Your home is your refuge. It's the place for family and friends to gather in sickness and in health, for formal events and frivolity. It's also likely to be one of your biggest investments, financially and emotionally.

It's only natural that you'd want your home to be a representation of what is deeply meaningful to you. A place that evokes your happiest memories and supports your best daily life. A place that above all else reinforces your dreams and reminds you to focus on what matters most.

For those of us who love Topsail Island, there's no happier place than a beach-themed home. Keep reading here for ideas on how to best introduce a few (more!) elements of beach style into your own personal space.

What's Your Style?

For some people, this question is easily answered. These fortunate, fashion-focused folks can immediately decide whether or not that fabulous throw pillow has a place in their living room or if that particular hue of honey-yellow will complete or compete with their overall decorative vibe.

For others, style is a more complicated subject. 

When it comes to determining your overall style, consider the following:

• Do you tend to prefer trendy or traditional colors, bolds or neutrals?
• Do you enjoy changing things up/switching things out on a regular basis?
• Do you fancy flamingos or have a soft spot for surfing?
• Do you enjoy entertaining, or do you prefer quiet evenings at home?

Determining your own answer to these kinds of questions will help you focus on the different facets of the design process required for you to bring the best beach fashions into your home. 

Color Scheme

Color is one of the most powerful components of your decorating plan, and choosing the correct palate for your beach-styled home is not a choice to take lightly. 

If you're not sure about how certain colors go together, or even where to start, there are tons of pre-made color palate cards floating around on Pinterest or in the paint department of your local home improvement store. Just remember - there's no one best beach color palate. The beach is your happy place, and your beach style color scheme should reflect and foster those feelings all year round.

Regardless of whether you prefer rich, bold colors or muted natural shades, when it comes to wall color, your best bet is to stay (mostly) neutral. Consider painting a single accent wall if you absolutely, positively must have that pop of floor-to-ceiling Island Sunset pink, or save that shade for a fun extra bedroom or bath.

Neutrals are also the best base colors for furniture and other large (or expensive!) pieces. Chairs and couches can be accented or updated with slipcovers, throws, and pillows. Wall hangings and curtains offer great opportunities to add more visual interest in terms of color or pattern without obligating yourself to a weekend's worth of repainting. Use smaller accent pieces and easily-interchangeable decorative items to bring in any trends or test the viability of new style choices.

Find out if your favorite beach colors will be some of the hottest for 2019!

Static and Dynamic Decor

Are you the kind of person who painstakingly and deliberately puts your space together in such a way that it's just perfect, and you'd prefer to leave it that way always and forever? Or are you the type who thinks that moving furniture around and mixing up the mantle adornments is a Friday night well-spent?

Either design tendency works well within a beach fashion scheme. However, knowing this information about yourself will help you as you choose the nature and content of your design pieces.

For example, if you fall into the static - or unchanging - camp, you'll likely want to choose timeless pieces that will age well and withstand both seasonal and generational changes. Neutral basics and solid or minimally-patterned textiles and design accents will be your best bet. 

For those of you who love a fresh new look to celebrate every calendar occasion (National Doughnut Day, anyone?), you'll be happiest with pieces that can be easily replaced and/or quickly updated. Consider investing in beach-appropriate cotton slipcovers to keep sofas clean and colors on point. Create themed display groupings that can be easily swapped out, rearranged, or redistributed throughout the room, thereby refreshing the look with minimal additional investment. 

Beach Theme

Speaking of theme, keep in mind that beach themes come in all shapes and sizes - literally! From ships to suns, shrimp to sharks, there's a plethora of pelagic pieces to choose from when decorating your beach house.

While it's never a bad idea to choose a favorite nautical item or maritime animal as a foundational concept for your overall design, it's important to keep from going - ahem - overboard. Turtle lovers may choose to decorate with on-point art sculptures and patterned fabrics, and can support the design choices through color schemes (greens, browns, and ivories) rather than cramming terrapins into every nook and cranny. 

Along with the underlying decor choices comes the intended vibe of your beach theme and design. Do you prefer a whimsical and light-hearted space, full of cartoonish creations and bright colors? Or are you more of a classic traditionalist, leaning more toward clean lines and glass and metal? Either of these vibes can work well with the same turtle-loving basis, but you can easily imagine how the end result will be vastly different depending upon the vibe through which you choose to interpret your theme.

Form and Function

Finally, you need to consider how your beach house will be used. Of course it's your personal home, so the requirements of the family should be first and foremost among the considerations for functionality. 

Families with smaller children or active teenagers/adults may prefer spaces that are designed to take some abuse, complete with distressed furniture and lots of places to kick up your feet. Empty-nesters or less active families may feel more comfortable incorporating delicate or fragile pieces into their spaces. 

Additionally, if you are consummate entertainer, you should plan your beach house design with that in mind. While it's likely that the majority of your time will be spent without guests in your home, fashioning a beach house with an expectation to entertain will make your get-togethers that much more enjoyable. And let's face it - beach homes are, at their core, places of community, intended to be shared and enjoyed with friends and family.

Think LOCAL For Authentic Beach Fashion

When it comes to beach style, no one does it better than Topsail Island's local shops. You can find beautiful and unique decor at stores throughout the island, or bring home a special treasure that you picked up during one of your strolls along the sand. 

A couple of our favorite local places to score stylish home goods are The Southern Emporium and Beach Furniture Outfitters. No matter what your beach style or vibe is, you are sure to find something perfect when you shop at these great stores.

And remember - regardless of how you choose to style your beach house, the BEST fashion is the one that makes it feel like home - inviting, comfortable, and filled with the things and people that you love. So bring on the boats, set out the squid, and create a space that fills you up with beachy joy and happiness.