furniture fabric on the chairs. Family members are not fans of the pattern.
    Any other thoughts? All suggestions are welcome...We need to pick paint colors by November 15th.

    Thanks again

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    My best suggestion would be to pick the patterns and furniture YOU want for YOUR house. You start trying to please everyone, you're going to end up pleasing no one.

    Design your house to be how you want it, the way that makes you happy to be there.

  • martinca_gw sunset zone 24
    9 years ago

    Upholstered seating on a porch? It must be enclosed, like a sunporch, I presume. These rattan chairs from another post are what i'd use for the majority of the seating in a small seaside cottage. For a more comfy sofa...now keep an open mind here: get a tight back sofa with one long ( platform) seat cushion. Have it slipcovered n a slightly loose fashion. It will be a breeze to remove and put back on. I have a large sofa with six cushions, and it's a pain to deal with.