Sailing Style: Nautical Inspirations for the Home

In her previous six books, celebrated author and designer Tricia Foley has introduced readers to such romantic and old-fashioned pleasures as Having Tea and a White Christmas. Now, in Sailing Style, she pays homage to the romantic and historical influence of seafaring traditions on home design. Combining a look backward with her own trademark and forward-looking style—fresh, simple, and inimitable—Foley offers design inspiration for all those who long for a cottage by the sea.

Every chapter showcases both the practical design solutions of sailors and sailboats as well as living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens, and design details that express a nautical style. “Setting Sail” reveals the functional beauty of sailboats and their basic elements—wood, cloth, and rope. “Shipshape” demonstrates how onboard necessities such as decks, skylights, bunks, and galleys worked their way into homes on land. In “A Seafaring Legacy,” Foley captures the timeless appeal of such marine details as brass hardware, maps, and weather vanes. Finally, “Coastal Living” explores the allure of lighthouses and boathouses, not only as vernacular architecture but as converted contemporary homes. A resource section provides valuable direction for finding stores, ports of call, and suitable nautical reading.

In the first book to examine our sailing heritage in culture and as a lifestyle, Foley has also created a nostalgic wish book and design guide for an enduring approach to everyday living. In Sailing Style, the lure of the sea has never been more irresistible.

TRICIA FOLEY is an editor, author, consultant, and designer who is one of the home design industry’s most recognizable voices. An expert on a multitude of lifestyle subjects, she has been a contributing editor at Country Home, House Beautiful, Victoria, and Southern Accents. She is the author of six previous books, including White Christmas and Having Tea. She divides her time between New York City and Long Island.

Photographer MICHAEL SKOTT has worked with numerous magazines, including House Beautiful, Victoria, Life, Metropolitan Home, Food & Wine, and Country Home. He and his family live on Orcas Island, Washington, where he has restored a 38-foot cutter rig mahogany sailboat.