TEXT BY JEN DEROSE
PHOTOGRAPHED BY RACHEL SIEBEN
A lakefront cottage in Naples gets a sophisticated update thanks to tailored furnishings and gallons of white paint.
It’s the design equivalent of Bean boots paired with a stylish shift dress — a rustic-chic look South Portland interior designer Bronwyn Huffard felt suited this early-1900s Naples cottage, and its owners. The Connecticut-based couple had fallen for the three-building compound of which the cottage is a part — exposed beams, paneled walls, and all. But their personal taste skews more elegant. Huffard’s response? “To thine own self by true! What matters most is loving the things around you.”
BEFORE
BEFORE
The building’s location on a spit of land that juts into Brandy Pond was her jumping off point. “When you’re in the house, you don’t see anything but water,” says the designer, who settled on a blue-and-white palette that dissolves into the landscape. Two coats of Zinsser B-I-N primer, followed by Ralph Lauren’s Tibetan Jasmine (sadly discontinued) in the living room and Benjamin Moore’s White Dove in the adjoining bar area, brightened the dark trim and thinly coated knotty-pine walls. Against this clean slate, Huffard layered on a “smorgasbord”: upholstered seating studded with nail-head and tufted details; faux bois and mandala-print pillows; antique sabre-leg side tables; pinstriped wool carpets; director’s chairs emblazoned with bold, nautical stripes; and, behind the bar’s open shelving, cobalt Burmese wallpaper by Sister Parish that shines through rows of clear glassware.
The result, both refined and cozy, delighted Huffard’s clients and inspired her to coin a new phrase: “Maine fancy!”
AFTER
AFTER
A painting by Nantucket, Massachusetts, artist Robert Stark pops against the living room’s freshly whitewashed paneling (far left). The sofa is from Huffard House’s private label and the armchairs — recovered in Pindler’s Colbert Nautical cotton fabric — came with the home. The owners retreat to the bar area to sip cocktails and play board games after dinner.
Interior Designer: Huffard House
Painting Contractor: Peerless Painting, Wallcovering & Design
Square Feet: 500
Project Time: 6 months
