4 Rules for Refreshing Your Vacation – or Any – Home
Recently, I was looking for a rental home at the beach for a little summer getaway. It was tough to find anything that I deemed liveable. Everything I saw had the same prescribed deathtrap bunk beds, yellow oak Windsor dining chairs, polyester sea shell “quilt,” and leftover furnishings from the in-laws. I know I’m a snob when it comes to interiors – I own a home furnishings store after all – but everything I saw was TERRIBLE.After seeing these crimes against decorating I thought it would be fun to share with you how we at Red Barn Mercantile would decorate a beach house. And since we are having a Dash & Albert and Pine Cone Hill sale May 25 to June 1, I’m going to highlight two of their new designs.My design ethos is Keep It Simple. If you’re heading to the beach, you’re going there to relax. A lot of visual noise is chaotic, and it competes with the beach views. It’s easy to create a clean and fresh look that will help you lose yourself while on vacation. Here’s how… 
Paint It White
Paint the walls, ceiling, and trim the same color of white and let the view and accents bring in the color. Most of the houses I saw had weird ceiling lines. Painting everything the same color eliminates the guess work on where the wall color stops and the ceiling begins. Also, sherbet orange and neon green are not colors found in nature so skip them for ones that are. Decorators White from Benjamin Moore is a tried-and-true white.
Stick to a Limited Color Palette
Just because you’re at the beach doesn’t mean you have to incorporate every cliché color. Stick with white as much as you can and toss in one other color in the furnishing staples. You can bring in coral, yellow, and turquoise in small doses in accessories. In this design I went with – yes, yet again! – blues and white. While I have different shades of blue in the rug and accessories, they are all similar in tone. Also, when working with a “great room” like most beach houses have, make sure the palette continues throughout. Here, the navy blue in the dining room coordinates beautifully with the blues in the living room, and the navy blue chairs refer back to the blue in the dining room.
Bring in Natural Textures
When designing with a limited color palette, texture is key. Having more than one texture in a room will keep the design from looking flat and will give it interest without a lot of distraction. I went with the cotton rug, reclaimed wood, oyster shells, ceramic, jute rope, and woven fabrics in the living room and woven dining chairs and an iron light fixture in the dining room to inject life to the space.
Stick with Neutral, Solid Window Treatments
During my search, if I saw another tiny valance on the windows I was going to scream. They serve no purpose and, when made out of fabric with seashells, are assaulting to the eyes. When doing window treatments, stick with neutral, solid fabrics, make sure they cover the windows because you will want privacy, and keep them casual. I like a relaxed Roman shade in lieu of useless valances. And, if you want to go with full curtains the rules are two panels per window, they should be hung 6” above the top of the window, and should have a 1” break on the floor. I like the idea of white sail cloth or linen, or you can bring out a pale color from your rug. 
A beach house is not the place for a giant maroon leather sectional or heavy walnut furniture. Instead, bring in light fabrics, buy furniture with simple lines, and make sure the art on the wall is a nod to your natural surroundings and the stuff on the shelves is well edited (meaning keep the starfish and seahorse paraphernalia to a minimum, please).If you need help with your beach house – or lake house or river house or any house – we would be delighted to help. And, with Dash & Albert rugs and Pine Cone Hill bedding 20 percent off from May 25 to June 1, there is no better time to refresh your home!