Coastal decor lives or dies on restraint. Done well, it is Nancy Meyers’ kitchen, linen, everything; someone off-camera is opening a bottle of white wine.
Done badly, it is a lamp shaped like a lighthouse.
The wreath is where this gets decided, because it is the first thing anyone sees. And the trick, as far as I can tell, is knowing when to stop.
PIN FOR LATER 📌
One good starfish. Some rope. A base that already looks like driftwood before you touch it.
So here are 13 that get it right.
A five-dollar rope buoy from the Dollar Tree, a Pottery Barn dupe with real sea glass, one made entirely of sticks from a park, and one starring a mermaid (which sounds like exactly what I just warned you about, but stay with me).
Some take ten minutes. One takes an afternoon and a hot glue gun you will come to resent.
1. Easy DIY Seashell Wreath
Assorted shells and one big starfish glued to a grapevine wreath took about an hour from start to finish. Dry fit everything before you reach for the glue gun, and put the glue on the wreath rather than the shell so it does not drip down the sides.
2. Twig Coastal Wreath
You make the form yourself from a cardboard box, then cover it in sticks collected on a walk and finish with a few shells. It takes an afternoon and costs almost nothing, and it looks far more expensive than anything else here.
3. Coastal Clothespin Wreath
About 75 clothespins were clipped onto a wire form, some painted white, some blue, and some soaked in coffee for a driftwood tone. One hour of work plus drying time, and the supply list works out cheap on either side of the Atlantic.
4. Pottery Barn-Inspired Shell Wreath
A grapevine wreath dry-brushed with gray paint for a driftwood look, wrapped in fishnet, then covered with sand dollars, pencil starfish, and sea glass. It is a designer dupe, and the fish net is what sells it.
5. DIY Burlap Beach Wreath
A foam form wreath wrapped in white burlap ribbon with four evenly spaced red bands hung on a rope. It reads as a life preserver and takes minutes, and there is a short video if you would rather watch than read.
6. DIY Coastal Wreath
Three materials only: sand dollars, large starfish, and small starfish, glued in a repeating pattern around a moss wreath base. Under ten minutes of gluing. Spray the resin pieces first if they look too plastic-white.
7. Coastal Mermaid Wreath
Coastal without a single shell. A mermaid wall sign wired to an oval grapevine wreath, cascading greenery in one corner, and one oversized starfish. Thirty minutes. Wire the mermaid rather than gluing her, since resin is heavier than it looks.
8. Simple and Quick Coastal Fall Wreath
Proof that coastal and fall are not opposites. Cream and blue florals with copper sprigs, seashells, and a few small pumpkins, so you get autumn without burnt orange. Around twenty dollars in supplies.
9. Dollar Tree Nautical Buoy Wreath
Two supplies, five dollars, thirty-five minutes: a foam wreath form and four packs of rope, both from Dollar Tree. Lay it flat while you glue, and if any green foam peeks through, color it in with a black marker.
10. Rope Nautical Wreath
A straw form wrapped in 100 feet of sisal rope, pinned at the back as you go, then finished with a shop-bought anchor and a starfish garland tied on with twine. Rope by the yard from a hardware store works out cheaper than craft store packs.
11. Upcycled Coastal Christmas Wreath
An old fluffy teal scarf wrapped and glued around a straw wreath, with eight to ten shells clustered at the bottom right and an optional dusting of snow spray. Readers thought the scarf was painted moss, which tells you how well the texture reads.
12. Glass Float Summer Wreath
A straw wreath wrapped in two sizes of sisal rope in alternating bands, pinned at the back, then grouped with glass floats, starfish, and sea glass along the bottom. She links a separate tutorial for making your own floats out of clear glass ornaments, so you do not have to buy them. Best tip on the page: hang the wreath up before you decorate it, so the balance reads right on a door rather than flat on a table.
13. DIY Beach-Inspired Wreath
Faux blue and white flowers woven into a grapevine wreath down one side only, with a single starfish tied on at the bottom right. Under thirty minutes and no shells at all, which makes it a useful contrast to everything else on the list. Tie the starfish on with string rather than gluing it so you can swap it later.
ALSO WORTH A LOOK: 19 Coastal Bedroom Ideas That Redefine Seaside Style