The Captain's Suite and Wheelhouse Loft Reveal

As you know by now, we’ve been revealing this project in sections. We started with the larger, newer additions, but it’s time we showed you the older sections of the home! Our goal here was to preserve the original beauty of this 1820s cottage while still adding a little coastal, modern flair. So without further ado — say hello to the Captain’s Suite and Wheelhouse Loft.

Coaster’s Chance has been in the Moore family for a couple generations now and other than some minor cosmetic updates made in the early 2000s, this home has not seen a lot of change since its construction… until now. We’ve revealed the main suite and more recently the great room, but now we’re on to the original section of the home, so our work here was a bit less stressful than the overhauls on the other side of the house. That aside, we don’t generally try to fix it if it’s not broken, and as usual we wanted to preserve the beauty of the original space. A few fresh coats of paint coupled with some gorgeous custom furniture pieces and found items did the trick. We were surprised at how much of a difference the simple changes we made added to these spaces!

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— THE CAPTAIN’S SUITE —

As we’ve mentioned before, Cutler, Maine was settled by a sea captain hailing from the historic coastal town of Newburyport, Massachusetts. We named this room the Captain’s Suite because Coaster’s Chance was un-coincidentally built by an early sea captain! This was the cottage’s original main bedroom. With views looking out both over the harbor and the back meadow this suite is sure to make any guest slow down to countryside speed. It’s a first floor bedroom with an adjacent bathroom — which we love because this is a rental property and this suite can really accommodate anyone. 

Some of the most impactful changes we’ve made to this room: 

This original section of the cottage has some epic old floorboards that you just don’t see too often anymore. We wanted them to shine bright and really be the anchor of the space. A dark floor color was on our radar from the get-go knowing that all the mud & everything that comes along with coastal Maine might be tracked in on our boots! Coaster’s Chance is surrounded by stoic old growth pine forests, so a dark green floor felt fitting. We sampled several greens, but ultimately went with the darkest option, “Cascades” from Sherwin Williams. The results after three thick coats were absolutely stunning and look as though they are original to the home. Note: Paint with any amount of gloss is best on floors for wear and tear.

One of our favorite pieces in this space is our custom upholstered “Tatum” bed. Designed in-house, we’re in totally in love with her chic headboard as it feels reminiscent of a sweetheart neckline. The dark fabric from Kravet Inc initially felt a little risky to us because we tend to go neutral with headboards, but we were thrilled with how elegant she feels within this space. Sometimes we have to trust our gut!! Note: The Tatum bed will be available on our ecomm shop’s launch just after the new year. Speaking of ecomm, our Tuscan throw added the perfect minimalist touch to this bed and will also be available on our shop soon! The oversized, draped look just adds this touch of softness to a bedroom that we’re loving lately.

Vintage, or bust! Right? We selected the vintage chest of drawers for two reasons, first being the lovely detailing of the woodwork. The second being the warm chestnut color perfectly matched the original woodwork in the space. We’d call this one a win-win. The simple bedside table with extendable wings was another addition we made and the color ties the headboard to the floor wonderfully. And are we ever without a peek-a-boo or nook moment? Nope. Never — little vignettes like this are a must for us! We love Art because it can fill any gaps within a design and really help pull a room together. We selected these vessel prints from Vintage Supply to they add a bit of warmth as well as visual interest to this nook.

Shop the Prints Below:

Black Vessel Print — “Stoneware IV”, Chestnut Tall Print — “Stoneware II” & Copper Bowl Print — “Stoneware VI”

Last, but not least we NEED to talk about this lamp. We definitely went minimal with the additions to this space, so we wanted to add a touch of texture as well as pattern somewhere without overpowering any other elements. In the spirit of having a little fun during our install, we ruched up the fabric around the shade’s base and voila! Just what we were looking for — how sweet is this shade? We’ll be making this a thing in the future without a doubt!

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— THE WHEELHOUSE LOFT —

After reading that name, you might be thinking of the saying “not in my wheelhouse”. We gave the space this moniker because of a brass plaque on the original door that reads “certified wheelhouse”.  For those of you unfamiliar with what a wheelhouse actually is or what the saying means, here’s a little info in the expression –  a “wheelhouse” is the small enclosed part of a ship's bridge which historically held the steering wheel, now the idiomatic meaning that has grown from the word refers to something not within one’s area of expertise or interest. Now that we’ve got the naming ironed out, here’s the rundown of the loft!

Some of the most impactful changes we’ve made to this room: 

The winding staircase up to the loft brings us right back to 1820! Watch your step please. The loft features three beds, with a set of twin beds on the east end and a full bed on the west end, as well as its own bathroom, a wall of built-in cubbies, and windows on all sides. This space had some pretty epic original features, namely the old exposed beams / rafters. We loved the rustic look of them, but wanted to extend the feeling of height in the loft because it doesn’t have the world’s tallest ceiling. We sprayed the beams a warm creamy color and painted the floors a cooler dove gray to keep our monochromatic theme going. There were some darker taupes in the running, but we felt the singular color palette would be best.

To add a little visual depth we painted the headboards fun colors that paid homage to some of the paint colors original to the cottage. The full bed is a subdued mustard yellow which is just a touch softer than the “Nankeen” of the original kitchen. The set of twins are a deep forest green to tie in the floors from downstairs.

Many of you who have been with us for a while are quite familiar with our love for vintage items, and this space has quite a few of them — from chests to chairs to antique art prints we brought all the vintage gold we could find into this space. Vintage items are our favorite after custom items because of the history and age they add to a space. It’s the best way to balance old with the new… giving way to the collected, broody interiors we always strive to create. Extra seating is always something we like to add in bedrooms and the upholstered ottoman brought both a feeling of comfort and some texture into the space. Also, we can’t forget to mention these built-ins! We love ourselves a good shelfie and these cubbies gave us the opportunity for an epic styling moment. So we loaded her up with books, blocks and quirky found objects full of textural goodness.

One of the best things about this suite might not even be something we added, but something mother nature did all by herself. Can we just say *golden hour*? The afternoon light in this space is amazing, and we simply had to do something about it. We added this chair that’s worn to perfection by the windows, creating the perfect spot to cozy up with a throw and a good book. 

Now that we’ve officially introduced you to all the suites in our Coaster’s Chance cottage we’d say it’s time to watch our episode feature of Magnolia network’s “Point of View: A Designer Profile” (specifically season 2, episode 5) that we created these spaces for. If you’ve already seen it, then maybe it’s time to book your next getaway with us. We promise you’ll leave your heart in Maine!

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Images: Erin McGinn Photography