With 2021 just around the corner, it is time for all of us to think about how we’re going to deck out our beach houses. Each new passing season sees fresh beach house decor trends, and the coming year looks to be no different. In 2015, it was all about stacked, interlocking designs and geometric shapes. In 2017, people became obsessed with nautical wallpapers and boho outdoor areas. And in 2019, we saw the rise of sustainability and maximalist art. So what’s coming down the pike in 2021? How should you be decking your beach house out this time around? Check out the following:
Outdoor TVs
When you're at the beach house, you don’t want to have to choose between watching the big game and spending time enjoying the fine weather outdoors. You want both! Fortunately, Samsung has got you covered. The South Korean electronics giant is now making televisions for outdoor use, allowing you to enjoy the sunshine and watch the rugby at the same time. It’s a miracle! Samsung’s outdoor TV is called The Terrace and features the company’s latest QLED backlight tech and 4K panel. Currently, you can buy 55”, 65” and 75” models, all featuring the company's “total picture brilliance” technology that ensures the picture remains clear, even in direct sunlight. Samsung’s outdoor TV is perfect for a beach bar.
Wallpaper TVs
LG has also been busy creating fabulous TVs. Its new "wallpaper" televisions are perhaps the most exciting product to hit the market since the introduction of smart TVs a little over ten years ago. These ultra-slim televisions are just a few millimetres thick and sit almost flush to the wall. Watching TV on them feels like looking through a portal to another world - perfect for your media room. The wallpaper TVs come in two varieties: a giant 77” version and a slightly smaller 65” model. Each features Alpha Gen2 intelligent processors for smart functionality, OLED backlighting for deep blacks, and compatibility with Apple AirPlay 2 and Apple HomeKit. They serve as a great backup if the weather takes a turn for the worst. And they avoid all the usual spaces issues you get with indoor appliances. Just hook the set to your beach house wall and forget about it.
Feng Shui Decor
Feng shui is a beach house decor style that regularly goes in and out of fashion. Some years, it’s the hottest thing on the block; other times, nobody is interested. Interestingly, 2021 looks to be one of those years when the style makes a glorious comeback, probably because of the trauma of 2020. The purpose of feng shui is to utilise interior design to create joyful and harmonious spaces. Through the careful arrangement of furniture and colour selection, designers attempt to maximise wellbeing. Beach houses are, therefore, prime venues for this style. People want holiday accommodation that helps them relax and get the best out of their precious leisure time. The principles of feng shui include:
- Improving the quality of air and light in the home, eliminating dark corners and dull rooms
- Using colour to improve brightness while avoiding anything that looks too flashy
- Installing feng shui cures designed to bring healing energy to your home
- Creating an energy map of your beach house, dedicating zones to essential elements in life, such as spiritual growth, health, money, love and marriage and creativity
Outdoor Showers
Most beach houses have pools, jacuzzis or hot tubs. And even those that don’t are close to the open ocean. Thus, wet bodies are par for the course. In the old days, beach houses had indoor showers. Soaking wet swimmers wanting a shower would traipse through the interiors to get to the bathroom, wrecking the flooring and furniture along the way. It wasn't ideal. In 2021, therefore, we expect to see owners installing more outdoor showers. These offer the privacy and comfort of the indoor version while dealing with the problem of soggy bodies bringing puddles into the house. Those who rent their properties out to guests will be most pleased by this latest trend.
Day Beds
For years, beach house owners placed poolside loungers next to their pools to provide guests with somewhere to recline and relax. But it turns out that there are better solutions. Take the Costa Premium outdoor day beds, for example. These seating options - available in navy blue with white stripes or black with white stripes from beanbags r us - are a great addition any pool. Not only do they look great, but manufacturers make them exclusively for us using solution-dyed acrylic fabric sourced from Europe. Furthermore, the beds use the same fabric as the Portsea Pool Bean Bag, so they feel soft like cotton (in contrast to many other water-resistant bean bags currently available on the market).
Low-Rise Pool-Side Tables
Low-rise poolside tables are specifically designed for use with low-level seating options, such as beanbags or day beds. And in 2021, we expect them to become a must-have addition for any beach house. Nothing is more annoying than putting your drink or food on the floor and later finding it covered in gravel or sand. Low-rise poolside tables designed for the low seating position of a bean bag eliminate this problem. You sit back and grab your drink as you usually would. Beanbags r us recently introduced a new four-legged timber bean bag table designed for use alongside standard day bed and beanbag seating options. The table features flaring legs that provide additional stability as well as a water-resistant top to protect it from spills. What’s more, it is neutral enough to put just about anywhere in your beach house - from beside the pool to your feng shui living room.
Mixed-Use Spaces
2021 should also see the rise of mixed-use spaces: areas that combine multiple functions, like cooking and dining. Just like regular homeowners, those who holiday in beach houses want open-plan interiors that maximise social interaction and minimise artificial boundaries. In the case of beach houses, however, mixed-use spaces are a little more complicated. Property owners are considering all sorts of approaches. One option, for instance, is to combine the beach house terrace with views over the pool. Here retractable bi-folding doors run along the entire rear of the house to create a seamless transition between the poolside and the water. The covered area might feature seating, a games area and a convenient fridge, allowing guests to sit back and unwind after swimming several lengths. Another idea is to combine the kitchen with the lounge and bar. Here, beach house owners attempt to break down boundaries between cooking and preparation areas and where they eat and relax. Some beach house aficionados are even using the mixed-use trend to bring their collections of art into the communal areas of the home. Expect to see entire walls covered in stunning murals and paintings over the coming months.
Interior Gardens
Thanks to megatrends like the environment and sustainability movement, interior gardens are becoming much more prevalent in beach houses. Owners want to bring as much of nature into their properties as possible. We’re still in the early stages of this trend, but already we see some exciting ideas. One approach is to bring more greenery into indoor-outdoor spaces, like courtyards or covered verandas. The concept of a “green wall, " for instance, is taking off. Here, you find a climbing plant species, like ivy, and then allow it to grow all over a scaffold, trimming it back when necessary. The more radical idea is to create a forest-like interior that merges both interior design features and large plants. For instance, you might bring planters containing bushes into your interiors, placing them in direct sunlight under skylights or next to windows. You might also put down large pebbled areas and then transplant tropical trees with shallow roots, creating a kind of arboretum. The overall visual effect of interior gardens is impressive and leaves you wondering why nobody did it before. Living in a garden-like environment is relaxing and evokes positivity - just what you want on vacation.
Organic Materials And Features
Continuing with this theme, many beach house owners are also looking to use organic materials and features to make their holiday accommodation more sustainable. Recently, we’ve seen a slew of options hitting the market, all offering a host of benefits. Bamboo, for instance, is probably the most sustainable building material in the world. Some commercial varieties grow up to three feet per day, meaning that growers hardly have to use any land. Farmers harvest bamboo crops every three years, compared to every twenty-five years for managed forests. Bamboo products are available for all kinds of beach house applications, including decking, countertops, and tiles. Some people have even used it for flooring. Beach house owners are also looking towards organic insulating materials. Most builders pump cavity walls full of synthetic expanding foam. It is a great way to keep heat in the house, but it poses a terrible problem for the environment when the time comes for disposal. Wool insulation, by contrast, sidesteps this problem. Not only is it better at retaining heat than most synthetic insulation materials, but it also breaks down naturally in the environment. After all, it is just sheep fur. We’re also seeing a trend towards what is being dubbed “bioplastics” and “biocomposites.” For example, some innovative firms are making mushroom-based insulation from garden-variety mushrooms that work just as well as fibreglass but are entirely compostable. Others are borrowing ideas from nature and using bark to encase properties as if they were trees themselves.
Solar Roof Tiles
Wouldn’t it be great if you could power your beach house using nothing but solar energy while avoiding ugly solar panels at the same time? Well, in 2021, that will become a possibility. Gone are the days of bolting ugly photovoltaics to your roof. Now electric car and battery product company Tesla is offering stunning tiles for beach houses that not only keep the rain out but also generate electricity. Savvy beach house owners are eyeing up the possibility that these tiles might be profitable. On days where the roof produces more power than it consumes, they can sell it back to the grid - a great way to make money while no one is using the house.
White And Neutral Colour Palettes
White and neutral colours palettes are likely to play a significant role in 2021 - and not just because they look good. The primary motivation for using them is to regulate temperature better - something you need on hot summer days. White reflects incoming light out of the window, keeping the property cool. How exactly beach owners will incorporate this trend into their beach house decor remains to be seen. Many will start with the walls and the floor, painting them in various shades of white. Others will take it a step further, combining snow-coloured carpets and furniture with a white-walled background.
Living Roofs
Living roofs are becoming an important aspect of beach house decor. Owners in highly-developed areas want their properties to serve as places where nature can thrive. The concept of living roofs originated several years ago, but it is only recently that the trend has taken off. Now there's a drive to cover properties in an organic “waterproof membrane” of living plants and soil on their roof to replace regular tiles or asphalt. Interestingly, this trend isn't just about protecting the environment. Unlike regular humanmade roofs, living roofs are highly durable because the plants that comprise them recycle themselves every few years. Research from the GSA, for instance, suggests that a living roof could last for forty years, compared with seventeen years for a conventional roof. Additional benefits for beach house owners include better air quality, noise reduction, and energy efficiency improvements. No wonder this is a hot trend right now. In summary, 2021 is shaping up to be an exciting year for beach house decor. In the next twelve months, we will see the merging of high-technology and sustainability in ways many of us couldn't have imagined even five years ago.
