Fresh and fun, a nautical theme in a room can make you believe it’s summer all year long. And where Matt and I come from Cleveland it’s nice to have one spot in your home where you can at least dream of the coming good weather. A nautical theme is a wonderful way to make that dream come true.

Now here’s something that is interesting about this theme: You don’t have to have everything in the room upholstered in ticking stripes or canvas for a nautical theme to work. One of my favorite nautical rooms was a family room in a walkout basement. It was attached to an entryway, and Matt and I tied both spaces together with color and theme.

When we arrived in the room, it had a built-in wall cabinet with open shelving plus a sectional in a very muted blue, burgundy and green floral pattern. Because the sectional was such a large piece of furniture, it would normally become our inspiration piece and we would naturally build the room around it. Well, our homeowner wasn’t a bit interested in an English-garden theme; they wanted nautical.

So here’s what we did.

We worked with a basic red-white-and-blue color scheme, where the red was slightly toned down and the blue was very “teal” in nature. We incorporated a putty tone that picked up the background color of the sectional, and painted the family room walls.

We then whitewashed the built-in shelving in a white from the putty color strip, with the cabinet wall done in the accent blue. This accent picked up the blue in the sectional, and it really made the shelving stand out. So the basic backgrounds of the room were selected and designed with the sectional in mind, but everything else we added built on the nautical feeling.

For instance, we paneled the ceiling with a whitewashed paneling that seemed very “old boatyard.” We added louvered doors to different areas of the shelving unit because they provide that coastal look. And a collection of whitewashed cube tables could be arranged throughout the room as side tables or grouped together for one big coffee table.

Definite theme builders were director’s chairs with deep-red covers and simple window coverings sewn to look like semaphore flags with roping and grommets as the drapery hardware. Lighthouses, sailboats and artwork depicting coastline scenes really brought the room together. We even hung a pair of oars on the wall for a dynamic and unexpected accent.

The adjoining entry used some of the same elements, with matching draperies and the same blue used on the door. However, because the space was smaller, we painted the walls in the whitewash color and stenciled a roping design in a vertical pattern to create wide stripes.

For coat hangers, we surrounded the room with a simple whitewashed 1-inch by 4-inch piece of pine with nautical cleats attached. When coats weren’t being hung, life-saver rings and boat pillows added color, shape and dimension to the room. A couple of deep-red rag rugs finished the entry off nicely.

Things to look for in your home that could help to create a great nautical theme room are paneled walls. Dark walls look like teak and light ones give a boatyard or weathered look. Consider denim- or canvas-covered furniture pieces, or anything in crisp white and blues.

Any very dark or white cabinet kitchen can make for a great nautical theme, using shiplike hardware and roping here and there.

So here’s a tip if you’re considering a nautical theme in your home. First, browse through sailing or boating magazines and jot down things that really project the nautical feeling. It doesn’t even matter if you’d never expect to see the items in your home. For instance, anchors, ship’s wheels, buoys, crab traps I think you get the idea.

Then start working some of these fanciful accessories into any room contemporary, country or traditional and the new, fresh spirit it gives the room just may get you thinking about those upholstered pieces in ticking stripes.

Shari Hiller writes this column with Matt Fox. They also co-host the Home & Garden Television show “Room by Room.” For more information, visit www.hgtv.com.