maine: where nautical-meets-colonial-meets-fisherman

Hiya —-

Anna here! This time, I’m sending this “postcard” from a cabin in the woods of Maine. Just a few hours north of Portland, we are tucked down a long dirt road, surrounded by green trees, grassy fields, a midsized lake, and… bugs. Lots of bugs. 

One of the sweetest surprises about Maine was discovering just how many lakes there are and how close they are to the coast. Perfect for floating, fishing, boating & bobbing – and surrounded by nautical-meets-colonial-meets-fisherman cabins. Maine, you’re so on TREND!

As a kid, I spent many summers at my cousins’ lake house in the Pacific Northwest. We’d celebrate the 4th of July by baking brownies topped with white frosting, sliced strawberries, and blueberries arranged like the flag. So patriotic of us ;) We’d enjoy long afternoons laying on the dock, practicing the “Parent Trap” handshake, playing cards, and learning the quiet patience of fishing. Evenings ended with motorboat rides at dusk, our moms steering us around the lake as we passed cozy cabins glowing with a warm, golden light. It was, and still is, such a magical place. 

Growing up in Portland, Oregon, we also made regular trips out to the beach. The ocean there feels very different from the Southern California Pacific we frequent now - it’s colder, windier, wilder. We’d load into the car with our cousins, toss on Norah Jones or “Crusin’” by Smokey Robinson, and head for the coast. We were bundled in layers, spending our days walking along the shoreline, dodging waves, hunting for sand dollars, and scaling the giant Pacific City dune. Nights were for curling up in the swiveling black leather chairs by the windows facing the crashing waves, bundled in a blanket with a movie flickering on the tiny TV. When you ask me to picture my happy place - that’s it.

So, as you can imagine, for someone raised near both lakes and the ocean, Maine feels a bit like a dream—lake life and coastal life, all bundled into one. In many ways, it is similar to the Pacific Northwest I grew up in. But there’s something distinctly different here. While landscapes may feel familiar, the architecture stands out as uniquely New England.

The paned crisp white windows, the dormers, the weathered shingles, the steep-pitched roofs… I want to cozy up in every one of these homes. They remind me of the last house that Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson live in Marley & Me, which features many of the same qualities as the homes in Maine. I’ve always loved this house:

Images courtesy of hookedonhouses.net

Coming from New Orleans and Tennessee, I’ve found myself collecting ideas — small details and design moments from each place we’ve visited. The charm of Maine homes, layered with the character of the South, has me dreaming about how to bring that inspiration into our own space. Since we’re renting, I have to keep things fairly non-permanent (boooooring!), but so far we have:

• Southern Inspired:

• Paint bathrooms (stripes?) 

• Use! More! Color!

• New England Inspired:

• Add pediments to doorframes

• Update curtain rods and hooks (small details make a difference)

• Use natural materials (large rocks as bookends, a unique branch hanging from the ceiling, flowers plucked from a walk)

Images courtesy of Pinterest

And of course, these ideas aren’t just staying in our home — they will start to pop up in our space at Oceanside Antiques and Collectibles, too. And if you didn’t see already — WE EXPANDED! Stop by our bigger booth space to catch some of these themes showing up this fall.

See you soon,

Anna