No-Coast Christmas

A coastal preppy Christmas—in the middle of the Midwest. When it comes to bright and breezy decor for the holidays (and year-round), no coast is no problem for designer Maggie York.

- AMY PANOS, ADAM ALBRIGHT, JESSICA THOMAS

IF SOMEBODY PICKED YOU UP AND PLOPPED YOU DOWN IN MAGGIE YORK'S HOUSE, EVEN AT CHRISTMAS-TIME, YOU'D PROBABLY START LOOKING OUT THE WINDOWS FOR THE BEACH.

The crisp white walls, dreamy shades of blue, and rattan accessories she favors all suggest a seaside locale. But Maggie and her family live in Jacksonville, IL, in the 1907 farmhouse where her husband, Adam, grew up. Look out the windows and you’re going to see cornfields or snow, not waves.

But being landlocked hasn’t stopped Maggie from indulging her deep love of coastal style, cemented when she was an interior designer working on homes near Lake Michigan.

“The blues and greens just feel natural in our house,” Maggie says. “I love all the color, but at the same time I love that there’s this white backdrop.”