Coastal Dining Room Decor Ideas

Welcome to my little coastal oasis! In today's blog post, I'll be sharing some easy coastal dining room decor ideas to help you create a breezy, beachy vibe in your home. From garden flowers to coastal accents and textures, you'll find plenty of inspiration to create a coastal-inspired dining space. There's also a DIY table centerpiece that I think you're going to love. Plus, this post is part of a blogger summer home tour, so you can hop from one beautiful home to another, exploring all sorts of summer decorating styles. There is something here for everyone today, so get ready to be inspired!

Table of contents

Welcome!
Inspiration for a coastal-inspired dining room
Key elements for coastal dining room decor
Tablecloths and runners
Placemats and Napkins for a coastal dining set
Coastal Tableware
Simple Coastal Centerpiece idea
Table lanterns and candles with a coastal vibe
Decorative Coastal Accents on the dining table
Wall art and decor for a coastal-style dining room
Additional Accessories
Woven jute coasters with frayed edges
Coastal kitchen
Final Thoughts on Coastal dining room decorating
Coastal dining table decor shopping ideas
More Summer decorating posts
More inspiration from the Home Tour

Welcome!

Whether you're a long-time reader or have just discovered my blog through today's home tour, I'm thrilled to have you here. A special welcome to those hopping over from Deborah at B Vintage Style. Isn't her lovely vintage home just amazing? A big shout out to Ma r ty at 'A Stroll Thru Life', for organizing the tour as well, it's such an honor to be included in this blogger home tour!

Well, I'm really excited to share my coastal dining room decor ideas with you today, so let's get started!

Inspiration for a coastal-inspired dining room

French doors leading from the dining room to the garden

The inspiration for my coastal dining room decor comes from the lovely blue Nigella damascene, or 'Love in a Mist' flowers blooming just outside my dining room window. You can just about see them on the left-hand side in the photo above. The flowers are such a beautiful shade of blue and have delicate green fronds that remind me of flowers you might find in the dunes at the beach. I've used Love in a Mist flowers throughout my coastal-themed tablescape and in my table centerpiece, and now when I look at the photos, I wish I had used more! Never mind, there are plenty more blooming in the garden. I also use their seed pods for decorating!

★Tip★ Nigella flowers are self-seeding, which means if you plant them once, they will flower in abundance every year. The seed pods of Love in Mist also look wonderful in dried flower arrangements or flowery centerpieces. The flowers also come in white and pink and look great in the garden or containers. You can easily thin out Nigella plants if they take over too much.

Key elements for coastal dining room decor

Now that you know the inspiration behind my coastal dining room decor, let's get into the key elements that make up this look. Some of the decorative items I've used are new and some of them I've had for years but I've linked to similar items in case you're interested in creating your own coastal-inspired dining space this summer.

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Tablecloths and runners

Stripes are associated with a nautical theme, so striped tablecloths or runners make great bases for coastal-style dining tables. You can use tablecloths or runners as backdrops for layering other coastal decor and natural textures like jute placemats and seagrass coasters.

Close-up of a dining table set in a coastal style — coastal dining room decorating ideas with jute and seagrass textures

I've had the beige striped tablecloth for a few years and can't even remember where I purchased it, so I can't link to the original, but this striped tablecloth is similar, and would also look great on a coastal dining table.

Sometimes, I prefer to use table runners, and then I either have one running down the middle of the table or two or three across the table (depending upon the number of place settings).

Placemats and Napkins for a coastal dining set

I love using jute placemats on my dining table any time of year, but they look particularly good in summer because they add a rustic, organic feel to the dining table, which is perfect for getting the relaxed, shore-side bistro look.

I've had my jute placemats for a few years now and find that they are durable enough to handle everyday use as well. As I already have lots of different styles of placemats, I really can't justify buying new ones, but that doesn't stop me from dreaming, and I have to admit I'm totally in love with these flower-style jute placemats.

I needed to purchase new table napkins recently, and I was thrilled to find these striped ones that were affordable and within my budget, and the stripes perfectly fit the coastal theme I was aiming for. I purchased the napkins online from a Danish company, but you can purchase similar striped napkins here. Napkins in coastal colors like sandy beige, sea green, blue tones, or white are perfect for coastal dining rooms. I find that napkins always add a finishing touch to the table.

Coastal Tableware

Blue glass water glasses

Coastal Dining Room Decorating Ideas with blue and beige tones — Blue-colored water glasses add a splash of the ocean to coastal dining room decor

The blue water glasses bring a splash of the ocean to my coastal dining table I only have six of them, so when there are more of us, I mix and match them with some pretty sea-green water glasses. They complement the rest of the coastal dining room decor, such as the striped tablecloth and jute placemats. I love combining pieces that I already own to create a casual, eclectic look.

★Top Tip★ Coastal dining is all about creating a relaxed and informal atmosphere, so don't worry if you don't have a complete set of matching glassware or plates. Mixing and matching different colors and styles can actually add more interest to your table decor.

Coastal Dinnerware

A coastal table set with striped napkins and blue Nigella flowers. — Coastal tableware in tones of linen and white

The plates I used in my tablescape are from the 'natural canvas' range. They are perfect for a coastal tablescape with their clean white color and light beige rim. Because of their neutral color, the plates look great with any sort of tablescape, and you can dress them up or down.

The dinnerware provides a neutral base that lets the vibrant blues of the flowers and water glasses shine. Denby tableware is very robust (This is our everyday set). We've had them for many years, and they look just as good now as they did when we purchased them, plus they are microwave and dishwasher-safe.

Simple Coastal Centerpiece idea

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you may recognize the candle holder I've used to create my coastal centerpiece. It's so pretty and easy to make at home. You can find the Baby's Breath candle holder tutorial here. A rustic wooden box serves as a tray to corral the candle holder, pretty seashells, and a large, faux starfish into a rustic coastal centerpiece.

Of course, I always need to add a bit of extra sparkle, and in this case, it comes in the form of tiny LED string lights wrapped around the candle holder. I've added extra texture by placing the centerpiece on a leaf-shaped jute placemat.

Table lanterns and candles with a coastal vibe

To me, anything with rattan screams of coastal design. That's why my coastal dining room decor for the table, usually includes some glass and rattan candle holders. Although I love using candlesticks on the table, I also love that candle holders and votives are smaller and don't block the line of sight between guests.

★Tip★ To "up the beach vibe" even more, try using non-toxic ocean-scented candles on your table.

Decorative Coastal Accents on the dining table

Items like seashells make great scatter decor for a coastal-style dining table

Natural or faux seashells make great decor for a coastal dining table. You can easily scatter them between items on the dining table, to add a touch of the seaside to your setup. You can use large seashells to anchor napkins or add them to a centerpiece, as I've used them here. I love how the seashells add texture and interest without overwhelming the table.

If you are lucky enough to live by the seashore, look out for interesting bits of driftwood and sea glass that you can use for decorating.

Wall art and decor for a coastal-style dining room

Coastal wall art

To achieve the coastal look on your walls, exchange some wall art and decor to reflect the seaside atmosphere. Nautical-themed prints or paintings, such as images of sailboats, lighthouses, or beach scenes, work really well. You don't need to exchange all your wall art, one or two pieces with a coastal theme will be enough. I have various pieces of artwork that I switch out with the seasons and in the dining room, I replaced one of the frames on our gallery wall with a black and white surfer photo that I bought online.

Hanging garlands

A dining room decorated in a coastal style — Mother of pearl hanging garlands for summer

Hanging garlands made of seashells or mother of pearl add a nice touch and are perfect for draping along walls, windows, or even across the dining table, as you can see in this summer tablescape. For summer, I have a mother-of-pearl garland hanging by the wood store next to the fireplace. I love how the garland glints and sparkles in the sunlight streaming through the windows.

Wicker, rattan, and seagrass

A coastal style dining room with seagrass log basket — A seagrass basket in the dining room

If you use wicker, rattan, or seagrass baskets to store essentials or as decorative accents, you can't go wrong. We use a natural seagrass basket to carry logs from the log store to the fireplace, so in summer, when it's not in use, I top up the log store and leave the basket on top. The log basket fits in with the coastal theme so I don't have to hide it away or find another place for it - perfect!

You can find the grass wreath tutorial here.

Lighting

We changed the pendant lights over the dining table and you can read all about that in my pendant lighting post. I find that the new glass pendant lights fit the rest of our home much better than the old ones did. Glass pendants also suit farmhouse-style decorating, which, I adore just as much as coastal style! If you are looking for versatile coastal-style pendant lights to complement various decorating styles, take a look at the pendant lighting blog post that I wrote when I was looking for mine.

Additional Accessories

Coastal coasters and napkin rings

Coastal style dining room decorating ideas with rattan napkin rings and striped napkins — Rattan napkin rings for a coastal look

In spring, I happened to find some lovely rattan napkin holders, so of course, I snapped them up for my coastal dining table. I use all sorts of things as napkin holders and have even been known, to make my own napkin rings if I can't find something that complements my table setting. My DIY napkin rings are a great alternative if you're working with a tight budget. Exchange the flowers for creamy-white shells to get the coastal look.

Find similar jute napkin rings here.

Woven jute coasters with frayed edges

Coastal table decor in tones of blue and beige — Frayed-edge jute coasters on my coastal dining room table

I found the frayed edge coasters last summer and use them all the time. They are either on my dining table or coffee table, ready for use. With their frayed edges, they make great decor for beach-style table settings as well as having practical use. You can find similar frayed-edge coasters here.

I also love the look of woven jute coasters like the ones you can see in my post dedicated to lake life decor. Those nautical, woven coasters are very popular with my readers as well.

Coastal kitchen

Coastal Dining Room Decorating Ideas for kitchen counters — The kitchen simply decorated for summer

I haven't finished decorating the kitchen and breakfast nook yet but I thought I'd give you a quick peek at the kitchen as it is. Again, I'm bringing the outdoors in with a small bunch of Allium seed heads and some dried flowers and greenery that came from a spring bouquet. Next to the vase of alliums, you can see a concrete plant pot filled with sweet-scented thyme. I always like to have a mix of potted herbs next to my food prep area, ready for use.

Coastal decorating ideas for the kitchen — Allium seed heads look great in a vase on the kitchen counter

Final Thoughts on Coastal dining room decorating

Well, that's as far as I have gotten with the kitchen but I hope you enjoyed my coastal dining room decorating ideas.

Remember that there are plenty of ways to decorate and add coastal charm to your spaces. The key is to keep things relaxed and inviting and don't hesitate to mix and match items to create a look that's uniquely yours.

Thanks for joining me on this part of the blogger home tour, and I hope you feel inspired to bring a touch of the coast into your dining room. Next up, I'm sending you to Anita at Whispering Pines Homestead, at the beginning of today's tour. I have a feeling you'll love her beautiful summer home too!

Happy decorating and enjoy the rest of the tour!