Lifestyle

This New England coastal cottage is bursting with color and pattern

Country Living · Jul 16, 2026 10:00 · 5 min read

A Colorful New England Coastal Cottage — Take a tour of a colorful New England coastal cottage filled with bold patterns, vintage finds, and cozy decorating ideas from designer Katie Rosenfeld.

From floral wallpaper to cheerful vintage finds, every room offers a fresh surprise.

Vibrant mixes of pattern have become something of a calling card for Boston-based interior designer Katie Rosenfeld. Her signature layered rooms fill the pages of her upcoming book, Housewarming: A Decorator’s Approach to Cozy and Spirited Interiors (February 2027; Rizzoli), and the more than 80,000 followers of her Instagram account (@katierosenfeld) enthusiastically await her colorful interiors and commentary.

Every now and then, one of those followers will go from hitting “Like” to hiring Katie’s firm. That was the case when one devotee asked for her help with her family’s summer cottage in Chatham, Massachusetts. Just a stone’s throw from the Atlantic, the 2,654-square-foot getaway was far from the lighthearted coastal escape the family craved. “It was an all-white, run-of-the mill, plain-Jane 2000s Cape that lacked any notable architectural or decorative details,” says Katie.

After a full renovation of the classic Cape Cod–style home that kept the existing floor plan, Katie went in with a cheerful mix of cottagecore fabrics and wallpapers, a process that started with filling an L.L.Bean tote with patterns that “felt like the family” and deleting and adding until the right combination came together.

The color-saturated mudroom features bright blue millwork, a ceramic checkerboard floor, and floral wallpaper. Forest green cabinetry provides plenty of storage.

“The house is kind of a Swedish color wheel,” says Katie, referencing both the deep saturated Falu reds associated with countryside exteriors and the bold folk art motifs common on traditional furniture. “It’s full of incredibly true, real primary colors,” she adds. “I wanted it to feel like a box of crayons was spilling out in every space.”

Vintage finds—old books, seafarer portraits, accent furniture—give a sense of having been acquired over time, lending the property a lived-in feeling. “We’re always aiming to create interiors that feel like a warm hug,” says Katie. “Some might find these rooms over-stimulating, but I look at it like, ‘There’s so much fun stuff to look at inside, you almost forget about what’s outside.’ ”

Pump Up the Palette

rosenfeld-massachusetts-coastal-cottage-family-room.jpg — Cozy living room with floral decor, patterned sofas, a coffee table, and large windows letting in natural light.

rosenfeld-massachusetts-coastal-cottage-family-room-sofa.jpg — Cozy living room with patterned sofas, a textured ottoman, and a floral arrangement, alongside a staircase and wall art.

While the blue paint on the stair railing is inspired by a room from the famed British country estate Calke Abbey, it sets the stage for a family room that feels very tied to this side of the pond. Designer Katie Rosenfeld leaned into moody blues via a geometric-stripe-and-floral fabric on the sofa and a striped dhurrie rug. She then piled on reds and whites, along with some yellows and greens, through a host of patterned pillows, a preppy plaid on a pair of spool chairs, and an intricate woven motif on the five-foot-long upholstered ottoman.

Get the Look:

Stair railing paint color: Cook’s Blue by Farrow & Ball

Wall paint color: Pointing by Farrow & Ball

Sofa fabric: “Romola Floral” by Schumacher

Bobbin chair fabric: “Fable” by Schumacher

Ottoman fabric: “Detmar” by Octavia Dickinson

Drapery fabric: “Arbre Fleur Toile” by Quadrille

Pillow fabrics: “Jardin Touranien” and “Arlequin” by Décors Barbares and “Nicobar” by Lisa Fine Textiles

Red on Repeat

rosenfeld-massachusetts-coastal-cottage-dining-room.jpg — Brightly decorated dining room with a wooden table, colorful chairs, floral curtains, and a large pendant light.

Katie’s client was open to most colors but especially partial to this bold hue, which shows up in big and small ways throughout the home. In the dining room, red appears in the blue wicker chairs’ checked cushions, the vivid toile drapes, and the custom pendant light. To up the whimsy, hand-painted tiles featuring a butterfly, a shell, and a sun line the fireplace surround.

Get the Look:

Dining chairs: Memoire Design

Chair cushion fabric: “Paris Check” by Jane Shelton

Drape fabric: “Arbre Fleur Toile” by Quadrille

Pendant light fabric: “Verbena” by Sister Parish

Tiles: Balineum

Sunny Cabinetry

Bright yellow kitchen with modern appliances, wooden floors, and checkered bar stools around a stylish island.

Katie tempered the kitchen’s not-at-all-mellow cabinetry and island with soapstone countertops and backsplash, dark bronze hardware, and a trio of pendant lights. “I like the idea of black on yellow—it feels very graphic,” she says.

Lacy café curtains and a classic white farmhouse sink also offer some visual relief from the bright yellow cabinetry.

In the butler’s pantry, a tile backsplash serves up more nostalgic charm, and the two-tone checkerboard floor ties the space back to the mudroom.

Get the Look:

Cabinetry paint color: Citron by Farrow & Ball

Pendant lights: The Urban Electric Co.

Farmhouse sink: House of Rohl

Tile backsplash: Tiles of Ezra

Checkerboard floor: Fireclay Tile

Flower Power

Now, that’s how you do pattern drenching! Every inch of the unapologetically feminine office is covered in the same ditsy floral—we’re talking 60 yards of fabric!—while a handful of items (a black lamp base, a brown-backed pillow) create high-contrast focal points that bring a little edge to the potentially too-sweet vibe. Adding to the floral swath, the rattan-and-bamboo desk is also paired with a skirted slipcovered chair.

Get the Look:

Floral fabric: “Beth” by Lulie Wallace

Desk: Kenian Fine Rattan Furniture

Pillow fabric: “Annika Floral Tapestry” by Schumacher

In the daughter’s bedroom, traditional wallpaper and fabrics evoke a countryside inn. “It’s so old-school—like something out of the Kennedy compound,” says Katie. Above a chair upholstered in a tightly woven plaid, vintage artwork features a grayling pair and kingfisher pair of birds.

Get the Look:

Wallpaper: “Aurel” by Brunschwig & Fils

Bed pillow fabric: “Petites Pommes” by Décors Barbares and “Graham” by Kathryn M. Ireland

Bed bolster and bed skirt fabric: “Dans la Forêt” by Décors Barbares

Chair fabric: “Agryll” by Etro Textiles

rosenfeld-massachusetts-coastal-cottage-sons-bedroom-bed.jpg — Cozy bedroom featuring a bed with patterned bedding, wooden furniture, and decorative wallpaper.

In order to make a large guest bedroom feel a little more intimate, Katie loaded up on stripes via a striped rug, drapes, and bedding—all of which complements the linear floral pattern on the walls. A garden-inspired bedside table and vintage trunk bring additional warmth to the space.

Get the Look:

Rug: Landry & Arcari

Bedding: “Ticking Stripe 1” by Ian Mankin

Wallpaper: “Pamina” by Wells Abbott

Bedside table: “Trellis” by Memoire Design

Vintage trunk: Chairish

Decorative bathroom with floral wallpaper, a vintage mirror, a marble sink, and a vase of colorful flowers.

In a guest bedroom, mauve tiles complement the bathroom’s botanical wallpaper and whimsical bobbin mirror.

Get the Look:

Tile: Discover Tile

Wallpaper: “La Discrete” by Pierre Frey

Mirror: Alfred Newall

Vanity: “Anna” by Vanity & Co.

Sconce: “Pimlico” by Vanity & Co.

Serenity reigns supreme in the primary bedroom, thanks to a relatively muted mix of fabrics and wallpaper. Beauty is top of mind for anyone seated at the room’s glossy green dressing table, which is skirted with the same fabric as the headboard.

Get the Look:

Wallpaper: “Glenmoral” by M-Geough

Headboard fabric: “Shell Grotto” by Fermoie

Drapery, lampshade, and pillow fabric: “Roses Tchekhonine” by Décors Barbares

Duvet fabric: “Dulcie” by Ian Sanderson

Pillow fabric: “Burdur Leaf” by Soane

Chandelier: Visual Comfort & Co.

Dressing table: Vanity & Co.

Chair upholstery fabric: “La Seyne Check” by Kravet

In the primary bath, an oak vanity, part of a line designed by Katie, is topped with white honed Carrara marble and highlighted by brass lighting. Color commentary is provided by a lively sweet pea wallpaper, which inspired the emerald green tiles in the large walk-in shower.

Get the Look:

Vanity: “Ellie” by Vanity & Co.

Brass lights: “Calliope” by Visual Comfort & Co.

Wallpaper: “Sweet Pea” by Cole & Son

Tile: Fireclay Tile

Textural Touches

Guests can sleep easy in a bedroom furnished with a rattan headboard and a little something blue—the faux-bamboo nightstand. Both items give solid support to all the flower power in the room provided by the graphic wallpaper, the bright fabric lampshade, and the custom pillows and bed skirt. “It’s one of my favorite spaces,” says Katie. “The whole room is a mood for me.”

In a nearby bath, a salty sea captain keeps watch over the room’s oak vanity.

Get the Look:

Headboard: Bunny Williams

Bedroom wallpaper: “Boutonnière” by Antoinette Poisson

Pillow fabric: “Little Chintz” by Morris & Co.

Lampshade: “Izzy” by Jane Shelton

Vanity: Vanity & Co.

Bathroom wallpaper: “Kerchief” by Nickey Kehoe

This story first appeared in the August/September 2026 issue of Country Living. Photographs by Read McKendree; styling by Matthew Gleason