Chesapeake Home Living June/July 2013

Coastal Currents

Shell accent walls, grasscloth, turquoise and large-patterned dhurries are just a few of the latest trends in beach-home style.

The homes of the mid-Atlantic’s waterfront communities epitomize coastal style. Whether on the beach in Ocean City or a creek on the Eastern Shore, the look is casual and calming, creating a style that makes its owners feel like every day is a vacation. Gina Fitzsimmons, ASID, owner of Fitzsimmons Design Associates and the Annapolis-based home furnishing store Details of Design, specializes in coastal homes. She call this look “Chesapeake Cozy.”

“I find that people in this region gravitate to a more comfortable, functional, tailored interior with a more eclectic look and natural materials,” she explains. “People like open floor plans – it’s a more casual way of life.”

Natural Beauty

According to Fitzsimmons, people go wrong when they try to create a coastal look with too many framed points of lighthouses or mirrored portholes. She recommends steering away from the kitsch and keeping things real by focusing on materials made by Mother Nature. In a recent show house Fitzsimmons created an accent wall of oyster shells, for example, and idea she came up with while eating some on the half shell in Rehoboth.

“A lot of tiles and backsplashes now feature small pebbles,” she adds. “How wrong can you go with something that’s drawn right out of nature?”

Read the full article in the June/July issue of Chesapeake Home Living.