15 coastal kitchen ideas to transform your cooking space

You don’t want the sand in your toes and salt in the air while you’re making breakfast — but the right coastal kitchen ideas can bring in that breezy, relaxed beach-house feel. From soft blue backsplashes to woven bar stools, a few choice decor items can evoke the calm of the coast without going overboard. 

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Whether you’re styling a waterfront retreat or just craving a lighter, brighter space, these modern coastal kitchen ideas will help the room feel fresh, open, and ready for those sun-kissed summer mornings. 

1. White and soft blue kitchen cabinets

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Kitchen cabinetry takes up a lot of visual space, making its design and color treatment essential to perfecting a look. Soft shades of blue and white instantly channel the freshness of a coastal setting and its open skies, seafoam waves, and sun-bleached driftwood. 

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Here, baby blue lower cabinets have a cooling effect, while white top cabinets let the blue keep the spotlight and leave the space feeling bright and open. Plus, the color palette works well with natural beachy textures, like woven dining chairs or light oak floors. 

2. Natural wood elements

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Natural wood details bring that down-to-earth coastal vibe, recalling beachgrass and the sun’s glow as it sets over the ocean. Light wood tones as an accent, in places like exposed ceiling beams and butcher’s block countertops, add warmth to cool palettes and white walls. Decor, like woven dining stools, floating shelves, and small accents like wicker pendant lights and wood utensil holders, keep up the natural palette.

3. Coastal-inspired tile backsplash

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Although this idea requires renovating, a blue tile backsplash is a surefire way to nail the seaside coastal kitchen design. It takes note from the playful colors of Mediterranean design to create a beach house mood that doesn’t go full nautical. Choose soft shades of blue like turquoise, sky blue, or cyan with a glossy finish so natural light bounces off the walls, and let the blue stand as the primary accent color: Pair your tiles with natural wood decor and shiny marble or granite countertops to keep the space bright and balanced. 

4. Rattan or woven lighting

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Woven decor details bring a bohemian style that feels handmade and right at home in a beachy kitchen. An uneven weave filters light in soft, dappled patterns, breaking up sharp lines of wood beams and flat-front cabinets. Hang them over a kitchen island or breakfast nook to create a homey gathering space.

5. Pops of sea-inspired colors

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Soft shades of blue like sky and powder radiate breezy attitudes, perfect for a laid-back, light-filled beachy kitchen. But for a little more energy, try deeper hues with green undertones like turquoise or cyan. They bring a lively twist that pops against white walls or marble countertops. Emphasize the playful attitude with a few pieces of colorful coastal kitchen decor, like fruit bowls, vases, and utensil holders. Just be sure to keep the rest of the palette neutral and natural to avoid overwhelming your space. 

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Find green ceramic accent pieces on Onton

6. Open shelving

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One way to capture that airy aesthetic central to coastal kitchens is with open shelving. Without bulky cabinetry, the walls feel more spacious, and natural light travels further. Thick oak or walnut shelves are an easy way to work in natural wood tones, which add a breezy feeling to kitchens with white walls and marble countertops. Plus, more shelves are the perfect excuse to display shell-white plates, sea glass vases, or native coastal plants.

7. Nautical and vintage accents

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A nautical kitchen doesn’t have to hit you over the head with its themes to get them across. Rather than draping anchors and rope knots in the kitchen, coastal interior design focuses on shape, color, and pattern to call back to time on the open sea. Brass pendant lights, striped kitchen towels, and a blue kitchen island with beadboard all nod to nautical design without sacrificing contemporary aesthetics.

8. White or butcher’s block countertops

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Butcher’s block adds warmth and texture that echoes coastal natural environments. It also works well with staple beach house kitchen designs, like a white subway tile backsplash, light blue accent walls, and crisp white cabinetry. 

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If you’d rather feature bright blues in your cabinets, opt for strong white marble or quartz countertops to keep the room feeling open and uncluttered. Both butcher’s block and white countertops are practical surfaces for everyday use, ideal for relaxed, come-and-go beach house energy. 

9. Coastal artwork or wall decor

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Artwork is the best way to make an established interior design style feel uniquely yours. Coastal oil paintings bring the outdoors in, as do natural accessories like driftwood, jars of shells, and rock sculptures. Unique ceramic vessels and hand-knotted jute rugs round out a sea-inspired kitchen where every hand-picked item has a place.

10. Indoor plants and greenery

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As nice as it sounds, you can’t spend all your time out on the surf. However, you can bring the beach (sans sand) into your kitchen with a handful of indoor plants. Just a few pieces of greenery, like houseplants and gathered flowers, make a white kitchen feel lively.

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If your coastal kitchen doesn’t come with crashing waves out the window, mix and match dried beach grass, succulents, and native plants in varying sizes to keep that fresh, airy energy. Bonus points for woven planters and pots in natural tones (like terracotta or olive green) to emphasize the natural palette. 

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Search for woven planters on Onton

11. Sheer window treatments

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Sunlight is as critical to coastal kitchen design as a teal backsplash or woven bar stools. Sheer curtains or gauzy Roman shades let daydreamy natural light filter in, especially if you choose a soft color like butter yellow, rose, or baby blue. Unlike heavy drapes or blinds, they don’t compete with the breeze — or the view. 

12. Beachy textures

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When it comes to seating, wicker, jute, and rattan are the protagonists of beach house kitchen ideas — and for a good reason. Tactile, woven textures evoke relaxed, natural vibes, and are another way to incorporate the feeling of the outdoors. Wood tones (like bar stool legs and butcher’s blocks) pair well with these rough textures, and glossy finishes (like lacquered pendant lamps and ceramic vessels) are a smooth accent, drawing design inspiration from sun-kissed coastal landscapes.

13. Dark countertops

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A blue and white color scheme isn’t a requirement to fully embody coastal vibes. Dark countertops, like black or gray marble, add an air of modern sophistication to an otherwise spotlessly white kitchen. Plus, they mask dirt and grime more easily, which is helpful when you’d rather be spending all your time near the waves rather than scrubbing the kitchen. 

14. Statement coastal pendant lights

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Oversized light fixtures bring sculptural impact to modern kitchen design. In a coastal-inspired kitchen, loosely woven pendant lights nod to traditional fishing baskets and add a nautical narrative without sacrificing the minimalist colors and shapes of a modern kitchen. Center them above a kitchen island for visual emphasis and to soften hard lines with their uneven texture and warm, diffused light. 

15. Subtle coastal decor

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The best kitchen island decor makes a big statement with little effort — after all, too much clutter can get in the way of useful prep space. Try a few simple items with a seaside motif, like a seashell-shaped bowl, trays made of reclaimed driftwood, or simple ceramics in blue and sandy hues.

Explore seaside coastal kitchen design with Onton

Yearning for oceanic salt air and gentle waves? Replicate the feeling in your kitchen with seaside colors, rustic decor, and lots of woven rattan using Onton’s AI-powered search engine. Try prompts like “blue kitchen decor,” “beaded board tray,” or “woven stools” to discover pieces that bring the beach indoors without all the sand.

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Once you find a few favorites, use Onton’s Imagine tool to see how everything will fit together. Just upload a photo of your coastal kitchen and start playing around with layouts, materials, and decor ideas. 

Dream up your ideal coastal kitchen with Onton.