A Shore Thing

By North Cairn

If you are looking for a way to spruce up the holidays and are a little weary of the traditional holly and ivy, you need look no farther than your own back door to inspire unique and stunning seasonal décor.

Think nautical. Imagine coastal living. Conjure up visions and colors of the sea and shore.

Many people ordinarily associate the holidays with rich greens and deep reds, but the countless hues of blue and the subtleties of ivory and white – or even Nantucket gray and silver – capture the spirit of the season and the Cape. They reflect the play of light on water and can bring a whole new sense of the season to your home. And because they are traditional colors of the seaside, they also communicate an appreciation of the maritime history and natural beauty of the region.

Incorporating seaside elements into holiday decorating can be as basic as decorating a Christmas tree with seashells or sand dollars or as elaborate as recreating in a whole room the look of a ship’s deck strung with evergreens and lights. But you can choose how far you want to extend the theme, by including fish-design stemware and serving dishes from Variado in Chatham, for example, or wrapping and decorating presents with objects from nature. How far you take the motif in your design choices is limited only by your time, energy and budget.

To read more of this story, see the November/December issue of Cape Cod VIEW on newsstands now. Don't miss a single issue of the VIEW, subscribe today.