Maine Cottage Home Tour – Tone On Tone
A Maine cottage home tour today…
With a passion for pieces from the past, see how the homeowners of this 1863 Maine vacation home brought it back to life!
This quaint cottage is located in Castine, Maine, a quiet seaside village located on a beautiful peninsula in Penobscot Bay.
I’m so excited that my friend interior designer and antique expert Loi Thai of Tone On Tone is graciously sharing his waterfront summer escape with us today! I’ve come to know Loi over the last 4 or 5 years on Instagram and have long been a fan of his work. He is a respected antique dealer and authority on Swedish painted furniture. After a career at the Smithsonian he then ran a successful antique store. Two years ago he closed his antique shop in the D.C. area to focus full time on design work.
Maine Cottage Home Tour
The white clapboard cottage overlooks Castine Harbor, Penobscot Bay and was built in 1863.
“On our first visit to Castine, Maine about 10 years ago, Tom and I fell in love with our current cottage but it wasn’t for sale then. So we ended up purchasing a huge historic house in the same town. After spending a few summers in that big house with 5 bedrooms and 6 fireplaces, we decided it was really too big for just the two of us. “
“During the entire time, we never stopped thinking about the simple cottage down by the water. It finally came on the market in 2015, and we jumped on it. “
“We had no idea the cottage needed so much work. It had been a summer rental for many years, and closed up during the long Maine winters.”
“Long story short, a small remodel turned into a one and a half year renovation. We found so much rot, electric hazards, etc. We ended up gutting most of the house and replaced all the windows.”
“The fireplace, staircase, and upstairs floors are all original. We loved the size of the original house and kept the exact footprint – we didn’t increase an inch because we wanted a small home.”
“I decorated it in a coastal style with lots of vintage and antique finds. I had so much fun sourcing many of the found objects locally in Maine.”
“Our favorite thing to do is sit in the living room and just chill.”
Maine cottage home tour – The Kitchen
Maine cottage home tour – The Dining Room
Loi is an expert gardener, as well as all of his other pursuits. If you follow along with him over on his Instagram account here – LOITHAI, you’ll be smitten with his topiaries and all that he shares (as I am!).
Maine cottage home tour – Bedrooms
The Master Bedroom.
Guest Bedroom
Maine cottage home tour – Curated Collections
Gallery Wall
Shore Birds
Spongeware
Please visit Loi over on his INSTAGRAM account and on his website to learn more about his homes and design work at – Tone On Tone Design
If you enjoy home tours, you might like to visit these tours as well!
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What a beautiful cottage!
I so agree Laura…he’s an amazing decorator!
Hi Janet –
Thank you, thank you for sharing our Maine home with your readers!
Tom and I are so grateful and honored to be featured on your fabulous blog – what a treat!
We want you to come visit us in Maine.
Love ya,
Loi
I appreciate you allowing my readers a glimpse into your lovely Maine cottage Loi. You can be sure if we make it up to Maine I’ll let you know! xo
Just gorgeous. To be right on the water is fabulous. They did a great job restoring this special cottage home.
Kris
Such a special home and I’m so glad to see old homes such as this one redone in keeping with the original design! Thanks for stopping by Kris!
I’m such an admirer of Loi’s work and charming Maine cottage. What a treat to see your feature. This post will be bookmarked and revisited often. xo
Loi is as charming as his cottage and I’m so glad that you popped over Juliet!
This was a wonderful tour Janet – thank you! Loi is an amazing man all the way around! 💗
I agree…he’s the best!
‘Thank you, Janet, for again bringing us another wonderful home tour. They did a fabulous job restoring it. It is just gorgeous. I will check out Loi’s blog. His garden is truly amazing also.
I’m in love with this beautiful cottage. Such a tranquil spot as well, I felt myself exhale as I took the tour. Thanks Janet!
Janet, I was so excited to see Loi’s Maine home on your blog today. The interiors are a dream. Pinning furiously! Happy weekend! xo
He’s such a sweetheart Juliet and ever so talented!! Have a great week. I’m looking forward to being out in the Bay area in a couple of weeks to visit my daughter!xo
What a dream cottage. Just beautiful.
It’s so calm and inviting Kris and I would sure love to visit Maine again some day. Hope you have a great week! xoxo
I always wanted to go to Maine thank you for the trip beautiful as usual.
So happy that you enjoyed this tour Mikki…happy new week!
I would want to live there yearround–I already have 30+ years of practice with Maine winters. Loved all of the blue and white–how relaxing and refreshing!
I could not imagine those cold winters Kathy, but such a beautiful place in the warmer months!