Pickled pine. White oak. Baltic birch. “Wood-drenched” interiors may be having a comeback in the design world, but here in Maine they never went out of style. From cozy cabin bedrooms to warm wood-paneled kitchens, these five spaces exemplify the beauty of going back to the basics.
1
For a home in the forest near Highland Lake, pickled pine boarding was finished with a thin whitewash on the walls and ceiling in the bedroom and beyond. Underfoot, white oak flooring completes the look, giving the interiors an ethereal glow. Photo by Jeff Roberts.
2
Exposed studs in the bedroom of a cottage in the midcoast, which has remained unchanged for the past 75 years. From the pages of The Maine House II. Photo by Maura McEvoy.
3
Look closely, and you’ll notice that the exposed beams, ceiling, and floor of this multi-purpose entertainment space have an intriguing patina. The circa 1894 building on Rutherford Island once held space for an assortment of services, a grocery store, post office, dance hall, movie theatre, and bowling alley; each nick, scrape, and stain is authentic. Photo by Erin Little.
4
In a Scandi-style Cape Elizabeth kitchen, Baltic birch plywood was selected for its durability. “It’s exceptionally forgiving to assaults by the pediatric population,” jokes the physician homeowner, who has three little girls. Paired with soapstone countertops and Edison-style pendant lights, the all-wood cladding feels functional and fresh. Photo by Erin Little.
5
Rough-cut pine envelopes a communal space within a camp on Thompson Lake, owned by three siblings. Here, the decision to wrap the interiors in wood had as much to do with aesthetics as it did leveling the playing ground (no debating about paint colors!). Photo by Trent Bell.
