Last Updated on March 31, 2025
Discover the perfect coastal floating shelf decor to elevate your home with a fresh, breezy, ocean-inspired look.
When I was decorating our basement, there was wall space above our counter that needed a special treatment. I considered hanging a mirror or art here, but because it was off to the side and had a lower ceiling, I thought floating shelves would be the perfect solution.
How to Choose Coastal Floating Shelves
Shop the Look
There are a ton of options when it comes to choosing coastal floating shelves. Any natural wood floating shelf can absolutely fit a coastal design. Other options would a classic white floating shelf or even bringing in colors like blue or sea green.
I’ve also seen some absolutely adorable cane and rattan floating shelves which really give off that coastal vibe. This truly comes down to preference, so choose a floating shelf style you like!
I found my beautiful solid wood floating shelves with a medium stain at Wayfair. They are Wayfair Verified, which means these shelves were vetted by the Wayfair team for quality and easy of assembly. It also means this is a most-loved style!
I curated some of my favorite coastal floating shelves to inspire you below.
Shop Floating Shelves: 1. \\ 2. \\ 3. \\ 4. \\ 5. \\ 6. \\ 7.
Are Floating Shelves Difficult to Install?
These floating shelves were insanely easy to install. I am not handy by any means, and I installed them by myself in less than 10 minutes. They key is to measure first and mark exactly where you need to drill your screws for the mounting brackets. Then, you just slide the shelves on the brackets and adjust them to the perfect placement.
How Far Should Floating Shelves Be Spaced Apart?
As a rule of thumb, you want between 12”-18” between the top and bottom floating shelf. Because I was challenged with low ceilings, I kept it tighter with 12” between my shelves. This also forced me to stagger them versus having them evenly stacked. I actually really like this look, and it allows you to better fill up wall space.
When staggering two floating shelves, hang your lower shelf to where the end hits about the center of the top shelf. This makes them still feel connected with a staggered design.
Coastal Floating Shelf Decor Ideas
There are so many coastal floating shelf decor pieces that you can style with. I’ve chosen my top 5 ideas to give you some great options for styling your shelves!
1. Picture Frames
I love decorating with picture frames and they work perfectly to style floating shelves. Mix different sizes and colors to add visual interest. Rather than family photos, I chose a couple vacation pictures — one is the Nepali Coast in Kauai (taken by me from a boat!) and the other is from Lake Tahoe.
Shop Coastal Frames
2. Vases
Vases are great for floating shelves because they bring in an organic touch with florals and plants. They’re also perfect for adding prints and color to your floating shelf decor. Since I was going for coastal style, a navy and white striped vase brought in the quintessential nautical touch. Mix and match different sized vases for visual interest. Keep your larger vases on the ends and fill in with smaller ones.
Shop Coastal Vases
3. Candles
You’ll rarely find a shelf in my home that doesn’t have a candle on it. Even if you aren’t going to burn it, candles make beautiful floating shelf decor. Go classic and neutral with white candles or take the opportunity to bring in coastal blues.
Shop Coastal Candles
4. Books
Shelves were made for books, so they’re a great decorative choice. Use book stacks to give height to smaller decor objects. Or add bookends to neatly corral your books.
Make sure you check the size of books first. My shelves are pretty narrow in depth (6.25”), so only smaller books would fit if I wanted to stack them laying down. With 12-18″ between shelves, there should be plenty of room to stack books vertically.
Shop Blue Books
5. Coastal Decorative Objects
Coastal floating shelf decor items like cane boxes, coral statues, and wooden knots will add beauty to your shelves and complement your coastal design. Think about scale when choosing your decor pieces. Choose items of varying heights and play with placement. I like to stand back and look at the floating shelves and then make adjustments to get the look just right.
Shop Coastal Decor
Floating shelves add a visually interesting aesthetic to any wall. If you are considering floating shelves, I hope this helped jump start your ideas. Happy decorating!
Discover similar posts:
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→How to Style Built In Bookshelves Around Fireplace
→Open Shelves Kitchen Pros & Cons You Need to See
→How to Decorate a Kitchen Cabinet with Open Shelves
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