A Sophisticated Beach Bungalow

How to decorate a sophisticated beach town bungalow for all seasons.

Building a house near the beach is the foundation for fun in the sun, but how to decorate it with a sophisticated ambience that goes beyond the beachy look can be a challenge.

Kristy Parise wanted her new-build beach bungalow to be a sophisticated one. The home is located in the quaint beach town of Manasquan, New Jersey. Kristy wanted the home to be stylish for entertaining guests while being comfortable for her young daughters.

She contacted interior design firm Salt Design Co. to come to the rescue. Sarah Brady, the company’s founder and creative director, and Kiera Gannon, its senior interior designer, turned the beach bungalow into a sophisticated oasis.

entryway in sophisticated beach bungalow — Red Carpet Treatment. The foyer’s statement-piece runner is an antique Persian rug from esalerugs.com, a large vendor of one-of-a-kind, antique Persian rugs. The oars on the wall were recovered from the original house as a way to pay homage to it. The table in the background is a solid wood pedestal side table added as a modern touch to contrast the classic silhouette of the sofa.

“The homeowners wanted the house to feel inspired by living by the beach—but not defined by that parameter only,” Sarah says. “It’s their full-time residence, and they wanted the house to feel seasonally appropriate throughout the year, not just during the summer months. The homeowner works from home, and she wanted a space that felt inspiring and uncluttered but visually interesting.”

The design team implemented the homeowners’ visions, along with their requests.

“The home’s location was the main inspiration for the design,” Sarah explains. “Because it’s located under a mile from the beach, we wanted the designs to be inspired by living at the coast without it being a literal interpretation. We wanted to create a serene environment for this active family of four.”

The quintessential beach town, located on the Jersey shore, is known for its beaches and prime surfing locations. The homeowners wanted to stay true to the original architecture of the town’s bungalow-style homes while modernizing the design slightly to achieve more living space. In other words, they wanted a sophisticated beach bungalow fit for their year-round needs.

fireplace with firewood cutout and moroccan trellis surround — Fireplace and fixtures. The living room’s fireplace had several iterations: It started as a cement façade that went up to the ceiling, but it ended up with a decorative cement tile as the facing for a much softer look than cement or concrete, which could look cold. It was topped with a clear-white mantel in white oak. The pendant light fixtures from rejuvenation.com were crucial to the design to anchor the table without obstructing the view of the other focal points, Kiera says.

Designers’ Toolbox

Some of the ways the designers took the typical notion of beach décor to the next level were through their use of color, pattern and texture for a sophisticated beach bungalow.

“We knew we wanted the color palette to be light and refreshing, with a use of saturated color in high-impact areas, such as the green kitchen cabinets,” Sarah says. “Layering textures and patterns was a major element of the soft furnishings design. We wanted the house to feel organic and casual, and layering textures is the best way to achieve that.”

angled display shelves and vintage runner — The vintage runner in the second-floor hallway is from erugs.com. The designers wanted to find a way to display the homeowners’ collections of artwork and accessories by making use of smaller spaces. A simple architectural addition of two angled shelves added interest to an otherwise ordinary built-in shelving unit.

Sarah adds, “In the living room, we anchored the space with a natural jute rug, introduced casual, white linen-slipcovered sofas and incorporated a mix of textures and organic patterns via the pillows and throws. The statement piece in the room is the patterned fireplace tile.

“In the bedrooms, we started with a clean, white color palette and added multiple layers of bedding to achieve a casual, cozy ambience.”

Senior interior designer Kiera provides an example of how adding a textural component can have a major impact in a room: “We used a cement tile to create another focal point in the open floor plan, which, in turn, served as a balance to the bold kitchen cabinets across the way. Aside from the tile surround, the custom-designed dual cavities in the living room’s fireplace also provided a way to add another textural element: The stacked firewood adds warmth to the graphic tile all year long.”

surfing photo and woven bench in entryway of sophisticated beach bungalow — The bench in the foyer is made of oak and seagrass rush. “It’s a timeless piece that carries the theme of natural elements and textures,” Kiera says. The artwork is from the homeowners’ collection.

Inspired Design for a Sophisticated Beach Bungalow

It wasn’t difficult for the designers to infuse the rooms with the homeowners’ personal tastes.

“The homeowners’ interests and collections were the driving force behind much of the design,” Kiera points out. “They had a great collection of surf art at our disposal—not to mention the coolest collection of vintage Volkswagen automobiles. We further incorporated their interests by displaying their hat collection in the primary bedroom, sourcing more prints featuring the Volkswagen brand and using their collection of Bo Bridges’ surf-inspired artwork throughout the home.”

In building the home, the homeowners knew they wanted to preserve the front porch.

living room with white, sand and navy color scheme — Living Room Layers. The living room sofas were custom designed and slipcovered. “Their silhouette has clean lines for a more modern, timeless look,” Kiera points out. “The area rug is a weave of wool and jute that imparts the earthy element of jute with the natural feel of wool.” Mix-and-match pillows enhance the casual feel.

“That, to me, is a quintessential element of bungalow-style homes,” Sarah says. “However, they opted to modernize the traditional architecture using black windows and the metal roof.”

“We were very specific in the front door’s paint color selection,” Kiera says. “We were in search of something coastal but not too obvious, and Benjamin Moore’s ‘Smoke’ paint served as just that.”

While designer Sarah is delighted with the outcome of this sophisticated beach bungalow, her favorite aspect of the finished project is the kitchen.

“It feels warm, collected and timeless,” she says. “I love the rustic farm table at the center of the space, as well as the details—such as the reclaimed pantry door and functionally styled open shelving.”

pantry door and teal cabinetry in beach bungalow kitchen — Pantry Pocket Door. The kitchen door seen here was found at a salvage yard. A local artisan brought it to life; now, it serves as a pocket door to the pantry. The kitchen cabinets are painted in Sherwin-Williams’ “Rocky River.” The saturated paint is a less-earthy greenish blue for more impact in the room.

woven baskets and black and white art prints in laundry area — TASKS FOR BASKETS. This is a view from the mudroom into the laundry. The custom white oak shelf and bench seat are repeated in the laundry space. Woven baskets for shoes fit under the bench to save storage space.

neutral bathroom with black accents and hanging plant — PUNCHES OF BLACK. The guest bathroom has more of a modern direction, with cleaner lines and away from the traditional Shaker-style vanities, Kiera explains. It gives the room the look of a clean and minimal guest bath. Punches of black tie in with the windows. The horizontal orientation of the shower tiles adds more interest than a traditional brick placement.

dining room in sophisticated beach bungalow with modern dining chairs — Making Memories. “We typically use a variation of white oak flooring to feel like beach flooring; it’s lighter and more casual than a dark floor,” Kiera says. Instead of installing an island, the design team pulled from one of the homeowner’s childhood memories of rolling dough on a kitchen table to be able to recreate the activity with her daughters. The found table was contrasted with woven black leather dining chairs that have a more contemporary feel.

teal kitchen cabinetry and modern webbed dining chairs in sophisticated beach bungalow — Out in the Open. “Appliances these days are commonly hidden in cabinetry panels, but we wanted to showcase the dishwasher and range as focal points, rather than concealing them, to add charm to the room,” Kiera explains.

guest bedroom with custom wood desk and beach photos — Warm Welcome. The guest room features white oak shelving and a custom-made desk. The designers brought in playful mix-and-match colors through various textures, the bedding and the desk chair to be inviting.

circular mirror in bedroom with wooden dresser — “We love using mirrors to bounce light around room,” Kiera says.

sophisticated beach bungalow bedroom with white and sand color palette — Balanced Bedroom. The primary bedroom has a serene and earthy vibe that’s neither masculine nor feminine, Kiera says. She balanced the colors with soft linens juxtaposed with the room’s harder elements.

black modern wall sconces in Newport Beach bathroom — Bright Ideas. The primary bath includes the repetition of materials from the guest bath for cohesion. The focal point is a tiled vanity wall to make use of vertical space as a design element.

bathroom with blue mosaic tile and cliff diver photo — LOVELY LAYERS. The primary bedroom features one of Kiera’s “tricks of the trade”—using lighting fixtures. “I like to use sconces (as in this room) or pendant lighting over nightstands rather than lamps to add interest and save space,” she says. The bench has a velvet cushion in an earthy green tone that blends well with the setting. Layered, breathable linens with a chunky-knit throw blanket build textures to make the room livable for a year-round home.

The Heart of the Art

Here, designer Sarah Brady shares her sources for
interesting beach house art:

“Beach house art can be tricky to source,” Sarah says. “I love incorporating original art or photography from local artists or places that have meaning.”
The homeowners are vintage car collectors, and they also have a great collection of surf- and coastal-inspired artwork and photography. “They have strong ties to photographer Bo Bridges, and we used quite a few of his pieces as inspiration throughout the home,” Sarah explains.
“I also like searching online art catalogs such as Artfully Walls and Minted Art.”

Looking for more sophisticated beach decor inspiration? Read on for Modern Beach Home. Of course, don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to get your daily dose of cottage inspiration!