Beach Hut Bubbles in Southwold

by Jenny Austin

I’ve had a lovely few days catching up with family in the fresh air of Southwold. Whilst I sipped on Adnams prosecco in the beach hut it got me thinking, spring is a time for a fresh start. It’s that good old spring cleaning season, of getting rid of the old and welcoming the new (oh and a bit of dusting on the side). There is nothing fresher than the sea air, a down pour of rain and the welcoming sight of the sunshine for a few minutes. As we are edging closer to summer in a few months time, let’s get home ready with a bit of seaside inspiration.


This week’s inspiration is Southwold!

southwold, beach hut, seaside, england



Southwold is a small town set in Suffolk on the east coast. This little seaside town is such a beautiful place to visit for the colourful beach huts, the sea and sand, the amazing wooden pier, luscious fields and of course fantastic pubs! (You must check out the award winning Adnams shop or go on their brewery tour, even their buildings are inspirational!) After a run in the morning and walks in the afternoon, you can start to see a huge array of different textures and materials. Painted wood, old brick, flint walls, walls painted in thick deep black tar, smooth windswept sand, rusted metal and copper portholes. This naturally stunning place will capture your imagination and inspire you to transform your tired old rooms into something fresh and exciting. Looking at the colours in the photos below, we can start to pick out those key seaside colours. Let’s get ready to plan the colour scheme!

Southwold Colour Scheme

  • Blue
  • White
  • Grey
  • Yellow
  • Green 
  • Taupe
  • copper
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Bring the colours of Southwold into your home and channel coastal chic with calming whites and cooling shades of blue. In this paint swatch starting from left to right is Jot & jumbles colours called “Hinterland, Old Timber, Oh La La, Quiet and Bumble”. Jot & Jumbles chalkie paint has the perfect seaside colours for our Southwold theme. With its matte finish, these paints will work well transforming furniture into your own seaside retreat one of pieces.
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Typical seaside colours of blue and white is always a good starting point, but push the boat out a little and start adding splashes of colour to add interest. You can do this by adding this year’s trend of global textiles by buying rugs, cushions and throws. This seaside inspired decor will work well with last year’s industrial trend, so keep your copper accessories and add a few vintage glass bottles. Check out these vintage French lemonade bottles from our shop online. They’re the perfect yellow accessory to add colour to your room and can be used as a quirky vase for flowers. Display them on a pine dresser or if you don’t have space opt for a side table or place them on your windowsill to allow the sunlight to shine through them.

vintage glass bottles, lemonade bottles, vintage, home, interior, design, lemonade, yellow

Now I know many of you, like me, enjoy a trip to the pub and if you have been to any seaside pub you will have experienced their rustic decor. The natural wooden tables, an array of wooden chairs, stools, metal buckets for cutlery, old pine side tables and hanging on the walls photographs, paintings, mirrors and old copper jelly moulds in the shape of fish. I love seeing the eclectic mix of furniture as well as those little decorations that makes a space feel so homely.
To help you to decide what type of furniture would work well in your seaside inspired home, check out our seaside inspired list. You’ll find all of these pieces on our online shop, if you don’t see what you’re looking for online, pop in to say hello! Click on the photos to view more details about the product.


Hall Way

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meat cupboard, mesh, furniture, diy, shoe rack, diy project, shabby chic, chic furniture,


Keep it simple but practical in the hall way with this vintage bench, handy for putting on your shoes. To save space in your hall way, add a shoe rack or wicker basket under the bench to hide away your shoes. Or use this vintage meat cupboard to store your shoes in, add colour to this by attaching blue fabric to the back. Check out these John Lewis PVC cotton fabrics, they would be perfect to back the meat cupboard with for that seaside feel.

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Living Room

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With blue walls and white skirting boards this solid half moon table would be perfect for resting your TV on. It’s important to note that not all furniture needs to be painted to achieve the seaside look. The same goes for this small round side table, add this to the side of your sofa for the ideal place to put a lamp (and a space for your glass of wine).


Kitchen

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lighting, candles, modern, metal, metal lantern, contemporary large lantern

Add rustic wooden tables to the kitchen for a warm homely feel. This painted kitchen island table would be the perfect statement piece for your kitchen. Add wicker baskets underneath to store those extra kitchen goodies in.
In the kitchen it’s always nice to have a set of candles, light them whilst you’re cooking, having dinner or when that summer sun starts getting low at night. This large stainless steel lantern is the ideal accessory for any room in the house, with the modern clean lines that compliment your wooden furniture.


Dining Room

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The Mexican pine table with four wicker chairs is the just the table for the seaside decor. The rustic wood is naturally beautiful, if you wanted to, paint the table legs use Jot & Jumbles “Hinterland” or “Old Timber” chalk paint to spouse it up. When laying the table you want to add different textures and materials to create an eye catching table setting. Add a linen table runner with slate placemats, a glass vase in the middle holding a large candle with blue and white plates, and if you have them gold cutlery for that touch of luxury.

 

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Dressers! I love a dresser. These two are idyllic for the Southwold inspired theme. You can dress these up by displaying your collection of trinkets, your favourite pebbles you’ve collected from the beach, family photos, vintage glass bottles or anything you want to show off.

 

artwork, oils, beach, southwold, Mary-Ann Austin, meme art, colourful art, blue, orange, green
To any room in the house adding photos and artwork to the walls makes a house a home. For our Southwold inspired theme we love Mary-Ann Austin’s artwork of “Boys on Southwold Beach”. The beautiful warm blues, oranges and pinks with a touch of green takes us back to summer, the perfect colours to compliment your coastal room decor.

 

 

Tip of the week

Crackle Finish

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STEP ONE -
Apply a base coat of paint to the project surface, and let it dry. The base coat will show through the crackled top coat, so choose paint colours that contrast nicely.
 
STEP TWO -
Brush a coat of "clear crackle-finish medium" onto the piece. The crackle glaze usually takes 30 minutes to an hour to dry.
 
STEP THREE -
Apply your chosen top coat paint, loading the brush with enough paint so that each section can be painted with one motion. The crackling begins immediately on the first layer of paint it comes in contact with. Avoid over-brushing, which will just cover the crackle effect.

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