While Animal Crossing: New Horizons players are decorating their entire island, one spot may be completely forgotten. Redd's secret beach is waiting!
In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, players have found nearly every spot on the island to decorate, but what about the secret beach? Within most player's first month, they will eventually meet Redd, a shady art dealer who arrives on the island once per month. Redd lands his ship filled with his art collection at the far backside of the island on a little hidden beach.
This beach, while being hidden, is very small and cannot be accessed by the player until they craft or buy a ladder. As players ran out of spaces to decorate on their island, they eventually came to this secret beach. Whether it started as a joke to catch the infamous Redd or was the last corner of a fully decorated island, here are some ways players have styled their secret beach.
An easy way to decorate the secret beach if a player is early on in their game and isn't ready to dedicate some expensive items to the shoreline is to use custom patterns. Set aside some time to draw out little pieces for the beach in the pattern maker on the Nook phone. Then just set them out and enjoy a tiny masterpiece of beach sand. Add shells or other items scavenged in the area to give more of a 3D effect.
A favorite style all over players' islands is the Ghibli theme. Players can achieve this theme easily by planting lots of flowers in the vicinity, adding character-based patterns to the ground, picnic baskets, etc. For more of a challenge with this theme, pick a specific movie from Ghibli studios and constrain the decor to something that only fits that movie. This could also easily be achieved for other types of movies in the same way.
Another creative design is to base the beach around the character, Redd. As this is the only spot on the island that Redd with dock, why not turn it into his personal space. Add a spot for Redd to fuel up or get a snack. Give him a little lounge area for a breezy stop outside of his boat. This build has a lot of flexibility depending on how the player perceives Redd. Whether a player is more or less welcoming, they could give him items to make him feel at home or drive him away from the island entirely.
A build meant for a player who wishes to be whisked off to sea. Pirates who fell from their boat must have floated out here. Foraging and scavenging for what they could until Tom Nook took up shop here. Maybe they got a ride off the island a long time ago or maybe they have returned as a full resident. The player's choice can make this experience more or less like a role-playing easter egg.
Although there are already several other beaches that this can be done on across the island, maybe the player is a completionist or wants their entire island to have a consistent color scheme. Depicted above is a specific pink spring theme, but a player could take any season and color attachment. A blue or purple winter, an orange or black fall, and even a green or yellow summer vibe. Add floral arrangements and more natural pieces to make this spot feel especially alive. This may be the perfect getaway spot for players when Redd isn't in town.
When players have a hard time letting go of an item that they never really wanted in the first place, the eccentric marketplace can be the perfect build. Use this space as anything from a farmer's market, to an antique shop, to a garage sale, to even a dump. A proper spot for all the misfit toys. This is another representation of what might be found on Redd's boat. It could even be an offering to Redd in the hopes that he might sail with a real catch this time. Either way, this build is a great spot to stash all those items that never really fit the island's theme or just weren't worth selling to the Nook boys.
Lastly, the shabby-chic outpost is for players who want a build that is simple yet thoughtful. The secret beach is already small as it is and adding several items to that space can make it feel cramped and uncomfortable. This build is very minimalistic, not bringing much of anything aside from a small seating area and some small decorations placed throughout the beach. It's a build that is simple, but also easy to overdo. Adding very small pops of color and sticking to naturalistic and neutral tones helps give a more sleek look.With all these designs being shown, this is not the limit to what players can create on their islands. As the seasons change, players will also gain access to new items through the season change itself and events based on those seasons. The longer and more often that people play will also affect what items they may come across on their island versus other players. This will make island themes and designs way more diverse than they currently are.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available on Nintendo Switch.
