Maine Cottage® Blog

Connecticut Cottages&Gardens : Inside the Governer’s Mansion

Amber — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 19:06:00 +0000

Inside the Governor’s Mansion: Carey Karlan’s Guest Cottage Dining and Kitchen Redesign

Maine Cottage Della Dining Table in Country Living

Amber — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 06:00:03 +0000

Maine Cottage is thrilled to be in Country Living’s November Issue. The Country Living article is called “With Flying Colors“. It showcases the dream home of Susan Jones, a 1930′s Colonial in Mission Hills, Kansas. In her breakfast nook sits our very own Della Dining Table in Mango and is accompanied by vintage side chairs. Make sure to check out the article and the other rooms featured in Susan’s home. If you like the look in this room be sure to check out the Della Dining Table available in 46 Maine Cottage colors.

Three designers inspired by three ales.

Amber — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 06:00:43 +0000

Inspiration can come from almost anywhere. This week we chose to feature 3 our favorite ale labels as design inspiration. We asked 3 designers at Maine Cottage to pair an occasional chair and side table together based on their favorite beer label.

Blue Moon is a favorite ale of Maine Cottage’s Creative Director, Lauren Russell. The ale label inspired her to group the Adeline Arm Chair in Gimme-A-Ring / Marine with the Wendy Side Table in Almond Soy. The Adeline Arm Chair is a timeless chair that coordinates well with any design style. And, did you know that the pattern called Gimme-A-Ring was coincidentally inspired by the patina of drink rings on an antique side table? To bring it full circle, the pedestal on the Wendy Side Table follows the circular shape of the moon in the label and the fabric.

1 – Adeline Arm Chair in Gimme-A-Ring / Marine
2 – Wendy Side Table in Almond Soy

Duvel’s logo has a font that is very old world and strong. It carries the duo-tone palette of Tomato and Ale well. Our Interactive Director, Amber Shriver, selected the Hazel Chair because of its simple lines and very strong structure and chose to upholster it in Otto / Tomato . The Infinity Stool in Ale is the ideal height for a low profile occasional chair like Hazel. The best part? When you are done with your beer the Infinity Stool can be placed in front of the chair as a foot rest! We LOVE multifunctional pieces.

3 – Hazel Chair in Otto / Tomato
4 – Infinity Stool in Ale

Senior Designer, Sarah Wright, chose the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale label for her inspiration. The label is traditional in style with a fresh lime green ground color. The label looks hand-crafted just like every piece of Maine Cottage Furniture. Notice the loops around the words “Purest Ingredients” and “Finest Quality”. The Camille Chair has classic, strong lines that mimic the lines of the label. Sarah placed the Camille Chair in our Leaflette / Ale fabric and painted it Wheatgrass. She pairs it with the Cecilia Tall End Table in Creamsicle. Refreshing color combination, wouldn’t you say?

5 – Camille Chair in Leaflette / Ale and Wheatgrass
6 – Cecilia Tall End Table in Creamsicle.

What’s your favorite ale?

November is the Month of Ale

Amber — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 17:41:12 +0000

Check back to get ideas for recipes, design tips, and projects.

1 – Hotty Dotty/Ale – Swatch Card

2 – Stripe Tease/Ale – Swatch Card

3 - Ale Paint Swatch

4 – Leaflette/Ale – Swatch Card

The End of Mango the Beginning of Ale

Amber — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 19:14:50 +0000

As October draws to a close, we’d like to share a few of our favorite Mango-inspired furniture pieces and accessories…

Nina Swivel Chair in Lucky Leaf / Terracotta

Starfish Pillow

Castaway Double Door Vanity in Mango

Later Gator Napkin Box Set

Camille Chair with Basket / Mango in Marine

Imperial Beach Frame

Beautiful Flower

Don’t forget our Free Shipping promotion ends tomorrow, November 1st at 12pm EST – visit our Maine Cottage web site, make your selections and simply enter the code “FREETREAT” at checkout.

Stay tuned to find out our featured color of the month for November…here’s a hint:

Happy Halloween!

A Crowd Pleasing Pumpkin Treat

Lauren — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 06:00:55 +0000

PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE DIP

adapted from Taste of Home

INGREDIENTS:

1 brick (8 ounces) cream cheese
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 – 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream (optional)
Gingersnaps and/or fresh fruit for serving

INSTRUCTIONS:

Using a mixer, beat cream cheese and pumpkin puree until smooth.
Add powdered sugar (1/2 cup at a time), pumpkin pie spice, and ginger until combined.
If your dip is too thick, add 1 – 2 tablespoons of heavy cream to thin it out. Keep in refrigerator and serve cold.

How to Make a Pumpkin Carving inspired by Grand Mum

Amber — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 06:15:38 +0000

Follow these steps to create your own beautiful Maine Cottage® Grand Mum pumpkin. If anyone creates their own pumpkin we’d love to see photos. We will post them on the blog and Facebook. Please send all photos to amber@mainecottage.com.

Tools:
You will need the following to complete your carving.

One pumpkin
Pumpkin Carving Kit — we purchased ours from Target
Speedball Linoleum Cutters — allows you to make fine cuts into pumpkin
One glass or mason jar — we will use this to wrap the lights around to place in pumpkin
String of lights or candle
Template of your choice

Instructions

Step 1

Using a Sharpie draw a circle around the top of the pumpkin

Step 2

Following the line you just drew use the saw tool to cut the top out.

Step 3

Scoop out all the seeds — the fun part

Step 4

Place template onto pumpkin

Step 5

Trace template onto pumpkin. There are several different methods and it really depends on the complication of the template. We poked holes in the template and then placed marker over top those holes to ensure we were cutting out the correct parts.

Step 6

Wrap lights around glass or jar and place inside pumpkin. Plug in and enjoy the beauty. Of course you can also substitute good ole candles.

Have fun with it, it doesn’t have to perfect that’s the fun of it all. As you can see our design was inspired by Grand Mum Fabric but we didn’t hold ourselves to having to be 100% accurate, some artistic freedom is wonderful.

Here’s our final pumpkin, lit up and ready for our trick-or-treaters!

HAPPY PUMPKIN CARVING FROM MAINE COTTAGE! Don’t forget to send us your creations.

A Little Pumpkin Riddle

Lauren — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 18:06:47 +0000

PUMPKIN RIDDLE
Lynn likes grapes but not potatoes.
She likes squash but not lettuce, and she likes peas but not onions.
Following the same pattern, will she like pumpkins or apples?

ANSWER
Pumpkins. All the things she likes grow on vines.

October is All Things… Mango

Amber — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 16:32:15 +0000

For the month of October we will be highlighting all things in Mango. Keep checking back to the blog for posts that are inspired by Mango.

You Make My Heart Beat Willy-Nilly

Maine Cottage — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 18:49:54 +0000

Valentine, you make me silly;
You make my heart beat willy-nilly;
When I’m with you, the world is hazy;
Valentine, you drive me crazy!

Valentine, when we’re apart,
My need for you goes off the chart.
Will you be mine? Can I be thine?
Say you’ll be my Valentine!

J. Fuchs

It’s not about fancy repertoire, flourishes and embellishments… At the core it’s about starting, stepping and pausing with the music. All the rest is icing on the cake.

Chris Corby

Beginners want to dance like intermediates; intermediates want to dance like advanced dancers; advanced dancers want to dance like the greats; but the greats always go back to basics.

anonymous

Valentine’s Day comes once a year, but love’s with us every day. Romantic love, yes, if we’re lucky. And a love for fun, food, music and dance. We love our families, good friends and being at home. At Maine Cottage, we love simplicity. Back-to-basics simple. The kind that means living essentially in a beautiful, practical way. No bells, whistles or extravagance. Comfortable, enduring, inspired, even extraordinary. A place where you’re so content that your heart may (spontaneously) beat willy-nilly!