When you are lucky enough to own a home at the beach, you know that plenty of friends and family will be staying and playing!  Here’s are a few of our favorite tried and true tips for making your home family friendly, low maintenance, and ready for relaxed, summertime fun.

Disabella Design

Creating an area, indoors or out, that keeps your beach gear organized and close at hand will make for easy breezy days lounging at the beach.  Organize your Beach Command Center with Sunscreen, Stacks of Beach Towels, and a First Aid Kit. If it’s an option, a handy outdoor shower to rinse off the sand, and a nearby bathroom and laundry room, keeps all of the beach mess in one area, and keeps everything convenient. Provide towel hooks so hanging towels to dry is a no-brainer. A day in the sun is wonderfully exhausting - make staying organized and tidy easy on you and your guests!

We stock our beach homes with simple white bath towels and white sheets. Laundry day is infinitely easier when you’re not sorting by guest room!  Keeping it simple also means it’s easier to keep those linens looking fresh and clean for the next round of guests!

Keeping cords corralled for the entire family is a big job, but dedicated charging stations keep the tangle of cords to a minimum. Whenever we design  Custom Bunks we make sure each bunk has its own charging station. In new kitchens we add drawers or cabinets with power to charge devices keeping them out of sight. This pretty turquoise charging station by Bunny Williams will take care of 4 phones at a time and can be put in a central location making it easy for everyone in the house to charge and find their phones!  Available at: Ballard Designs

Outdoor fabric pretty enough to be inside!  Sunbrella and other Indoor/Outdoor Fabrics are simply amazing!  It’s strong, water resistant, fade proof, impervious to mildew, and (insert drumroll here) it’s often bleach cleanable! What could be better in a beach loving, kid filled, home? It’s the absolute best fabric to place near any window that faces West - and around here, all the best windows face West! We believe that every room should be a FAMILY room, and beautiful, durable Indoor/Outdoor fabrics help us accomplish just that.

Look, you won't believe what it can do:

Banquette Seating gives you more room around the table...kids can squeeze in and its lots more fun sharing a seat!  Plus...banquettes can do double duty as a quick and easy place for extra storage. Hint...this is another great place to use Indoor/Outdoor fabric!

Family entertaining and clean up is easy with open shelving. Even your guests can easily find that ice cream bowl!  Open shelving lends a casual, relaxed, help yourself style, even in the busiest kitchens!

There are many casual, durable Indoor/Outdoor Rugs, perfect for an easy breezy beach house style.  Use just one or layer them for added comfort and interest. Natural fiber rugs such as Jute or Seagrass look beach house gorgeous and hold up well to sand and traffic too.

Some of our favorite Beach House Paint Colors are muted and unassuming, leaving the spotlight to the gorgeous views outside. Soft, beachy color palettes are beautiful and coordinate easily.

Great style doesn’t equal fuss in a casual, beachfront home. An airy, relaxed space reminds everyone why they are really there, and offers a low maintenance alternative to more traditional spaces. Invite your friends and relax - it’s what waterfront living is all about.