Nautical style dining room design and tips

Get that beach holiday vibe in your dining room with tips from Rohina Anand Khira, founder of AA Living

There's no doubt about it, we will take the beach holiday over hiking any day. How can you say no to its laid-back and carefree vibe. And every time we go on that holiday, we have wished we could bottle that feeling and bring it back into our city homes. If you feel that way too, it's time you got those oars out. Our favourite blogger and founder of one of our favourite decor stores, Rohina Anand Khira of AA Living shows us how to ace the nautical theme in the dining room:

1. The trademark of a nautical style is navy stripes. Use bold, thick stripes to firmly establish the theme in the space. The most
predominant place to use this would be on the walls or as soft furnishing

2. For the flooring and furniture, use a dark mahogany wood as it pairs well with the nautical theme

3. Use a palette of navy, beige, grey and cream in the room to bring in the coastal feeling of sun, sand and surf

4. For your chairs, use linen upholstery in crisp white or cream. This also creates a point of contrast with the dark mahogany wood

5. When picking cushion covers, look for ones with crisp corners and flanges. Also, choose fabrics with navigational prints such as
anchors, ships, compass, etc, to tie into the nautical look

6. An antique metal or wooden sailboat would make for a great centre / mantle piece in the dining room. Accompany this with a quick
DIY accessory of sea shells in a clear mason jar

7. Pay attention to small details such as napkin holders too! Switch out the regular metal and plastic ones with silk cord and use a
sailor’s knot to hold everything in place

Borrow elements from the sea such as seashells, rounded pebbles and star-fish shaped accents to up your nautical style table setting. A sailboat accessory will prove to be the crowning glory of the setting. Anchor prints, solid blues and crisp whites form an essential part of the nautical theme.

Remember to steer clear of prints except stripes and sea inspired patterns. When looking for upholstery for your chairs, think cream and beige. You can also choose to add metal rivets to your chairs to create visual interest.