When I redid my kitchen last year, I was aiming for that same relaxed coastal feel without going full beach-house cliché. What helped me was breaking everything down into what would actually survive daily use. For example, I originally wanted real marble, but I cook a lot and got tired of worrying about etching and stains, so I went with a honed quartz that has a subtle vein pattern instead. It still looks light and clean but doesn’t stress me out every time I put down a lemon slice. For cabinets, I ended up choosing a mix of painted uppers and light wood lowers because it keeps the room warm without getting visually heavy. Before deciding, I spent hours comparing options on luxxremodel since they had some examples of coastal-style spaces where they used natural wood tones with lighter counters. The unexpected thing for me was the backsplash: I went with handmade matte tiles that aren’t perfectly even, and that slight imperfection actually adds more of that breezy look than I expected. If you’re unsure, order samples and look at them in different lighting — coastal colors shift a lot depending on shadows.