A Cozy Maine Home Filled With Color, Traditional Style and Collected Antiques

Interior decorator Ramey Caulkins welcomes us inside her family’s late-19th-century home off the coast of Maine.

What began as an unexpected opportunity to purchase a house across from her husband’s family home more than two decades ago became a place deeply woven into their family life, filled with memories, collections, and pieces gathered over the years.

Ramey renovated the house for greater year-round comfort while preserving its original pine floors, paneling, moldings, cabinetry, and distinctly New England character.

Much of the home was decorated when Ramey first moved in more than 20 years ago, including the living room, which had previously been arranged by legendary decorator Sister Parish. Rather than starting over, Ramey preserved the spirit of that original design, allowing the rooms, fabrics, and furnishings to evolve naturally over time.

Throughout the house, she layers antiques, artwork, textiles, and objects collected from Maine, travels abroad, antique fairs, and years spent with her children.

Stripes, wallpaper, painted floors, claw-foot tubs, and a richly patinated stainless-steel kitchen give the house its relaxed, collected character without sacrificing the architecture that drew her to it in the first place.

From the dining room where generations gather to the third-floor bedroom tucked beneath the dormers, Ramey’s home reflects her belief that the best rooms are made for living, gathering, and being surrounded by the people and things you love.