Thinking Pink at Skylands
I recently blogged about my laundry room and about my kitchen at Skylands, my home on Mt. Desert Island in Maine. Those two blogs, as all blogs about Skylands, were very well received and I thought I would continue with a little peek into the guesthouse. You may recall a story called “Thinking Pink,” which appeared several years ago in Martha Stewart Living Magazine, showcasing the redo of the cottage. Like the main house at Skylands, the guest cottage was built in 1925 by Duncan Candler in the Georgian style. It has just four rooms, but each one is large and airy, with big windows, high ceilings, and terrific views. Interestingly, you cannot drive to the guest cottage because there is no road. Instead you walk along a path that meanders through the mossy woods. It’s a real hide-away, offering guests the ultimate privacy.
This cottage, with its classic moldings, has a really lovely interior and I realized that it was the perfect place to create a color scheme that I always wanted to try. I decided that the whole interior would be painted a dreamy pastel shade of pink – a soft, happy, glowing pink.
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- In the guest cottage, we created a continuous wash of ambient pink color throughout the interior, creating a sophisticated shade of welcome.
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- The large-scale painting in the dining area is of a Venetian lagoon, and was painted by my late friend Kevin Burger.
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- This tabletop is an ornate copper tray from India.
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- The living room accent pillows were covered in a subtle monochromatic floral.
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- A better look at the terrazzo table – The chair seats are covered in a cotton fabric in a romantic print.
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- The mirror frame above the fireplace, for example, was painted the same pink as the cottage’s walls and trims.
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- This is one of a pair of copper vases on the mantelpiece, which soaks up and reflects the pink surroundings.
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- I really love this bird print.
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- A very romantic bedroom – The high ceilings throughout the cottage, by the way, were painted a soft gray.
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- The once-mismatched wicker pieces in this room were unified by painting them a stone gray.
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- The bed is accentuated with beautiful French sheets and hand-embroidered pillowcases.
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- A closeup of the fine embroidery
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- This lovely wicker and wood bedroom desk, which faces the water, is the spot for writing letters or for just daydreaming.
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- Another part of the mismatched wicker set
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- The base of the little lamp that sits atop the desk is a Chinese figure made from pink jade.
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- Above the towels hangs an ornate pink Venetian mirror, which I found several years ago at a consignment store.
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- A closeup of the towels
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- Pink is also worked into the decor of the bathroom with these charming embroidered bath towels.
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- The balcony off the bedroom – As you can see, the cottage is perched on a bluff overlooking the harbor below.
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- The reading lamp next to the bed is Italian alabaster.
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- A staircase leads to the bedroom above.
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- This chandelier, which I purchased many, many years ago, found a new home hanging in the guest house living room.
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- The dining table is gray terrazzo and is flanked by a set of Italian ring-back chairs.
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- A path on the other side of the guest house leads to its entrance. This is the scenic side that overlooks the water.
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