The Turn Cottage
Happy New Year! It has been quite a ride the past two years. We have learned, we have lost, we have survived and we have most likely re-set our intentions…how we live, who we spend time with; treating every moment as the beautiful gift it is.
My lovely friend, fellow decorator and artist, Pamela Copeman gifted me this beautiful watercolor of The Turn Cottage over the holidays, and I only hope I can create the home that this image projects!
I write this blog while sitting in our new home, The Turn Cottage on the beautiful Maine coast, so a lot has happened for Don and I. I shared a slice of our backstory on the blog last year. Our three years living in North Hampton, NH was truly magical it held us all together during the pandemic, it gave us long walks on the beach and Cooper and Byron, our beautiful Goldens, the opportunity to swim in the Atlantic. Living in North Hampton, NH only served to solidified our desire to have our own spot on this beautiful stretch of coast. So when it was time to find our own place to settle down we weighed our options, we wanted to ensure that whatever we did would allow us to live the way we like, travel, play golf, enjoy the beach and entertain our family.
The decision we faced: A.) Buy an existing house that we would have to put dollars into to make it our own. And if you have every purchased an old home (which are my favorite by the way!) you know that it is more than just design changes. Many times you have infrastructure items that need to be addressed first. And that’s if we could even find a house in this crazy housing market.
OR B.) Buy/build a new home - and because ours wouldn’t be truly “custom” we would have to ADD character there’d be no squeaky old floor boards, no necessary beams, all those things that I truly thrive on. We’d have to design character. This was not an easy decision. In the end, we decided to build a new home and focus on adding character. That’s when things began to come into focus and the Turn Cottage was born.
You know, I always tell you, you have to start with a plan. It is so easy to get caught up in moving that you just want to get things done and all of a sudden, you have “things” and nothing seems to fit or feel correct. For the Turn Cottage I knew that I wanted “ochre” to play a primary color role and it has really become the tie for the whole design plan. We have a very open space so there has to be a connector and the rich, earthly tones are a beautiful unifier. As our ‘things’ began to populate the space I was able to carry out an overarching vision using a similar but textually different aesthetic.
For example, this is the vision for our family room, this the plan I’m starting with. I call the space our “cocoon,” Don lovingly calls it “the bunker.” Both give a feeling of safety but bunker makes me feel like there is a threat outside – which sometimes Maine winters can feel like that, ha! We both wanted to create a space that enveloped us with coziness and allowed for true relaxation and letting go no matter what is raging outside. By using these tones and rich and varied patterns and textures we are crafting a space that nurtures and warms, exactly to the plan – a bunker cocoon. In addition, I’m ensuring our beloved floor lamps play a central role into the design, focusing on a collected approach. Stay tuned for the final look!
I’ll be sharing more with on the blog as our new home evolves in the hopes that I can inspire you to either make a plan, or hire KMI to help you with a plan. Plan, follow and live a little fearlessly, it’s only decorating after all!
Let’s Design for Good,
Kim
