Cape May Beach House Decorating

Life's a Beach sign at Wildberries

Posted 6/12/08
Cape May, NJ - Whether you actually OWN a house at the shore is immaterial. With a few extra touches, you can make ANY house look like a quintessential Cape May beach house.

It's not a beach house unless it has some version of the Life's a Beach sign (above.) Get this one at Wildberries.

Or do a vintage Meet Me in Cape May sign. (Above, right.) and hang it in the foyer. At Wanderlust.

Easy, colorful cotton quilts are quite the thing at the shore. Every beach house has at least one. Get the real deal - handmade, antique quilts - at Tree House Antiques Center (above right.)

Seashore Pillows at Wanderlust

Pick the right pillows and transform your humdrum chair or couch into chic beach house casual. Choose from seahorses, fish, crabs and soothing ocean blues at Wanderlust.

While you're there, pick up a colorful throw rug or two (right.) Wanderlust has a zillion of them. Stripes are so nautical.

Speaking of nautical, hang a whale on your wall. Now we're talking real deep sea. Wildberries carries these (below), styled on old fashioned trade signs.

Whale at Wildberries

Wildberries also has beautiful seashore plates (above right) for a Coastal Living kind of touch to the dining room.

Or hang a real ship's wheel (right) on the wall in the kids' room. Treehouse Antiques has an assortment of old nautical items.

Serve afternoon lemonade in an antique cobalt blue pitcher and glasses, decorated with sailboats. Martha Stewart would just love it. Tree House Antiques.

Cobalt Sailboat Pitcher set at Treehouse Antiques

Of course, every beach house has to have fish somewhere. Make yours do double duty, as a decorative item and a utilitarian key holder. Wanderlust.

Fish Key holders at Wanderlust

Vintage Art at Wanderlust

Quilts at Treehouse Antiques

Beach Scene Plate at Wildberries

Rugs at Wanderlust

Ship's Wheel at Treehouse Antiques