It's What's Inside That Counts

Swedish artist Helga Steppan arranged her personal objects by color for her 2008 series, See Through--a chronicle of her persona behind doors and drawers. We paired them with the inside of fruits and vegetables at the Westside Market for an idea of what's behind the "skin."

Fresh Papaya at the Westside Market; Helga Steppan, Orange

Cabbage at the Westside Market; Helga Steppan, Purple

Watermelon at the Westside Market; Helga Steppan, Red

Maine Moments

A look up towards the sky at the Robinhood Free Meeting House in Georgetown

1835 colonial in Alna, Maine and the birthplace of Edward A. Robinson

Shaker style peg hooks in our room at The Marston House

A closed down antique colonial we stumbled upon near Sheepscot

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The perfect seat to eat the most perfect biscuits

One of Maine's 3,ooo lakes

Antiques within an antique on Shinebone Aly, Wiscasset

A door we would love to come home to

Peeping Toms

It's late, but your first night back in Wiscasset, Maine. Too excited to sleep, you head to Main Street and realize everything is closed at 5pm (give or take an hour)...so you take to peeping in the windows. Here's what you'd find (or at least what we did this past weekend):

The galleries along Route 1, ready for the season

An elegant juxtaposition at the Ingram Gallery

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Streetlight through the trees

Pretty poultry at Dennis Raleigh Antiques

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A stack of firkins becomes architectural

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Emergence: New Paintings of Maine at the Wiscasset Bay Gallery

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The welcome light of our b&b (time for bed)

Love {1785 colonial, Chesterfield}

While we only experienced "like" in Connecticut, we fell in love in New Hampshire. Our trip to Maine this weekend started with a detour to Chesterfield, NH to see the 1785 colonial we've been eying for months. We have to say, the home did not disappoint--the restoration was impeccable and it felt like walking back in time as we crossed the threshold. From the original 12 over 12 windows and built-ins, to the wide plank floors and aged plaster, we fell in love. Unfortunately, the newly built "colonial" across the street seemed to ruin the facade of this warm, inviting antique home.

1785 Colonial

Chesterfield, New Hampshire

Original mantel and cupboard in the living room

Mantel detail

Stripped down paneling along the main stairs

Beautiful contrast between original wood and plaster (with repairs) on the way upstairs

Second floor landing, looking into one of three bedrooms

Panel and cupboard detailing in second bedroom

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Railing of back staircase with a view into the second bedroom

Upstairs common room (accessed from each bedroom and the back stairwell) with a view of the first and third bedroom doors

Back stairwell which leads to main keeping room

Keeping room

Bare "kitchen" off the keeping room (with soapstone sink)...which led to our posts on the perfect antique kitchen

Side entrance, with mudroom directly to the right

Like {19th c. colonial, New Milford}

Before we talk about our travels this past weekend, we wanted to share a 19th century colonial in New Milford, CT that we saw the weekend before. While it had many original details, we were enamored with the stone foundation and beam construction of the summer kitchen...that, and the perfection of the classic red barn at the back of this three acre property. The house was missing the interior chimney though and the kitchen in the ell needed a lot of updating. This wasn't enough to deter us alone, but we didn't love the location in town where the house was, which felt more suburban than country.

19th century colonial

New Milford, CT

Original panel detailing in dining room

View of the barn from the dining room

Center stairs with a view to the living room and side door

Vintage wallpaper in the dining room

Summer kitchen off the ell

A view of the summer kitchen from the garage

Blues, Pinks and Family

We had an amazing weekend in New Hampshire and Maine--taking in the antiques and history of the region. As a primer to posts about our travels, we wanted to share some age appropriate images we stumbled upon at Design Hole. We love the modern palettes juxtaposed with traditional architecture, and were reminded of the timeless modernity that a portrait has...no matter what the era.

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Slim Aarons Jean Serpieris, 1961

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Slim Aarons Joan Collins Relaxes, 1955

Design Hole

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Slim Aarons Guinness Family, 1963