Here are some of my favorite vintage items to bring a touch of the beach and the sea into any home giving you the perfect coastal decor!
1.) Stoneware
Antique stoneware is so reminiscent of the sand. It’s the perfect color and texture to add a neutral touch into any coastal decor. Ginger beer bottles, and ink bottles are typically salt glazed.
After the bottles were made and they were ready to be glazed in the kiln. The makers would throw sodium into the kiln while firing. The sodium would chemically react with the silica present in the clay to produce a glossy hard finish. Due to the range in ingredients in clays, each location tended to have a different result. You can find salt glazes that range in orange all the way to brown and slightly purple!
Old marmalade pots are perfect to display collections of driftwood!
2.) Artwork
A good old paint by number of the sea or an ocean watercolor instantly add some color and charm to a shelf, table or wall.
3.) Antique Aqua glass
Nothing says sea like the color of aqua glass. It’s literally the color of the Caribbean Sea! Antique inkwells and sauce bottles are perfect for springs or dried grasses or if the mouth is large enough, added sand and shells.
4.) Nautical vibes
Pitchers, plates, bowls and other items with anchors, ships or waves all bring that nautical feel. I love to pair these pieces with natural weathered wood for a just washed up from the coastal decor. This glass pitcher is embossed with the image of a tall ship, I’ve filled it with sand and some dried grasses that remind me of the dunes.
5.) Nature
You can’t go wrong mixing in nature you may find on the beach. Whether it’s in the form of nature on items or actual pieces of nature like shells and driftwood.
This antique ironstone Transferware bowl is the perfect color and image to remind you of the sea! The flora has the flowy shape of coral and the woodcock is a bird who resides in the marsh. Mixing colored Transferware with your ironstone pieces will instantly add coastal farmhouse vibes and it’s easy to switch out one or two things seasonally.
Love these ideas? See them in action on my collections here on my page and on my Instagram!
~Anna-Finches and Ferns
