Carey Karlan’s enchanting Rose Cottage is a few miles from Long Island Sound and the wider ocean beyond. But when the Darien-based designer was mulling over ideas for last year’s annual holiday party, a Nantucket theme just felt right. “I love Nantucket,” she says. “I’d been there recently, and I thought this house would lend itself to a more casual vibe.” Inspired by the island’s seafaring past, Karlan combined nautical accents with more traditional holiday décor. A garland of glass floats twined with rope hung from the beams in the entry foyer. Tiny Santas stood watch on a pair of antique Pond boats. Her collection of ships in glass bottles graced the dining table—where a whale weathervane sporting a jaunty red bow rose from a bed of greens.
Decorating for the holidays has been a lifelong passion for the designer, one she developed as the only child of Christmas-loving parents. “I love decorating, so to decorate every surface—the doors, the walls, the tree, the table—that is my pleasure,” she says. “It’s my canvas, and I go wild with it.”
That feeling extends to Karlan’s mid-December dinner party, which she has hosted for nearly 25 years. By the time the holidays rolled around last year, after a break due to Covid, she was living in a new house with lower ceilings than her previous home, which could accommodate a very tall tree. “I’m a big believer in working with what you’ve got,” she says. “So, I just put a lot of little trees everywhere.”
Carey Karlan fashioned a holiday tablecloth from quilts from Country Door. The chairs, napkins and glassware are through Smith Party Rentals; the brass candlesticks and vintage plates are from the designer’s own collection; and the whale weathervane was an online find.
Party favors included jams from the Nantucket Historical Society and Christmas crackers decorated with lighthouse stickers from Nantucket Monogram.
A Nantucket lightship basket tops the entry hall table.
On the banister, stockings are adorned with sprigs of greenery.
Glass floats add nautical flair to the entry foyer.
Garland in the family room sports red-framed pictures of family and friends.
The Christmas tree stands next to a vintage dollhouse from Odesmith & Richards.
In the study, Lee Jofa wallpaper and applique pillows are from the Wakefield Design Center.
A small bowl is filled with spools of Scalamandré silk thread, and the Santa made by a friend years ago is among the designer’s most cherished possessions.
In the living room, hurricanes from the Antique and Artisan Gallery top an antique desk that served as a bar.
Brass sconces cast a warm glow above the mantel, where gold ornaments are from Nielsen’s Florist & Garden Center.
Two antique pond boats with tiny Santas top a vintage pine console from Fairfield County Antique & Design. The amaryllis and the boxwood wreath are from East Coast Wholesale Flowers.
The invitation set the tone by urging guests to “Join in for a Whale of a Good Time!” Most dressed for the evening in Nantucket-y togs—think madras shorts and topsiders, white slacks and espadrilles, blue blazers and Nantucket reds. Meanwhile, the designer pulled out all the stops. She printed a menu and prepared the meal herself (with a little help from Rowayton Seafood, which set up a raw bar on a skirted table in the foyer). There was a piano player, carol singing and games with prizes. She set a lavish table for 20 in the family room, where blue-and-white painted floors and white walls evoke a beachy island vibe. Karlan rented chairs with red seat cushions and crafted a tablecloth from red-and-white quilted bedspreads that she ordered online. “Cheap and cheerful,” she says.
She set party favors atop each blue-and-white antique dinner plate—jars of Nantucket jam from the historical society and homemade Christmas crackers filled with taffy and chocolate. “I’ll never do that again,” she laughs. “It took too long.” A green garland stretched above the French doors was festooned with tiny white lights and cards filled with photos of family and friends. At one end, a beautifully decorated tree wore a red Frosty the Snowman–style top hat. “I’ve had it for many years, and it’s so happy and jolly,” Karlan says.
In the more formal living room and study, the decorations took on a warmer, richer tone. The fireplace mantel was thickly layered with magnolia leaves and pine branches, and accented with brass and gold. Here, she draped swirly gold paper cutouts that she bought “a hundred years ago. I’ve never seen anything like them since,” Karlan says. “They are among my most treasured possessions.” A drop-leaf antique desk did double duty as a second bar, and windows sported hanging wreaths, each with a little gold ball. “When you don’t have a room to put another tree, wreaths are a good option,” she says.
As always, the evening’s pièce de résistance was the after-dinner musicale, written and directed by a good friend. This year’s script was Moby Nick, Carey’s Nantucket Sleigh Ride. “He’s a Harvard-trained lawyer by day,” Karlan says. “He arrives with packets of scripts and assigns roles. It’s always silly and corny and very witty. And though some guests may say they are too shy to participate, everyone immediately opens their script looking for their part!”
