Most of us live in an area where going to the beach during the winter months is just not practical. Furthermore, many of us live where the winter climate is just downright harsh making the thought of an escape to the sunny beaches of California, Florida, Texas and the Bahamas seem like a utopian dream. The sand between your toes, hearing the waves crash on the shore, sights of live plants and nature all around, enjoying island style music and dishes with a subtle breeze in the air. These things can seem unreachable when you’re 1,000 miles away and it’s snowing outside with high winds and below freezing temperatures. In this article, we’ll talk about how to create a quick beach retreat in your home so that you can get to the beach without ever having to leave your home.

Creating a Beach Atmosphere

Bringing the Beach Indoors

The first step to creating a convincing beach atmosphere inside your own home is to bring the beach indoors. One of our favorite ways to do that is with Live Beach Cams. We’re not talking about on your mobile device or laptop. No, You’ve got to think bigger. Most TVs these days include many smart features and apps, and we are going to take advantage of this by viewing our favorite beach live stream right on our big TV, so it will feel like we’re right at the beach looking out the window of our luxurious beachfront condo. You can find live beach cams on our site, on your favorite video streaming app, or by doing a google search right from your TV’s built in web browser. If your TV does not have built in apps or a web browser, check to see if it has a feature that allows you to stream directly from your iPhone or Android device. If neither of these options are available, there are also lots of set top devices that provide these features such as popular video game consoles, Blu-Ray players, and others.

The Perfect Playlist

Now that you’ve mastered the scenery, we need to bring in the sound. Like any other soundtrack, this can be a matter of preference, but there are many great resources to create the perfect indoor beach escape soundtrack. This can include nature sounds such as waves crashing, seagulls, wind, crowds, laughter and playing, but could also just be some island inspired music such as steel drums, maracas, and guitar. Whatever works best for you, just get it cued up to your favorite speakers and make sure you have enough to go uninterrupted.

Bring the Beach to Life

One aspect of beach vacations that we often overlook is the fact that there is life at the beach. While everything outdoors at home is still and dormant and colorless, the beach is teaming with vibrant colorful life. An easy way to recreate this at home is to bring in real or artificial indoor palm trees and other tropical plants. As a bonus, it should be mentioned that bringing real live plants into your space can help generate some humidity in your home as well as clean the air and produce fresh clean oxygen for you to breathe. No matter which way you choose to go, bringing vibrant colorful tropical plants into your space will definitely enhance that beach vibe.

It’s All About Climate Control

This Next Part is a Breeze

So, we’ve created an atmosphere with all the right sights and sounds. Now it’s time to create the right climate for our quick indoor beach vacation. One of the best ways to get that island paradise feel is with a gentle breeze. This should be easy enough to do, you’ll just need a ceiling fan, box fan or oscillating fan set to low. For added ambiance, direct the fan so it blows through the leaves of your tropical plants and palm trees. Be careful that it is not too strong or direct on the leaves as this could damage the plant.

Things Are Really Starting to Heat Up

What kind of tropical island beach retreat would this be if we didn’t warm it up a little bit? One of the first things people think of when flying away to some beach paradise is how warm it will be. There are a lot of great ways to heat up your space, but be mindful of the risks and effects of each method. Space heaters are a great way to really heat up a small room, but often create a dry environment if not supplemented with plenty of plant life or a humidifier. If your ceilings are tall enough, heat lamps are amazing for heating up a space without drying it out. If you’re goal is to create this at a larger scale so you can enjoy it for a full day or weekend, you may just want to turn your thermostat up a couple degrees.

One More Key Ingredient

We’ve mentioned it a couple of times already, and may mention it one or two more. Having the right level humidity will be key to getting that true beachfront feeling. This can be achieved easily with a standard humidifier, just be careful to not overdo it. You can also get a much more natural and consistent humidity placing plenty of live healthy plants around the space. No matter how you choose to do it, increasing the humidity will definitely make a noticeable difference.

Adding Some Finishing Touches

A Table for Two

Vacations are always best when shared with a good friend or someone you love. And what would a vacation be without some authentic beach town food. whether it’s fresh seafood, Jamaican jerk chicken, or some other dish, be sure to fully immerse yourself in this at home beach escape by ordering or preparing your own beach vacation inspired dish to enjoy. This will add that subtle flare to perfect your moment in paradise.

Getting Geared Up

You’ve created the perfect indoor beach vacation simulation. So why ruin it with socks and blue jeans. To really get in the groove, you’ve got to get into the gear you would have packed, had this been a real island getaway. This is the part where you don your favorite flip flops, shorts, bathing suit, sarong, sun hat, or whatever it is that you love to wear when you go to the beach. If you’ve created the right conditions, this part should be a breeze.

Say Hello to The Beach and Goodbye to The Cold

Now that you’ve created the perfect escape right inside your home, it’s time to close it off from the rest of the world so you can enjoy it, and maybe even forget for a moment that you’re not really at the beach. To achieve this, there are jus t a few simple things we need to do. Turn off your cell phone or if you’re using your phone for the audio or video, at least block incoming calls and texts and leave it somewhere you won’t be tempted to look at it.

Draw the shades and close the door. Nothing can ruin your beach vacation fantasy quicker than looking outside and seeing people in coats, snow flake whizzing by, or a icicles hanging from the eves. Close the curtains or blinds, and make sure the door is shut to protect your environment from the outside elements like screaming kids, drafty breezes, and other disturbances.