A Maine Cottage Renewal Begins

Last year at this time, long-time clients of mine realized a life-long dream of theirs to purchase a special summer cottage in Maine. 

And when they then asked me to help them bring it back to its former glory, room by room, little did they know they were fulfilling a life-long dream for this designer girl right here!

AMAZING BLESSINGS ALL AROUND! :)

Here is a shot of the house when I visited in April, snow still on the ground, mountains and ocean looking gorgeous in the distance...

A historic house, on the water, filled with unique spaces and stunning architectural detail. 

BRING. IT. ON. :)

The first room that we tackled over the past year was a room that I think was added to the 1891 house sometime in the 1920's. With its 13+ foot ceilings, and over 500 square feet, this room was made for entertaining!

WOWZA.

Sadly, the room felt a bit tired, draped in old floral fabrics and faded colors. The original rug was neat with its vintage design and coloring, but sadly was in such disrepair that it had to go. 

Time to add rich colors and textures and get the room ready for lots of fun this summer...

I wanted to pull out the history and muted colors from the stunning sepia photograph you see above, hung over the mantle-- so that is what we used as our inspiration for the space. 

C'mon in! Let's take a look and see how the space looks now...

My clients knew that they wanted a game room of sorts, but one that would also honor the history and stateliness of the space. We got busy creating a layout that would allow for cozy nights by the fire (a must on a chilly Maine evening!), and lots of family fun with both billiards and shuffleboard tables, one on each end.

Other antique artwork originally from the space looks beautiful with the new decor, while prints from other rooms in the house were reframed and matted to compliment the palette of the room.  Even the house's Victrola is still working, adding amazing ambiance with old music ringing out from its front speaker when someone takes a minute to crank it up. 

Gorgeous new oriental rugs were purchased to carry the warmth through the space, and large-scale lighting was added to lend a bit of intimacy to such a huge room.  Additionally, we chose to paint a rich, dark color on the ceiling to visually "lower" it a bit, and again add another layer of coziness. 

I will keep you posted in the coming months as more spaces are finished and ready to be revealed. So very exciting!