Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jan 20, 2026

10 Ways to Add Tropical Style to Your Home

10 Ways to Add Tropical Style to Your Home

No need to pack a bag. These pretty looks bring laidback island style straight to your home.

Conjure the beauty of faraway locales without venturing out the door. Florida-based designer Caitlin Deasy Kah of Kemble Interiors lays out the essential decorating elements-think vibrant colors, seagrass accessories, nature motifs, and ocean inspiration-for rooms that feel like a permanent vacation. Pick a tropical color palette with bright blues, greens, and corals, or turn to natural elements like shells, rattan, and small-scale florals.



1. Lush Greens


If there's one defining characteristic of tropical style, it's the verdant green hues of jungly foliage. This Palm Beach dining room channels the palm trees outside with chairs upholstered in a hazy green ticking stripe. A more literal move: Cut monstera leaves add high drama on the table. Faux palm fronds-now more realistic-looking than ever-work too.



2. Natural Fibers


The roughness of woven elements brings an informal air to tropical-style rooms. Seagrass wrapped around accessories brings in the casualness of outdoor living, and braided abaca emphasizes the tropical feel. Bamboo-inspired elements are another hallmark of island style, while natural-fiber rugs like sisal, jute, and seagrass have a tactile look and feel ideal for barefoot living.



3. Ocean Blues


When choosing a color scheme, draw inspiration from the ocean. Whether pastel sky-blues or rich, dark navy, blue hues are a staple of tropical style. This sitting room blends daring greens, citrus yellows, and ocean blues for a brilliant tropical color scheme.



4. Casual Comfort


The breezy feel of coastal homes is designed to set people are ease. Kah reinforces the call to relax with plush furnishings in high-performance fabrics, gauzy curtains, and pillows in postcard-perfect pastels. Nature's elements like raffia and rattan create a sensory connection to the outdoors.



5. Sea Motifs


Do you have a drawer filled with beach vacation mementos? Put them on display. Accents that reference ocean life are a natural part of tropical style, but Kah prefers less expected finds, such as a barnacle cluster on a cocktail table or shell-encrusted votives on a bar cart.



6. Vibrant Coral


The color of fiery sunsets and hibiscus flowers brings to mind sunnier climates. Kah used lavender as a cooling counterpoint in this guest bedroom. Delicate curves, including the scallops on the window shades, soften the lines of the room. Steal inspiration from the produce section for additional tropical color palette ideas. Lime, mango, avocado, and juicy papaya are perfect for adding color and interest to your home.



7. Sandy Shades


It's impossible not to be relaxed on the beach. Re-create the setting by combining soothing sea blues with warm sandy beiges in varying textures, as Kah did with the grass-cloth wallpaper and matchstick blinds in this relaxing bedroom. The abstract floral pattern on the headboard is an exotic element in the otherwise quiet space.



8. Coastal Wildlife


Wall art showcasing the wildlife of faraway locales is an easy way to incorporate tropical flair. This oversize vintage flamingo print contrasts a teal dresser and verdant greenery. Get the look with artwork featuring tropical life, like toucans, parrots, turtles, or colorful fish. Hang your artwork above a mantel, lean it on a bedroom nightstand, or display it above an entryway table for a quirky accent.



9. Palm Trees


Palm trees instantly evoke the laidback atmosphere of your favorite tropical locale. A mural or graphic wall covering lets you add the warm-climate staple anywhere in your home. This casual dining room features two tropical wall treatments: a lower section of grasscloth and bold wallpaper with white palms on a rich chocolate-brown backdrop. Rattan dining chairs complete the island look.



10. Nostalgic Touches


Look to the past for tropical decorating inspiration. Designed to evoke the lived-in feel of an Old Florida beachside cottage, this den features a mix of small-scale florals, wave prints, and stripes. The nubby grass-cloth walls contrast glossy blue trim. A lamp topped with a burlap shade takes it in a beachy direction.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
High-Speed Train Collision in Southern Spain Kills at Least Twenty-One and Injures Scores
Meghan Markle May Return to the U.K. This Summer as Security Review Advances
Trump’s Greenland Tariff Threat Sparks EU Response and Risks Deep Transatlantic Rift
Prince Harry’s High Court Battle With Daily Mail Publisher Begins in London
Trump’s Tariff Escalation Presents Complex Challenges for the UK Economy
UK Prime Minister Starmer Rebukes Trump’s Greenland Tariff Strategy as Transatlantic Tensions Rise
Prince Harry’s Last Press Case in UK Court Signals Potential Turning Point in Media and Royal Relations
OpenAI to Begin Advertising in ChatGPT in Strategic Shift to New Revenue Model
GDP Growth Remains the Most Telling Barometer of Britain’s Economic Health
Prince William and Kate Middleton Stay Away as Prince Harry Visits London Amid Lingering Rift
Britain Braces for Colder Weather and Snow Risk as Temperatures Set to Plunge
Mass Protests Erupt as UK Nears Decision on China’s ‘Mega Embassy’ in London
Prince Harry to Return to UK to Testify in High-Profile Media Trial Against Associated Newspapers
Keir Starmer Rejects Trump’s Greenland Tariff Threat as ‘Completely Wrong’
Trump to hit Europe with 10% tariffs until Greenland deal is agreed
Prince Harry Returns to UK High Court as Final Privacy Trial Against Daily Mail Publisher Begins
Britain Confronts a Billion-Pound Wind Energy Paradox Amid Grid Constraints
The graduate 'jobpocalypse': Entry-level jobs are not shrinking. They are disappearing.
Cybercrime, Inc.: When Crime Becomes an Economy. How the World Accidentally Built a Twenty-Trillion-Dollar Criminal Economy
The Return of the Hands: Why the AI Age Is Rewriting the Meaning of “Real Work”
UK PM Kier Scammer Ridicules Tories With "Kamasutra"
Strategic Restraint, Credible Force, and the Discipline of Power
United Kingdom and Norway Endorse NATO’s ‘Arctic Sentry’ Mission Including Greenland
Woman Claiming to Be Freddie Mercury’s Secret Daughter Dies at Forty-Eight After Rare Cancer Battle
UK Launches First-Ever ‘Town of Culture’ Competition to Celebrate Local Stories and Boost Communities
Planned Sale of Shell and Exxon’s UK Gas Assets to Viaro Energy Collapses Amid Regulatory and Market Hurdles
UK Intensifies Arctic Security Engagement as Trump’s Greenland Rhetoric Fuels Allied Concern
Meghan Markle Could Return to the UK for the First Time in Nearly Four Years If Security Is Secured
Meghan Markle Likely to Return to UK Only if Harry Secures Official Security Cover
UAE Restricts Funding for Emiratis to Study in UK Amid Fears Over Muslim Brotherhood Influence
EU Seeks ‘Farage Clause’ in Brexit Reset Talks to Safeguard Long-Term Agreement Stability
Starmer’s Push to Rally Support for Action Against Elon Musk’s X Faces Setback as Canada Shuns Ban
UK Free School Meals Expansion Faces Political and Budgetary Delays
EU Seeks ‘Farage Clause’ in Brexit Reset Talks With Britain
Germany Hit by Major Airport Strikes Disrupting European Travel
Prince Harry Seeks King Charles’ Support to Open Invictus Games on UK Return
Washington Holds Back as Britain and France Signal Willingness to Deploy Troops in Postwar Ukraine
Elon Musk Accuses UK Government of Suppressing Free Speech as X Faces Potential Ban Over AI-Generated Content
Russia Deploys Hypersonic Missile in Strike on Ukraine
OpenAI and SoftBank Commit One Billion Dollars to Energy and Data Centre Supplier
UK Prime Minister Starmer Reaffirms Support for Danish Sovereignty Over Greenland Amid U.S. Pressure
UK Support Bolsters U.S. Seizure of Russian-Flagged Tanker Marinera in Atlantic Strike on Sanctions Evasion
The Claim That Maduro’s Capture and Trial Violate International Law Is Either Legally Illiterate—or Deliberately Deceptive
UK Data Watchdog Probes Elon Musk’s X Over AI-Generated Grok Images Amid Surge in Non-Consensual Outputs
Prince Harry to Return to UK for Court Hearing Without Plans to Meet King Charles III
UK Confirms Support for US Seizure of Russian-Flagged Oil Tanker in North Atlantic
Béla Tarr, Visionary Hungarian Filmmaker, Dies at Seventy After Long Illness
UK and France Pledge Military Hubs Across Ukraine in Post-Ceasefire Security Plan
Prince Harry Poised to Regain UK Security Cover, Clearing Way for Family Visits
UK Junk Food Advertising Ban Faces Major Loophole Allowing Brand-Only Promotions
×