This Show House Won't Be A Secret For Long!

It has been a very busy spring and is getting busier by the minute!

Way back in January, I went up to Kittery Point, Maine with my friends and fellow interior designers Yvonne Blacker and RosannePalazola to attend the designer open house of “Secret Cove,” the 2013 Decorator Show House to benefit the Museums of Old York.

It was a bitterly cold winter day, but with the sun shining outside it was easy to be taken in by the beautiful coastal setting and to envision the possibilities for the home.  The house is not historic, but rather more like 30 years old… just old enough to be in need of some refreshing and a new design vision.

Front entry to the home with Kid's Bedroom window to the left

 

A glimpse of Pepperrell Cove as you round the side of the home

The water side is where all of the drama is,
with lots of windows overlooking the cove

After touring the home, the three of us decided that we would collaborate and submit our proposals as a team… Trio Design was born!   

A celebratory lunch at Robert's Maine Grill during one of our planning trips

Much thought, strategizing and time went in to our concepts for the rooms that we prepared proposals for, not knowing if they would be awarded or not.  I created a concept for the “Kid’s Bedroom,” which could be for any age child from baby through teen, with Yvonne designing the en suite bath in coordination.  I was beyond thrilled when I received the call from the Museum Show House liaison that the room I had submitted was unanimously loved by the selection committee and we were in!  

Kid's Room label during the Designer Open House

Now it has officially become Syrena's Room Suite!

The bedroom itself is a very small space.  It has two windows which bring in a lot of light, but no real view of Pepperrell Cove… it’s one of the only rooms in the house without a great view.  For being in a large seaside home, it certainly lacks any major advantages!   

What you see as you enter Syrena's Room

In Syrena's Room looking into her en suite bath

So, why then would I be interested in designing that space like that and where did I get my inspiration?  As an interior designer, I am faced with these kinds of challenges in practically every job I do… so a Show House, which seems like it would be a dream space, is really no different.  If any of you have toured a Show House before and have seen how beautiful they can be, you might be amazed to find out just how much vision, work, not to mention money, goes into making them that way!

Inspiration comes in stages, with every thought and decision affecting the next.  Although I don’t want to give away too many secrets about the finished room just yet… I will say that my initial visions about the room resulted from the setting of the home itself.  I wondered if I had been lucky enough to be brought up in a lovely home in an amazing coastal setting like this… who would I be as a person?  And, so, Syrena came to life in my mind… I talk about her so much now, that most people think she is real!  Anyway, she is an older teen girl with a love of all things coastal… you can guess what those things might be! 

My next step was to create a floor plan for the space, which wasn’t easy considering how compact it is, but that is where my professional design skills came into play.  As I added furnishings to the floor plan, I then had to find the perfect pieces to fill those needs.  Several of those items became my muses for the color scheme, fabrics and accessories, which I will share more about as time goes by.

The selection committee also offered us the Powder Room, which Yvonne is working her magic on in addition to Syrena's Bathroom, and the Mud Room, which Rosanne is master-minding... suffice it to say that each of those rooms present their share of challenges!

The Powder Room

The Mud Room

So there you have it… three of us (and of course, Dave, my ever-present design partner) and four rooms to turn into visions of beauty and inspiration for the approximately 5,000 visitors that are expected to tour the Show House this summer!  

 

Dave and I visited Syrena's Room during the "Before Tour"

on Sunday, April 28th, when the public was invited to tour 

the house before we designers were let loose in the house

to begin our transformation on Monday!

For now, I hope that this gets you excited about making an excursion to beautiful Maine too!  The house will be open from July 13^th through August 15^th, and in addition there will also be a fabulous Gala Preview Party on the evening of July 12^th, and a Closing Party with an Auction on the evening of August 15^th… mark your calendars!