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Maritime Magic

Set sail for a Lake Minnetonka holiday

Photo by Susan Gilmore, Styled by David Anger

For Wayne and Karen Soojian, the holidays are rife with tradition—which isn’t to say they always celebrate in traditional ways. The Soojians, who have three children, live in a modern Nantucket-style cottage on Lake Minnetonka and spend much of their time on the water. So when Christmas arrives, it’s only natural that they deck their halls with model sailboats in lieu of snowmen, and display miniature lighthouses rather than gingerbread versions. Instead of a classic red and green color scheme, the home’s everyday palette of sand-dollar whites and seaworthy blues takes precedence, setting a comfortable, festive tone.
 

This is a lake house first and foremost,” Wayne says. “When it comes to Christmas, we like it to feel cheery and warm, but not overdone.” Which is precisely how it feels the rest of the year as well. The home’s modest yet airy rooms and Americana-influenced interiors are a fitting expression of the couple’s low-key lifestyle.

“We’re a blue jeans family at heart,” says Karen, a senior interior designer at Gabberts Design Studio & Fine Furnishings at the Galleria in Edina. “We didn’t want or need a real sense of formality anywhere in the house.”
They did infuse their gracious, window-lined home with a sense of history, however. Both Wayne and Karen are East Coast natives who enjoyed summers on the New Jersey shore. In 2002, they were living in Eden Prairie and longing to be near water. Their kids were active in sports, so instead of buying a cabin up north, they chose to build a house on Lake Minnetonka. They asked Eden Prairie-based architectural firm Keith Waters and Associates to design something reminiscent of the lake’s original resort hotels and the coastal cottages they remembered from their own childhoods. The shingled residence features rustic stonework, round windows, and a corner turret that rises like a lighthouse from the home’s peninsula location.

“Architecturally, it’s appropriate for the setting,” says Wayne, who built the house and now owns Colfax Companies, a Wayzata-based builder. “It’s also positioned on the property to take full advantage of the views.”

The foyer’s double doors open to sweeping views of the lake, framed by sky-high windows in the casual living room. The thoroughly inviting space showcases an eclectic collection of family heirlooms, shapely furniture, and maritime-inspired décor. A subdued red, white, and blue color palette conveys a sense of colonial spirit and provides the ideal backdrop for holiday items, many of which recall the sand and sea.

Photo by Susan Gilmore

During the holidays, a tall, slim faux evergreen that is trimmed in white lights and clear and pearl glass globes is the living room’s streamlined centerpiece. Also inspired by Ralph Lauren’s aesthetic, Karen tucks silver caribou ornaments and balls among the branches to evoke a subtle wildlife theme. The look carries over to the nearby mantel, where peacock feathers and pinecones accent eucalyptus leaves and evergreen boughs. Towering candlesticks and an upright mirror are year-round elements that blend artfully with the holiday scene, adding height and offsetting the chimney’s strong horizontal blue lines. Tartan plaid stockings, hung with care and gleefully emptied on Christmas morning, add a classical touch.

In the dining room, a model sailboat anchors a scattering of seashells, starfish, and raffia-trimmed brown-paper packages displayed on a distressed buffet. A string of seashell-motif lights and mix-and-match candlesticks add sparkle to the carefree scene. On the table, vases of fresh flowers and evergreens flank a decorative dinghy centerpiece filled with more packages and metallic blue ornaments. Globe ornaments are an inexpensive, versatile way to spread holiday cheer, Karen says. She puts them in unexpected places, such as inside a lantern or scattered on a silver cake stand, to create simple, eye-catching displays on bookshelves and coffee tables.

The Soojians designed their home with entertaining in mind, and make use of both open spaces and intimate conversation areas. The latter includes a cozy fireside sitting area in the kitchen, where the scent of Middle Eastern sweets—baklava and yagli, a luscious, flaky cheese pastry—that reflect Wayne’s Armenian ancestry waft into the air. A few well-placed poinsettias are all that’s needed to complement the antique clock from Wayne’s father’s clock collection that is on display here.

“I’m not one for a lot of clutter,” Karen says. “Design-wise, the rooms are pretty well edited.” Keeping things simple doesn’t mean overlooking details, however. In the kitchen, a tree branch that has been dipped in crushed glass is decked with tiny glass sailboats and lighthouses.

To accommodate her family’s busy schedule, Karen chooses low-maintenance, high-impact pieces that are easy to install and care for. In the living room, for example, the tree takes centerstage. The whole crew gets in on the tree-trimming act, including the couple’s two adult daughters and teenage son. “Our tree trimming is set to rock-and-roll Christmas music,” Karen grins.

The Soojians’ holiday traditions continue with an annual Christmas Eve gift exchange that involves new pajamas for everyone. That way, it’s smooth sailing for pictures in the morning.
 

Personally Speaking

Your home should reflect your personal style, regardless of the season. Karen Soojian, a senior interior designer at Gabberts Design Studio & Fine Furnishings in Edina, offers a few expert tips on how to add personality and meaning to your holiday décor­—without much expense.
 

STICK WITH A THEME—Fill glass vessels of different sizes and shapes with pinecones, ornaments, cranberries and water, or floating candles. Regardless of what you select, stick to that theme and color. That way, bursts of color will guide the eye around the room.

COLLECT YOURSELF—Use your personal collections and adapt, display, and/or decorate them accordingly. In autumn, Soojian places mums in some of the wooden ships she typically has on display. At Christmas, she swaps these for small wrapped packages and holiday ornaments. She also hangs tiny wreaths on her decorative lighthouses.

STEP OUTSIDE—Use objects from your garden. Small tree branches can be painted gold or silver, arranged in a tall glass vessel, displayed alone, or hung with ornaments. Dust dried hydrangeas with gold spray paint to make big, beautiful ornaments for large trees.

FORGET THE DATE—For an intriguing twist on the ordinary, use items typically associated with other seasons. Fashion Christmas topiary out of tulips, for example. Soojian likes stars for their patriotic significance as well as their graphic shape. Some years, she covers her entire tree in glittery stars that scatter light throughout the room.
—M.B.
 

Michelle Baltus is a St. Paul freelance writer.

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