Christmas on the Cape

A Massachusetts folk artist and her husband bring loads of character and primitive holiday style to their spacious two-story home near the sea.

Captivated by Cape Cod, a Massachusetts couple update a former vacation home and fill it with favorite collections and festive flourishes.

Tcozyhere was no buyers’ remorse when Lana and Dave Testa moved into their

coastal charmer in 2010—Lana knew it was exactly where she wanted to put down roots. “This is our fifth house on Cape Cod,” she explains. “I fell for the house because of the flower gardens and a big family room they had added on. This is it—we are finally back to a house that’s the style I like!”

Built in 1988, the Mashpee, Massachusetts, house had only one previous owner who used it as a vacation home. It was in good shape, so the couple simply needed to give it a refresh with new paint, light fixtures, bathroom fixtures and granite countertops. They also added a front porch that gives the house more character and offers a delightful place to take in the local landscape. “We spend so much time on the front porch,” Lana enthuses.

The porch may be a fun and frequent gathering spot, but the kitchen is the true heart of the home. Lana transformed the original builder-grade oak cabinets by using a three-step paint process, starting with a putty-colored base and topping it with a paprika hue that she subdued a bit with toner. Dave, a retired police officer, used his carpentry skills to build, paint and distress a slim, neutral-hued cabinet to rest atop the counter, reaching almost all the way to the ceiling. Lana notes that Dave is also deft with other handcrafts. “He painted the kitchen floorcloth, too, and we buy plates and he makes them look like old treen,” she says.

Lana carried the kitchen cupboards’ color scheme through to the dining room furniture, and the rich, country red perfectly sets the stage for holiday decorating. With so many antiques already on display in her home, she finds that little holiday touches go a long way. “I don’t like to have it too whimsical— I just adorn my antiques with fresh greens and put my Santas out,” she says. “I use faux greenery that looks real, but I always add real to make it look better.”

In addition to her impressive collection of Santas, Lana also displays lots of small fabric folk-art figures she makes herself. “When my children were little,” she explains, “I started making Holly Hobby–type things and, from those kinds of crafts, it evolved to something more intense. Fabric things just come to me, I guess! They all have a little story attached.” Her business has grown, and now Lana sells her wares on her Facebook page, called Winterberry Primitives, and to various wholesalers.

Most of the Christmas trees in Lana’s home are not full-size, sticking to her less-is-more strategy. They’re simply decorated, usually with multiples of the same type of ornament. One tree, for example, is hung entirely with tiny stockings, another with wooden cutouts. And, although they may not be fullsize, many of them get a boost from unusual containers—a butter churn, a crock, an old bucket and a bin are just a few examples.

Of course, displays of both year-round collectibles and holiday decorations can be affected by subtle design choices. Lana decided, for instance, to paint the trim around the gathering room’s many windows the same color as the walls. “I didn’t want to look at all that trim around all those windows,” she notes. “This way, you don’t take your eye to look at the woodwork; you look at your pieces instead.”

With such a meticulous eye for detail, it’s no wonder Lana’s forever home, lovely every day, truly becomes a magical wonderland every December.