Designing our Main[e] Suite
When you take the stairs up to the second floor of our Maine home you find yourself in the Loft. To your right there is a view of the water, with the living room just below, and straight ahead there is a small closet that is organized in no particular way. To the left of the closet there is a doorway to the Suite which contains a bedroom, closet, and a very very small bathroom.
// Disclosures: We are Wayfair Professional Partners and thank them for working with us on this project. We also work with VELUX which is mentioned in this post.
The suite is very charming with its modest scale, wide plank floors, and rough-sawn walls. We spent almost a year in the suite, and despite the tiny bathroom, really love the space. The large bedroom window overlooks the driveway - which does not sound particularly exciting - but it’s perfectly oriented to catch the sunrise without blinding you in bed. And with plenty of privacy, we never felt the need for curtains or blinds, so instead we wake up each morning basked in natural light.
Wayfair professional
We partnered with Wayfair Professional on this project and gathered so much of our inspiration from the Jazz Revival trend. The trend is described as gilded and green (a favorite of ours), and features vintage pieces, warm woods, and brass fixtures… think vintage opulence. Blending inspiration from this design trend with our Maine Cabin aesthetic (ie. ducks) has been very very fun 🦆
The Bedroom Plan
While the morning light is amazing, it quickly changes as the sun rises, and the Suite becomes a bit dark. Because we are now well versed in the incredible impact of skylights (from our Boston 3rd Floor, and our trip to Copenhagen), it was one of the first things we considered when starting our new design. A bank of three skylights situated on the south-western facing roof would significantly increase the natural light throughout the day.
Rendering: Future Skylights by VELUX
With the skylights under consideration we began to plan what we wanted to do with all of the wood paneling. The rough-sawn wood is exactly the same as in the living room, but in this case, it feels a bit more… oppressive. Of course, writing this post with the luxury of hindsight (we already modified the paneling), we can say that cutting it down to chair rail height was the right thing to do.
The new panel height wasn’t determined randomly, but it also kind of was. We took into consideration the bed frame height, and the night stand dresser height to make sure that the paneling would not intersect them in an unappealing way. We removed the wood from the ceiling and salvaged most of it to be applied to the remainder of the room. Once complete we created a continuous panel throughout the space. Eventually it will be topped with a narrow shelf and we are still trying to determine if we will paint it, stain it, or just give it a good clean.
With the panelling updated and skylights ready for installation we will need to drywall in preparation for wallpaper. We sourced the duck wallpaper by paper co. without really considering any other option. It’s as if we bought the house for this paper and the sample only confirmed that our decision was correct. This paper is created with multi-pass printing so that when you run your fingers across it you can feel the texture. It has dimension and perfectly matches the color scheme we are looking for. Now we are just mentally preparing to install the paper - together - and without professional help. Wish us luck.
Since the floors have already been refinished, the remainder of the bedroom project is primarily furnishings and decor. The furniture would be a mix of old and new to create a masculine, but soft, look. And as with all spaces in this house, we are continuously trying to balance the cabin Maine feel, the era (1970’s), and our own aesthetic, all without becoming too precious.
Furniture & Decor
We have already sourced a few items for the space including these vintage mid-century dressers from Salvage NH that we are using as nightstands. We LOVE the idea of dressers because, as you probably know, we like to unpack when traveling and wanted to create an opportunity for future guests to do the same.
// Click on the Image for Sources
The rest of the furnishings are new and were sourced primarily at Wayfair and inspired by the Jazz Revival trend. When sourcing we often start with the specialty brands like AllModern, Joss & Main, or Perigord. These are curated collections and help narrow down the selection by style.
The Bathroom
The bathroom is an entirely different beast. We knew that in order to make it usable we would need to absorb the adjacent closet. This would reduce the amount of storage in the house, but that was a small price to pay for what we are hoping to create. First, gut the two rooms and remove the wall between them. Second, close off the doorway between the old closet and the Loft. We are very excited to also be adding a skylight in the shower.
Following this rearrangement we will soon start to put the room back together - piece by piece. Plumbing, electric, floors, walls, a new walk in shower, along with all the other finishings and fixtures.
// Click on the Image for Sources
For whatever reason, of all the bathrooms we have designed, this bathroom has felt like the trickiest. Maybe it is because we have changed the parameters from our typical traditional style to something more open ended, I am not sure. What I do know is that we now have a huge variety of design options, and finalizing a design has never taken us so long.
