I think my love for color combination yellow and blue started in this room. Greg and I stayed at The Marston House Wiscasset in 2011. It was pre-kids and we would spend weekends away exploring and sleeping in late. At the time Paul and Sharon Mrozinski owned the Marston House antique shop and Bed & Breakfast in Wiscasset, Maine. In June 2017, they sold the Wiscasset property to a client.
Sharon wrote to me in a recent e-mail, “We sold it all including the yellow sheets and towels and striped sheets too”. Paul and Sharon currently live in France and have six properties you can rent. I stayed in Bonnieux in 2012 for my honeymoon and it was magical.
In the summer Paul and Sharon now reside on the island of Vinalhaven in the summer and winter in France. Sharon told me, “We fell in love with the summer community and art culture on the island.” They renovated a building downsizing from Wiscasset. On the first floor is their shop and the upstairs was gutted and converted into living space, “now we have our bedroom on the water and our shop on Main Street.” They plan to return to Maine and open the store on Vinalhaven for the Summer 2021 season.
When you meet Paul and Sharon you immediately fall in love with them. They are warm, inviting and humble. They are gracious in sharing their design knowledge but also cooking tips. Design is their life and where their hands have touched each moment is delicately curated. Their interiors are warm and friendly offering a sense of lived in nostalgia but nothing is every over done. A sense of thoughtfulness and functionality can be observed in every decision. But you can feel they took that idea and drew back till the only thing that was left was what was needed. They always seem to find the right balance of utilitarianism and beauty.
Classic bedroom staples: Stripe sheets, chest and ceramic table lamp. I remember I tried to buy this chest off Sharon and I was given a big, No. Sharon explained they looked for a long time for a piece to fit there and the found that chest. She couldn’t part with it. The ceramic lamps are plain but work so well with the linen window shade seen below. I am still on a the hunt for chest just like this.
These yellow sheets with the blue and white duvet completely won me over. This photo is over 10 years old and feels just as fresh today as it did then. It’s classic. You can’t go wrong with stripes and yellow is a great pop. Land’s End and The Company Store both have sheets in great yellows. L.L. Bean has great classic blue and white duvets. I have this one and washes up great and the white is super crispy and summery.
Every morning a basket was set at our door with coffee and biscuits and jam. The small tea table was the perfect size to enjoy breakfast by the fire.
I believe this fireplace and mantel were built new but they feel like they could have been here for the last hundred years. Bricks are left unmortared which I am really attracted too. They feel less severe and softer. The mantel is left white and unfussy. A basic for kindling and paper adds further texture.
A linen shade is classic. I often times overthink window treatments. I look to prints and florals and kinda disregard solid linen shades. Here the offer texture. Even though they lack an actual print the folds of the shade and the sun shining through the textiles offers it’s one natural pattern.
Floor Cloths are so useful in wet messy places. They wipe up easy and never get damp. You can design your own making them modern or more historic with stencil patterns. I am a big fan and have plans to make a few of my own this summer.
A toilet brush is a necessary evil. You can stash them away in a closet or under a sink but then you have to worry about contaminating those spaces. Using a terra cotta pot with saucer works in this space and somehow it becomes chic and feels clever. And I think if your a gardener this is just an easy thing to love. Very sweet in an 1/2 bath off your garden too.
Shaker peg railing is simple. It’s a catch all for anything that could end up on a pile on or on a chair in a bedroom. I use them all over my house. Here it’s used for towels and robes. The pegs are painted the same color as the walls keep the lines in the rooms clean and the yellow accents of the linens take on a design element. The Company Store had a two sets of yellow tiles. One that is more marigold and one a paler lemon. Both are perfect.
A yellow terry cloth robe is absolutely brilliant on. I have an adorable photo of Greg wearing it but he refuses to let me post on the internet. I found one that is equally as awesome here. The marigold yellow is so striking and chic.
For more information information about the property and the Bed & Breakfast visit: marstonhousewiscasset.com.
Katy Elliott 