Lilse McKenna Inc.
  • Interiors
  • Inquire
  • Field Notes
  • About
  • Instagram
  • Press
July 6, 2023September 3, 2024

Vol II: Seeds for Maine

Just in time for the season, we are elated to have our Maine project featured in the Summer issue of Coastal Living! With so many special details throughout this home, I wanted to share a bit of the creative process behind the project.

The homeowners love color and pattern, but it was a priority to make selections that would last — i.e. avoid wallpaper with the humid coastal climate. We got creative and commissioned our decorative painters, S.O. Beaux Arts, to hand-paint color and pattern throughout the home.

For the entry floor, I found a 19th century American wall stencil pattern in this book. The pattern is depicted in the most beautiful colors, which we re-sized and recolored to create a painted "rug” in the space. It sets the tone for the whole house and really sings against the simple white bead-board walls. Shop the book

•   •   •

There is always a debate about how to hide the TV. In this living room, we sent our decorative painter, Connor, an image of a 19th century family document, featured in the article linked below; this was the inspiration for the folk art screens over the sofa. Functionally, the screens open up with the push of a button to reveal a TV.

Read the article

•   •   •

worked with Connor and the contractors to

View the project
A glimpse at Markham’s work

•   •   •

I fell in love with the work of 19th century mural artist, Jonathan D. Poor, while researching historic New England decorative arts. I came across a book on the folk art murals of the Rufus Porter School. We sent Connor the book with my favorite murals by JD Poor, along with a few paint colors, and he designed a new mural for the space in fresh, summery colors. After we approved the maquette here, he blew it up for the space and it is now what you see in the dining room.

Shop the book

•   •   •

We originally had a lovely plaid rug selected for the dining room, but we wanted the space to be spill-proof for our clients’ grandchildren. So, instead of a rug, we opted to paint the design! Connor spent a lot of time taping this one out and it turned out as beautiful as it is practical. The dining room trim and kitchen cabinet color are inspired by our client's love of Beauport. It is the perfect medium blue-green, which is an ideal contrast to the mural and the white bead-board on the first floor.

A book on Beauport

•   •   •

I’m currently reading Rick Rubin’s book The Creative Act, and the most recent chapter I read is called “Seeds”. It speaks to the creative process when you are simply collecting ideas with no idea how they’ll contribute to a project. This project is a perfect example of this idea. I was working on this project during the pandemic, so I was mostly confined to my office while collecting the seeds. This part of the process can feel a little aimless and inefficient if you're impatient like me. But so much of the inspiration that I earmarked (no matter how tiny) made its way into the final design by the time we were presenting a design concept to our clients. So keep gathering those seeds!

Shop The Creative Act

•   •   •

Maine Photos by Read McKendree, styled by Frances Bailey

Subscribe to the Newsletter Follow on Instagram

Keep in Touch

Subscribe for decorating tips, details from my latest projects, my favorite finds, and a bit of my life at home.

Thank you for subscribing!
  • Interiors
  • Inquire
  • Field Notes
  • About
  • Instagram
  • Press

© 2024 Lilse McKenna Inc.

Made by Gadabout

[email protected]

@lilsemckenna