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Beach house decorating is laid back, casual, playful, and whimsical. It’s also about bringing nature into your home. And what better way to embrace these design rules than to frame your window with a simple, coastal window valance? Valances are there to put emphasis on the beautiful view outside, not to cover the window as shades or draperies would.
There are also so many fabric choices that valances can be made with, that it’s sometimes impossible to choose. Let’s take a look at some coastal valances to hopefully inspire your own decorating.
The Shaped Valance
Why it belongs in a beach house:
It’s simple, and its shaped design mimics the softness of water waves. The deep blue color reflects the color of deep waters. Beach style also embraces the imperfections of nature. The fabric has a slubbed texture to give it a feel of a natural, “imperfect” fabric as well. Find it here.
Why it belongs in a beach house:
This shaped valance features classic blue and white stripes that are a staple of nautical decorating. The fabric is made of a medium-weight cotton, of course. With this valance, not only is the striped design important, but it’s also key to go with a cotton to make the valance a true coastal valance. It wouldn’t work so well if a synthetic, shiny polyester were used. Find it here.
Why it belongs in a beach house:
A different type of shaped valance, but this scalloped style of valance is perfect for homes where each wall is covered with rows upon rows of patio doors. This valance is short enough to not cover the view, and it has just the right combination of blue and light gold to mimic the color of the ocean and beach sand.
Why it belongs in a beach house:
If you’re tired of navy blue and white, consider a playful fabric with a tropical print like this one. Fabrics like this will make your home welcoming, giving it a feeling of year-round summer. This valance was hung on medallions, allowing it to form freely to form its soft shape that was then accentuated by using fringe in brown.
The Modern Faux Shade Valance
Why it belongs in a beach house:
This valance style looks like a Roman shade but isn’t. It’s a modern and simple style – perfect when you need to frame the view around a window without distracting from it. Pick blues and greens here that will duplicate the colors of the ocean. This valance was made in a soft spa color. Find it here.
Why it belongs in a beach house:
Here’s another take on dark blue and white. The main fabric of the valance is a dark blue. Piping in white was inserted to make each of the folds on the valance stand out. This particular valance is hung on tabs, exposing parts of the curtain rod.
Why it belongs in a beach house:
Not every valance needs to be blue, however. You can still embrace beach style decorating without it. This faux shade was made in a bold red, but it works because the foliage pattern on the fabric gives the fabric a tropical feel. The subtle turquoise accents on the fabric also help add to the overall tropical feel.
Why it belongs in a beach house:
Three relaxed Roman valances were hung side-by-side on a wide window. The valances were made short enough so that the beautiful view outside wouldn’t be obstructed. Notice the light beige color of the fabric and accent stripe. It was just enough color to bring nature inside the space.
The Pinch-Pleat or Goblet-Pleat Valance
Why it belongs in a beach house:
This valance creates a wavy bottom hem on a valance, which is clearly visible when viewed from the side. It takes pleats like pinch pleats or goblet pleats to achieve this. It won’t be possible with just a simple gathered valance. And, when made in a natural linen that mimics the look of rough sand or driftwood, a valance like this is a perfect fit in a beach style bedroom.
The Tailored Balloon Valance
Most people think of a balloon valance as a bit dated at worst and traditional at best, and incorrectly so. When ia balloon valance ts made with clean inverted box pleats like this one in a simple solid color, a balloon valance can be transformed into a modern valance that belongs in any beach house design.
The Stagecoach Valance
Stagecoach valances, or roll-up valances as they’re also called, are quite commonly the style of valance that interior designers ask for when trying to create a coastal-themed room. The back of the valance and the ties are made in a contrasting fabric. This allows for plenty of ways to customize the valance to work with the exact color palette of the entire room. Find it here.
The Playful Ring-Top Valance
Sometimes, beach style decorating is playful and casual. It’s also not always about blue and white, as I mentioned. To achieve this look on your window, consider a custom valance that has a unique way of hanging on the curtain hardware. This valance isn’t only interesting because of its pink and yellow lily fabric, but also because it has contrasting cuffs on the top.
The Coral-Themed Valance
Why it belongs in a beach house:
You didn’t think you could have a beach house without any allusions to corals, did you? This master bedroom clearly has a warm, tropic theme to it. The fabric used on the box pleat valance is a colorful red to keep the theme going. The bottom hem of the valance was finished off with thick banding for contrast.
How to Choose the Right Fabrics and Trims for Your Own Beach House Valance
Hopefully, I’ve shown you some ideas for inspiration. But what if you’re headed to your local fabric store and need to pick the right fabric and color combinations for your own design? My recommendation is to start with white and work your way into the blue, green, and brown color palette. Think about soft pastels for your wall color. Use darker colors sparingly, for accents only (unless you want a vibrant tropical-style design). Take a look at some beach style combinations of fabrics, trims, and wall colors from below.
This color family uses deliberately textured fabrics, looking as if they had washed ashore. There’s a bit of brown as well in this color family to make the design look even more natural.
Here’s another color combination that’s very similar to the one above. It also combines beautiful blues with textured fabrics in sand colors. Notice how in both examples, the wall paint chips are very light.
In this combination of fabrics and wall paint suggestions, a navy blue fabric has white embroidery that twists into knots, making it look as if it came from a ship. The rest of the fabrics are somewhat eclectic but work wonderfully with the overall design since they follow the rest of the blue and white color palette. The following are a few more fabric suggestions.
These can be coordinated together to create a playful and colorful beach theme design in an entire room.
And after you pick your perfect fabric, don’t stop there. Think about what kind of trim you’d like to finish off the valance. There are plenty of trims that have playful seashells instead of tassels. Crystal beaded fringe will also work great – it will look like droplets of water coming from the ocean once the sunrays come in through the window.