Home Help: June 22

The fresh, breezy look of ‘beach house’ style can work anywhere – even if you don’t live beside the seaside, says Hugh St Clair

The way to achieve the seaside look successfully is to go for pale colours – soft blues, greens and greys. The chalky finish of Grey Chalk, with a sea-green tinge, and Off White, a warm stone colour by eco paint company Earthborn – www.earthbornpaints.co.uk – work well on walls and tongueand- groove woodwork. As do Sanderson Spectrum paint colours, such as Ethereal Blue, Dawn Blue and Ocean Spray.

Left: Yacht Blue paint, from a selection by Sanderson: www.sanderson-uk.com Right: Steel working light, from £262.80, Davey Lighting: 020-7351 2130, www.davey-lighting.co.uk

Be careful not to use a blue that is too strong or it might be cold and overpowering. Fabrics should be hard-wearing linen and hemp and, above all, machine washable. The Linen Works is an excellent resource for bed linen and cushions in stripy fabric in lovely colour combinations. Even the pots and pans it sells come in beautiful pastel shades.

Mail-order company Buy The Sea sells driftwood furniture, as well as starfish light pulls, coat hooks topped by small wooden painted boats, turquoise-glass fishing floats and naive art.

Davey Lighting’s marine lighting has graced many of history’s best-known vessels, including the Titanic. Formerly an industrial supplier, its smart showroom now displays both interior and exterior lights, including brass bulkhead fittings and galvanised steel pendants.

Left: Biarritz tablecloth, from £65, The Linen Works: 020-7819 7620, www. thelinenworks.com Right: Starfish light pull, £9.99, Buy The Sea: 01460-258970, www.buythesea-bymail.co.uk

There’s currently an abundance of modern, painted furniture around, as well as overpriced pieces in bad condition euphemistically called ‘distressed’. For top-quality antiques, try Swedish Interior Design in Hove, East Sussex, which will also adapt original antique designs for customers.

Or, if you feel confident about customising antiques yourself, visit auctions and charity shops and transform furniture with a lick of paint from the seaside palette above.