Bathroom Inspiration from The Boundary Hotel

Posted on | August 21, 2009 | 11 Comments

I’m taking a bit of a break from the Maine posts and sharing some more bathroom inspiration. I just spotted a few lovely baths that caught my eye over at Remodelista. Greg really wants to use external shower faucets where the pipes come out of the wall like the image above. Our current bathroom has the pipes inside the wall. Our bathroom stall wall is an exterior wall exposed to the elements. Meaning the wall has little shelter from the freezing outside elements. He’s fearing the pipes could freeze if we kept the pipes in the wall. In this worst case scenario we would have to knock out the shower tile to fix any bursted pipes from freezing. This issue could be solved if we designed the pipes to be inside the shower stall like above. I think the pipes look kinda cool and industrial. Below two more amazing bathrooms from Terence Conran’s new Boundary Hotel in London.

p.s. hope that makes sense? It’s a little confusing and I tried to re-write. Basically most people’s pipes are inside the wall which if it’s on an exterior wall of the home the pipes would have a higher chance of freezing in extreme northern climates.

Category: bathrooms

Wiscasset, Maine: The Marston House & Treats

Posted on | August 20, 2009 | 7 Comments

I’m skipping around a little bit but I promise to add all my new Maine spots to my growing list over here. When we were returning home we stopped by The Marston House in Wiscasset, Maine. The store on the first floor of an old house turned B&B has a nice collection of antique linens and objects from France. The space is filled with the most intense but lovely perfume of lavender. Greg made me promise to plant a whole crop of lavender next year. I was inspired by the set of antique pressed flowers prints framed with fabric tape and glass. Reminded me of Amy’s lovely diy botanical print project I spotted over at design*sponge. So simple and beautiful.

The Marston House
Main Street at Middle Street
Wiscasset, Maine
207-882-6010
marstonhouse.com

Just across the street from The Marston House is Treats a specialty food and wine shop previously run by The Marston House owners. Greg and I bought a few bottles of wine and a very yummy cookie. Take a peek inside even if you don’t buy anything. The space is totally cute.

Treats
80 Main Street
Wiscasset, Maine
(207) 882-6192
treatsofmaine.com

Category: maine, maine shops, textiles

York, Maine: Withington Antiques

Posted on | August 20, 2009 | 2 Comments

On our drive up to Portland, Maine we stopped at Withington Antiques in York. I found the store via Martha Stewart’s blog. The store carries a range of European antiques and garden ornaments. I’ve been on a marble kick the last few months so I was pretty excited about the store’s large collection of marble accented pieces. The prices were reasonable but where geared toward a higher end buyer. I would have bought the marble topped console below if it had been a few inches longer. Greg loved the marble faux bois garden stands found in front of the store. A fun place to stop and explore interesting and unusual pieces. The shops is right off the highway at exit 7 just north of Kittery, Maine.

Withington Antiques
611 Us Route 1
York, Maine
(207) 363-1155

A set of lamps at Withington Antiques in York, Maine

Category: furniture, maine, maine shops, on the streets, vintage finds

Portland, Maine: Folly 101 & Blanche and Mimi Home

Posted on | August 18, 2009 | 5 Comments

Two of my favorite home stores were both in the Old Port section of Portland. At Folly 101 items are grouped by color. Soaps, linens, and small accessories fill the open air space. I couldn’t leave without buying a set of cotton/linen blend pillowcases for $32. A simple floral eyelet along the edge is totally adorable. How cute are the polka dots pillowcases too? Call the store for ordering info.

Folly 101
101 Exchange St
Portland, ME
(207) 773-5227‎

Down the street from Folly 101 is Blanche and Mimi Home. Beautiful textiles drape over well curated antiques. A nice selection of bedding from Plover Organic gives the store a modern twist. I bought a few dishtowels by Libeco for styling my veggie boxes.

Blanche and Mimi Home
184 Middle St
Portland, Maine
(207) 774-3900‎
blancheandmimi.com

Blanche and Mimi Home in Portland, Maine

Category: accessories, maine, maine shops, on the streets

Portland, Maine: Angela Adams, Ferdinand, Two Fat Cats Bakery

Posted on | August 18, 2009 | 5 Comments

Pins from Ferdinand in Portland, Maine.

Continuing on my Maine coverage I have two posts from Portland, Maine. It must have been 90 degrees the day I was scouting stores. I could have missed some goodies because of the heat exhaustion so feel free to add your favorites below. I started my day in the East End. Cute crafting supply stores, thrift stores, and hip restaurants dot the street. My first stop was Angela Adams. Colorful rugs, pillows, bags, and shirts fill the space in a color explosion. My pick? New linen pillows with beautiful emerald green and turquoise accents.

Angela Adams
273 Congress Street
Portland, Maine
(207) 774-3523
angelaadams.com

Just up the street from Angela Adams is fun vintage clothing shop, Ferdinand. I scored a great denim wrap skirt $10, vintage scarf $4, feather headband $10, and a fabric hair tie $4. This is definitely the cool kids shop filled with great curated vintage finds.

Ferdinand
243 Congress Street
Portland, Maine
(207) 761-2151
ferdinandhomestore.com.

I was in charge of making dinner that night. I stopped by Two Fats Cats Bakery for the world’s best blueberry pie. The crust was incredibly beautiful. The pie was filled with yummy wild Maine blueberries. Super delicious and great for breakfast the next day too!

Two Fat Cats Bakery
47 India Street
Portland, Maine
(207) 347-5144
twofatcatsbakery.com

Category: fashion, maine, maine shops, on the streets

Vintage Marble Sink Top

Posted on | August 17, 2009 | 21 Comments

The last few weeks we’ve been working on our first bathroom renovation. We’ve purchased a drain kit, carrara marble 1″ hex tiles for the floor, subway tiles for bathroom stall, and now a marble top sink! I found the sink at Old House Parts in Kennebunk, Maine over the weekend. I got it on sale for $400. We need to decide if we want to build a vanity for the top or use metal legs? Closet space is non existent in the house so a vanity seems like a smart option. Greg likes the metal legs. Below the tiles I choose for the floor.

Category: bathrooms, house renovation, vintage finds

Andrew Wyeth & Olsen House in Cushing, Maine

Posted on | August 16, 2009 | 13 Comments

Greg and I spent a long weekend up in Maine. My favorite stop, The Olsen House in Cushing, Maine. The Olsen House was made famous by painter Andrew Wyeth’s Christina’s World, a beautiful painting depicting a young Christina Olson crawling in the front field of the home. Wyeth created many works at the Olson house. The house is magical. A big center hall colonial sits high up on a rolling grassy hill that meanders it’s way down to the cold Maine ocean.

Wyeth painted in almost every room of the house. Simple images of the paintings are framed in the rooms to give visitors an idea of what Wyeth saw. The gorgeous light in the house is transcendental. Soft rays of summer sunshine flow through the wavy old panes of the windows. Each corner of the house is a perfect still life waiting to be painted. Below are a several photos I took of the house showcasing the beautiful light.

At the very bottom are photos of the field that meanders it’s way down to the ocean. Andrew Wyeth is buried at the base of the hill in a cemetery overlooking the ocean. A truly special place to visit.

The Olson House
Hathorne Point Road
Cushing, Maine
farnsworthmuseum.org