Animal Crossing is a different game for different people, but many players get the most enjoyment out of the decorating. And in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you’re given an entire island to play with! However, though beaches stretch across 3 of the 4 sides of your island, players often find that they’re the absolute hardest to decorate.
It has a lot to do with the limitations placed on you by the game; unlike on the regular island, you can’t place bushes or normal trees, only palms, you can’t place any path other than custom ones, and the areas are often cut off with jagged rocks into weird segments. If you’re searching for some inspiration on how to decorate your islands’ beaches, you’ve come to the right place.
10
Set Up A Campsite
It can be a pain to decide where to place all of your buildings in the game while you’re trying to terraform the entire island. If the inspiration strikes, you could always place the campsite building on the beach and decorate around it with flowers, picnic benches, swimming gear, and more! Of course, if you’re already in love with the place your campsite is now, you can just pretend by using the tent items.
Whether you decide to include the actual campsite in your build like in the left-hand example (from @bbgmaddie on Pinterest) or just some of the tent objects available in-game like the right-hand example (from u/stephieacnh on Reddit), you’re bound to come up with something wonderful!
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9
Establish A Fish Market
A Fish Market is a great way to get rid of furniture that’s been cluttering up your storage: things like coolers, anchors, fish-drying boards, and more, which don’t fit in too many other designs.
Both of the examples featured above go for a wooden, messy look. The left-hand example (from serotonin-island.tumblr.com) opts to focus on the cooking aspect, and the right-hand example (from u/Willma-Dee on Reddit) is interested in the selling and diving aspects.
There’s no reason your market couldn’t be a little more classy, and even include things other than fish, if you want!
8
Move Your Villagers There
Just like the campsite, you may be having a tough time deciding where to place your villagers’ homes. You may have plans for all your island space already, and don’t want to sacrifice some to give the villager a yard. Consider putting them on the beach, instead!
Some of the house designs beg to be decorated on a beach, like the beige, sun-worn home featured on the right above (from @juli_acnh_ on on Twitter). However, even houses that don’t strike you as beach homes immediately – like the deep-blue home above on the left (from @boiscrossing on Twitter) – can be decorated extravagantly and made to fit the aesthetic.
7
Have A Cookout
A deceptively simple way to fill up your beaches is to add a place where you can have a bite to eat and look out over the waves. You’ll fall in love the moment you see one of your villagers wandering around, smelling the cooking food or sitting next to the fires!
There are countless ways you might decide to do this, but we’ve featured two versions of this idea above. The left-hand example is slightly fancier, and comes from u/FriedOreo on Reddit. The right-hand example provides a much more natural take, coming from @klmillerrocks on Pinterest.
6
Indulge With A Spa
There’s plenty of bath- and spa-themed furniture in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, so you’ll have lots of ways to personalize a spa, should you decide to include one on your island.
A nice bonus of spas is that they can be as large or small as you need them to be! Want to add a reception counter and tanning chairs? Be our guest! Just want a gorgeously decorated bathtub? Easy as pie. The simple bathtub example above comes from @mushroomparasol on Twitter. Meanwhile, the bamboo-accented spa is from @rhaenyraamayra on Pinterest. They’re perfect for decorating small spaces that you need to fill on your beach.
5
Live Your Entrepreneur Dreams With A Beachside Restaurant Or Bar
Plenty of us are familiar with the concept of a seaside bar. You can twist that general idea into something that suits the theme of your own island! We’ve seen players create gorgeous dance floors surrounded by fruit furniture, and classy restaurants complete with pianos and cellos. The examples above are both from Reddit users (u/Pigment_b on left, u/bbmauriceg on right).
One added benefit of building on the beach is that you eliminate the possibility that something will block your screenshots. That can be a particular problem with low-to-the-ground designs like restaurants. But, on a beach, there are no trees in the distance cutting off the view! It’s a perfect place to feature your very best work.
4
Welcome The Mermaids Home
In the summertime, players can get tons of DIY recipes to create mermaid-themed furniture. Did you make a bunch of this furniture when you first got the DIYs, but now it’s just laying around in your storage? Or have you just been waiting for an excuse to use them?
It’s easy-peasy to turn these furniture items into an adorable beachfront by adding other pink furniture and flowers, like in the right-hand example above (from u/b0baqueenx0 on Reddit). If you’re not a fan of pink, you can absolutely take a unique spin on the style, as seen in the left-hand example above (from @heartcove_acnh on Twitter)!
3
Host A Wedding
There are so many different ways you can express a wedding in-game that it is a perfect way to fill up your beach. The wedding furniture is also acquired during the summer, though these items are received by helping out Cyrus and Reese with their photoshoots.
As seen above, you could design a reception spot where wedding guests can relax, or a venue where the actual wedding happens. If you have a particularly large amount of beach to fill, why not do both? The left-hand example comes from @varuna.crossing on Instagram, while the right-hand one is from @brandy_pls on Twitter.
2
Build A Boardwalk
A boardwalk is a ludicrously simple idea that you can elaborate on in whatever way you choose! Everyone has a different idea of what a boardwalk should look like, and this is your opportunity to bring it to life!
Some players choose to extend their boardwalk from the pier and match the design so the wood looks the same, but it doesn’t need to be connected at all unless you want it to be. The examples above all come from Reddit: the ones on the right from u/gimmedembells and the one on the left from u/CynicismNostalgia.
1
Don’t Forget The Essential Facilities
Despite the fact that there is absolutely no need, Animal Crossing players often adore creating practical facilities on their island. Such facilities could be showers (such as the left-hand image from u/honeycovecrossin on Reddit) or changing rooms (just look at the right-hand example from u/maynotcare on Reddit).
Given the large number of bathroom-themed items in-game, you’re bound to have something laying around in your storage to get you started. This design could also easily accompany something you’ve already set up on your beach. Do you have a spa, or a public beach area? Pair the designs together!
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About The Author
Gabrielle Marie Huston
(326 Articles Published)
Gabrielle “Belle” Huston is a writer and long-time gamer based in Ottawa, Canada. Reach her on Twitter (@TheYavril) or by email (gabrielle.h@thegamer.com). She’s played video games for at least as long as she could write, and vice versa! As a current undergraduate student of journalism, she’s seldom away from her computer. Belle uses what little free time she has to play Guild Wars 2 with her partner, work toward that 5-star rating in Animal Crossing, and wonder when the new Dragon Age instalment is coming out.
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