Seafoam as a colour name reflects the coastal observations of artists and writers who noticed the specific pale green-white of ocean foam. It became a named colour in interior design in the mid-20th century, associated with coastal living aesthetics.

Light, breezy, and coastal. Seafoam is among the most relaxing of colours — it carries the associations of ocean, fresh air, and the particular quality of light at the shoreline. Neither fully green nor fully blue-white, it occupies a liminal space that feels naturally transitional and calm.

Seafoam became synonymous with the "coastal grandmother" aesthetic of 2022 — a lifestyle aesthetic centred on comfortable, light-filled spaces near the sea. In bathroom design, seafoam tiles have been fashionable since the 1950s. The colour features prominently in the visual language of Nordic and New England coastal design.