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How do you make a summer house actually feel like home? According to Lake Bluff, Illinois–based designer Maggie Getz, it’s simple: Keep it in the family. Think furniture designed by the wife’s brother, sailing books from her late father, a mahogany mirror carved by the husband’s father, and sailing flags collected on the couple’s trips up the coast. “This place is so much more than just a beach home filled with stuff,” Getz says.
She’s referring to a sweet cedar-shake cottage in Little Compton, Rhode Island, just steps from the sand. Her clients—a family with three young boys—first stayed in a nearby barn rental during the pandemic. That’s when the husband fell for the sleepy beach town just as hard as his wife had years earlier, sailing with her dad along the New England coast. “The love story with Little Compton began many years ago,” says Getz. “It was always one of their favorite stops during sailing trips.”
The house itself is a classic Cape Cod–style shingle home, complete with a guest suite over the garage. But Getz had something more unexpected in mind for the interiors. Cue bold orange-print wallpaper by Jennifer Shorto in the guest bedroom, blue and white striped zellige tile in the bath, and modern impressionist art by Theresa Losa in the living room. A sculptural dining room light fixture brings even more edge. Outside, a crowd-favorite outdoor shower seals the deal.
“We wanted the guest quarters to feel like a boutique hotel experience, like you’re on vacation,” says Getz. “For the rest of the house, we wanted it to feel like my client’s current aesthetic, which toes the line of modern, eclectic, and a little contemporary. We packaged it all up with a quintessential cottage vibe.”
That translated to nothing too precious or formal. Think warm hues, soft textures, and vintage finds that give the home a sense of history. There’s an exposed rafter ceiling, of course—quintessential beach cottage—but it’s paired with contemporary pieces, like a credenza by L.A.-based designer Ben Willett, who happens to be the wife’s brother. Willett also created the Douglas-fir-clad built-in bed in the guest suite, which plays well with the fruity wallpaper.
“Being a second home, I always feel it’s easier for my clients to go a little more daring and unpredictable than they would for a primary residence,” says Getz. “We really leaned into that, especially in the guest cottage—wanting to create an extremely unique experience for their revolving door of visitors throughout the summer months.”
A floral kilim leads the way to the primary bedroom, where an Alder & Tweed bed lets the clients rest easily. “They’re not sure if it’s the bed or just the beach house state of mind,” says Getz. The bunk room—painted Benjamin Moore’s Wythe Blue—has built-in daybeds with trundles and sleeps four kids without feeling crowded.
And that striped bathroom? “What better place than a beach house,” Getz says. In the powder room, an archival wallpaper print from Adelphi feels like it’s always been there.
Most days, the family flocks to the sunroom, where a cozy wicker sofa is covered in an indoor-outdoor Lisa Fine stripe. Evenings are spent curled up on the turquoise sectional in the family room. “This room just gives you a hug,” says Getz. “I love it all juxtaposed with uber mod black and white coffee tables. It just sums up my client’s style.”
This summer, Getz is headed back to the cottage—this time with an overnight bag. “These clients are also some of our best friends,” she says. No wonder it feels like home.