A Cozy Cottage Christmas on the Maine Coast

Greenery, pinecones, oranges, sea shells, driftwood, plenty of blue with pops of green and orange, and even a pair of classic LL Bean boots all combine for a cozy cottage Christmas on the Maine coast!

One Week Until Christmas

With just a week until Christmas, I am calling the holiday decorating done! The bins and bags are put away and the house (well, the downstairs at least) is clean. Yesterday I vacuumed up enough pet hair to stuff a pillow. When I am in holiday decorating mode it isn’t worth cleaning. Bits of greenery, pieces of snipped-off ribbon, wire, hot glue strings, and, this year, pinecone bits, litter all the surfaces. Truthfully, it drives me crazy! I am not one of those people who is hyper about cleaning, but I do like the house to be clean and tidy. I am a highly visual person. Surprise, right?. For me visual chaos is like a blaring noise. But I have learned that I just need to put my head down, get things done, and then do a big cleanup.

A Cozy Day at Home

Much of New England is getting blanketed in snow today. Here on the coast, though, the morning was chilly (mid 30’s) and gray with rain and wind. I settled in for a cozy day at home, the fire going and Christmas music playing. I posted on Instagram, made my usual Saturday morning egg sandwich, and then got busy taking and editing photos for this blog post. To my delight, when I sat down to start writing, the rain turned to snow! . It won’t stick, but it sure looks pretty!

The Week Ahead

I have to say I am in pretty good shape for Christmas! The gifts for the kids and other family members are either ordered or wrapped and mailed. I have a bit more prep to do, but I plan on doing plenty of relaxing this week — reading, watching Christmas movies, and enjoying all the decorations in the house! My husband flies in on Friday. Our son Jack and his wife Margaux (remember my Covid buddy?), will be spending the holiday with her family here in Maine. We will join all of them for Christmas dinner in Kennebunk. Although I will certainly miss my other kids, it will still be a nice, albeit low-key, holiday. Next year I will have the chaos of family and two grandbabies in the house to look forward to! (I already can’t wait!)

Enough chatter! I want to share some final images of Christmas decor around the house. It is not too late to add some of these festive touches to your own home! As with Thanksgiving, much of the “decor” can be purchased at the grocery store! At the very least, I hope this brings you some holiday cheer!

Blue and Orange

I was inspired by posts on Instagram to try drying orange slices and got totally hooked! I love the pop of orange with holiday greenery and all my blues! In the open kitchen/dining area I decorated with dried and fresh oranges, pinecones, nuts, artificial juniper greenery, and copper-colored ribbon. You all know how I love simple and natural decor!

The Mantel

I explained in my blog post Easy Natural Mantel Decor to Enjoy All Fall that I leave the antique blue and white pieces on the dining room mantel up year round. I simply add different decor with the seasons. For Christmas, I hung a faux juniper wreath on top of the platters and filled the jugs with greenery. A string of tiny stockings made from old quilts hang ready for Santa to come down the chimney. Oops! I couldn’t resist filling them each myself with an orange slice and some greenery! The garland was a gift from my sweet friend Ann at Dabbling and Decorating.

The Corner Hutch

The corner hutch holds my beloved collection of antique blue and white spongeware. I kept the decorations here super simple — a few sprigs of greenery, some orange slices and pinecones. Done! Sometimes less is more!

The Hutch

This year for the hutch I went with a display that is both decorative and functional. I filled it with beautiful dishes and glassware from my good friends at Caskata. The large floral Arcadia pattern is based on a Williamsburg design. The hutch is located in the dining area right next to the kitchen, so it is easy to grab a dish on the way to the table! Greenery, a small wreath, pinecones, nuts, and oranges add some understated but festive holiday cheer.

For more on Caskata’s beautiful tableware, you can read my post from last summer Summer in Maine: A Coastal Table Setting on the Porch. Caskata is a wonderful New England small business. I just saw that they have expedited shipping through the 19th, so if you hurry you can order something for your holiday table or as a gift!

The Tablesetting

We won’t be having Christmas dinner here this year, but I did have friends for dinner last night. I wanted a table setting that didn’t scream “Christmas”, but was still fun and festive. The blue and white Arcadia dishes go beautifully with the orange theme I have going! Since I was late to order table linens, I used the Thanksgiving placemats I made, flipped to the reverse side.

I kept the centerpiece simple, adding — you guessed it– greenery, pinecones, nuts, and orange slices to my trusty stack of old wooden bowls. My regular seeded glass taper hurricanes (from Target a few years ago) hold blue candles. Orange would be fun, but I couldn’t find any that were the right color at local stores.

I will definitely do some poking around on-line for some more orange holiday table decor for next year!

The Bar

There is a little bar area on top of an antique painted cottage commode in the corner of the dining room. I couldn’t resist adding a few festive touches here too! I was big on the glue gun this year, so I glued some nuts to a small tree. A pinecone and bow adorn the rope lamp. And of course there is a bowl of nuts and orange slices. I told you I was crazy for oranges this year!

The Kitchen

I don’t usually add much seasonal decor to the kitchen. A few sprigs of greenery in the gurgle fish pitchers and the orange/nut/pinecone combo in a glass footed bowl and I called it a day.

Paper white bulbs in glass hurricanes should bloom just in time for something exciting I have happening in January. More about that another time!!

A Holiday Tribute to Maine

For the past two years I have put together a little holiday tribute to the beautiful state I now call home. This is always such a fun creative project! This year I used snow shoes, a sled, a bait tin, a fishing creel, Bean boots, a rope garland embellished with shells, a tree covered in mini pinecones, greenery, driftwood, and lichen-covered branches. This is all set against the backdrop of a vintage Maine pull-down school map. So much classic Maine goodness!

The Entrance Area

My obsession with oranges this year started with this little tree in the entrance area. I glued a ribbon to the back of each dried orange slice to form a decorative hanger, then smothered the tree with them. I love it in a rustic painted tin bucket! It sits on top of another one of my antique painted cottage pieces. I plan on doing a blog post on this kind of furniture in the new year!

Blue and White

Of course I would never abandon my signature blue and white during the holidays. In the downstairs bathroom and on the big hall sideboard, my favorite color combo still rules supreme!

Time to Relax

This week you will find me relaxing in this comfy chair next to the book-filled mantel piece in the bedroom.

I hope this little tour filled you with a bit of holiday cheer! If you are still caught up in the hustle bustle of Christmas prep, make sure you also make some time to savor the joys of the season!

Peace, friends!