Decorating With Heart | Vintage Layers and Simple Touches in My Coastal Maine Cottage

Vintage finds and new touches in my coastal Maine cottage—a framed sailor shirt, a seagull carving, and a layered look in the guest cottage.

A Few New Touches

Well, last week’s post unexpectedly turned into a bit of a tome on Coastal New England style. My enthusiasm got the best of me—as it sometimes does! I do hope, though, it’s something you’ll come back to when you’re thinking about how to decorate your own home. Even if you don’t embrace my exact style, maybe it will inspire you to create a space full of comfort and meaning, rooted in a strong sense of place—one that tells your story.

If you missed it—or just love a good decorating deep dive—you can read my “thesis” here.

This week, I’m keeping things much simpler. I’m sharing a few new pieces I’ve added to my home that continue the narrative it tells. Each one spoke to my heart when I spotted it. Some required a little work to bring my vision to life and to weave them into the layers of my home. One, though, I knew right away would stand alone and make its own quiet statement. As I tell you about each of these pieces, I’ll also touch on how I decide what new things to bring into my home—a matter of both heart and eye.

No dilly-dallying today—let’s get right to it!

A Newly Layered Nautical Look in the Guest Cottage

Rescued boats, a sailor shirt, and just a touch of restraint.

A few months back, I stopped in at a favorite antiques center. Elmer’s Barn is not a place filled with carefully curated and beautifully styled booths. Instead, you’ll find shelves packed with both treasures and trash—piles of old linens, dusty glassware and dishes, and tools jumbled on the floor. You have to work a bit for your finds here. And often, you need a little vision to spot the diamond in the rough. But I rarely leave empty-handed.

On this particular day back in April, I walked out with two items that others had clearly passed by—but that spoke directly to my heart and my eye: a child-size sailor’s shirt and pants, and a crudely handmade wooden display featuring a row of colorful little sailboats.

Would you have chosen these items? And why do you think I did?

The sailor suit

There was no denying the little sailor suit was adorable, with its bright blue accents, naval patch on the arm, and red lace-up neckline. In fact, it had caught my eye before. But the question was—what would I do with it?

This time, when I saw it, I had just read a blog post by my good friend Ann at Dabbling and Decorating. In her post, Coastal Wall Decor Ideas: Framing a 1920s Bathing Suit, she shares how she turned a cool old bathing suit into a striking piece of wall art. I immediately knew the little sailor shirt would look fabulous framed and hung in the guest cottage. It would fit right in with the fun, nautical vibe I’ve got going on in there.

It took me a few months, but I finally brought it to the local framing studio—just up the road, lucky me! Darlene helped me choose the perfect mats and frame to complement my sweet little find. And wow, did it turn out great. I couldn’t be happier!

The sailboats

To be honest, I’m not quite sure how to describe the sailboat objet (yes, tongue firmly in cheek) as I found it—or what the original creator was thinking. Basically, someone took a handful of charming toy sailboats and a block of roughly hewn wood, sawed grooves into the top, and glued the boats into place. Then they painted the whole base blue—dribbling onto the boats in the process—and finished it off by stapling a plastic U.S. flag to the front. (Which I removed before snapping the photo, you’re welcome.)

Let’s just say—it was not exactly gallery-ready.

But my eye skipped right past the DIY mess to those sweet little boats. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them.

It took some effort to remove them from their “lovely” base, but I think they look utterly charming now, lined up in the windows above the guest cottage bed.

Pulling the layers together

The bed nook is open to the rest of the guest cottage, but I’ve given it the feeling of its own cozy space by creating a focal wall with bold wallpaper and a row of high windows above the bed.

The boats found their place in the window. And my plan all along was to hang the framed sailor shirt above the bed. What I didn’t take into account, though, was the final height of the piece once it was matted and framed—it turned out to be just a few inches too tall to fit below the windows.

So I hung it slightly overlapping the window trim. The white frame blends right in, and honestly, it feels like part of the cottage’s quirky, relaxed charm. Kind of like an old place where you just had to make do and embrace the imperfect.

I loved how everything was coming together… but when I stepped back, I realized it was all maybe just a bit too much.

So, I edited.

I removed two framed pieces that had been leaning on each bedside table. Much better.

Still, I wanted something to gently guide the eye upward—from the bed, past the sailor’s shirt, to the windows and boats above. Design is so much about balance and how your eye moves through a space. So I hung two small vintage souvenir lifesaving rings in the center trim between the windows. Another nod to the nautical theme—just the finishing touch I needed.

It’s all a little playful, a lot layered… and very much me. Now to the living room, where, conversely, one small piece was all I needed.

Read more about the guest cottage bed nook in my posts:

A Spring Bed Nook Refresh Inspires Sweet Dreams for Guests

Summer Ready in the Guest Cottage!

Letting One Piece Shine

Every wall doesn’t need a gallery—sometimes one seagull will do.

As clearly illustrated above, I generally embrace all the layers in my home.

But sometimes, I want to keep things simple. Sometimes there’s a piece that deserves to stand on its own.

Earlier this week, I brought just such a one home. A friend and I spent Monday afternoon in Brunswick—lunch at Wild Oats Bakery & Café followed by a spin around Cabot Mills Antiques. I wasn’t looking for anything. I was simply enjoying time with my friend.

But then I saw it—tucked away, almost hidden—the sweetest little diorama with a carved wooden seagull perched on a rock. Measuring just 7 inches square and featuring exquisitely detailed painting, it was love at first sight. You all know how I feel about seagulls…

It was no bargain, but it spoke to both my heart and my eye. So home it came.

The question then became—where to put it? The living room walls are, shall we say, well-occupied. And I didn’t want this special piece to get lost in the crowd. I wanted it to be appreciated for what it is: a tiny, perfect gem.

So I gave it a wall all its own—an empty little spot to the left of the painted cabinet. That slice of wall had always felt a bit bare, but now it’s the perfect backdrop for this jewel of a find. Every time I walk by, I admire it.

One last note—the photos don’t quite do it justice. The domed glass catches reflections from every direction. But trust me: it’s something special.

(And yes, if you’re thinking, “Wait—another diorama?” you’d be right! I found a different one at the Cabot Mills flea market last month. You can read about that treasure in this post.)

This Week Into Next

I did quite a bit of whining about the weather this week. I know many of you are suffering through unbearable heat and humidity (believe me, I remember those kinds of summers from my many years in the D.C. area). And to you, foggy days with temps in the 60s might sound like heaven. But our summers are short here in Maine, and those days feel like a waste of July and August potential. Truthfully, they get a little depressing after a while—leaving me lethargic and, well… just plain grumpy.

Today, though, is the kind of day Maine summers are made of—blue skies, low humidity, temps in the 70s, and a fresh ocean breeze. No complaints from me!

On Tuesday, I attended a fundraiser for Trekkers, a local nonprofit that empowers young people through outdoor-based mentoring and long-term relationships. The event, Fired Up, featured a cook-off between local restaurants, all challenged to create the most delicious dish using the same Biolite stoves students use on their wilderness treks. Attendees sampled the creations—bean empanadas, vegan “crab” cakes, and a rhubarb cupcake for me!—then voted on their favorite. Trekkers is a wonderful organization and always one I’m happy to support. You can learn more about them on their website.

Always late to the viewing party, I just got sucked into The Summer I Turned Pretty. The show follows a teenage girl named Belly as she spends the summer with her family friends at a beach house—and finds herself caught in a love triangle with two brothers. Definitely a guilty pleasure. It’s the Good Humor ice cream treat of a summer show—nostalgic, overly sweet, and not something you need to overthink. The third season just dropped on Amazon Prime!

This weekend is our annual town celebration! There’s a parade, lobster dinner, and book, craft, and yard sales on Saturday. I’m volunteering at the Lighthouse gift shop during the day, but I’ll be sure to catch the fireworks at night!

Next Saturday on the blog I’ll be sharing a sweet little sewing project—an easy slipcover I made for a lampshade that gave one corner of my dining area just the extra touch it needed.

Be well, friends!