Take Summer Home: How to Bring the Feeling of Cape Cod Into Your Home

Take Summer Home

There is always that moment at the end of summer when I’m ready for fall, but not quite ready to let summer go.

I want the windows open and the pumpkins out. I’m ready to light the fireplace and pull out the cozy blankets. But I’m not ready to pack away everything that reminds me of Cape Cod.

And I don’t think I have to.

For me, decorating has never been about following one particular style. I want our home to feel collected, colorful and personal. I want the things around us to tell stories about where we’ve been, what we love and the memories we want to keep close.

That’s what taking summer home means to me.

Coastal doesn’t have to look “coastal”

When I think about bringing Cape Cod into our home, I’m not thinking about filling every room with anchors, shells and navy stripes.

It might be a weathered piece of art. A vase filled with hydrangeas from the yard. Something vintage found on a summer trip. A photograph that instantly transports me somewhere else.

And sometimes it’s simply color.

The greens of weathered shutters. Hydrangea blue. Sandy neutrals. Faded florals. The colors of things that have spent a little too much time in the sun.

Let your home tell your story

I love rooms that don't look like they were purchased all at once.

Our home is filled with vintage pieces, photography, art, books, pattern, color and things we've collected over time. Some pieces make perfect sense together. Others probably shouldn't work at all, which is usually why I like them.

The common thread isn't a decorating style.

It's us.

And I think that's what makes a home feel good.

Keep the memories where you can see them

This is also one of the reasons I wanted to create Coastal Granddaughter: A Photographic Love Letter to Cape Cod and the Islands.

I didn't want my photographs from the Cape to live on a hard drive.

I wanted them out in the world. And selfishly, I wanted them in my own home.

Now the book moves around constantly. It's on the coffee table, next to the bed, on a chair, under a vase of hydrangeas. And every time I see that little cottage with the green shutters on the cover, I'm back there for a second.

Let the seasons overlap

Maybe this is my favorite part.

September doesn't have to mean summer disappears overnight.

Put out the pumpkins next to the Cape Cod book. Let the hydrangeas dry instead of replacing them. Keep the beach photograph on the wall. Throw a heavier blanket over the chair.

Let fall move in while summer hangs around for a while.

Because the best homes aren't decorated for a season.

They're filled with pieces of our lives.

Summer doesn't have to end.

Maybe we can't keep the long days, salty hair and dinners that start way too late.

But we can keep pieces of them.

A photograph. A book. A hydrangea. Something collected on a trip. A color that reminds us of a place we love.

Take summer home.

And let it stay awhile.