Design shapes our homes and the way we live. The layout of a living room transforms the way a family interacts; quality materials help us breathe better, and an artful detail anchors us in the present moment and reminds us to appreciate beauty, wherever we can find it. Our homes represent our lives in the private sphere, what is purely ours, and who we think we are. We want them designed well, the way we have designed our lives. And we want the same for our communities, for our schools, offices, stores, and restaurants. But what drives good design? In MH+D Inside Out, Maine Home+Design interviews builders, architects, interior designers, and makers from our community and gets inside some of the top minds in design. Read on for their stories, tips, and sources of inspiration.
Katrina Kelley learned to sew at the early age of 4. Nearly 40 years later, she’s turned her creative practice into a thriving business designing and stitching home goods—including napkins, tablecloths, towels, aprons, and more—with long-lasting fibers in simple, earthy … Continue reading
When Mark Ferguson’s brother, Steve, couldn’t find a high-quality, American-made axe for his son entering forestry school, the two men decided they needed to take action. Drawing inspiration (and the name Brant & Cochran) from their late grandfather’s tool supply … Continue reading
Originally from Providence, Rhode Island, Rebecca Volynsky is a first-generation American residing in Portland who often draws inspiration from her Russian Jewish background. “It has always been important for me to represent my cultural heritage and to acknowledge my family’s … Continue reading
Keaven Hartt, founder and owner of Portland-based Willa Hartt Upholstery, discovered a love for furniture design while taking an intro to woodworking class early in her college career at Maine College of Art and Design. She went on to earn … Continue reading
Heather Thompson and Rachel Conly spent over ten years—in Thompson’s case, 20-plus—running their separate businesses, Thompson Johnson Woodworks and Rachel Conly Design, before joining forces in early 2022 to create Juniper Design+Build, a company centered around integrated design and sustainable … Continue reading
“I returned home to Maine after being out west for a decade, knowing very clearly that if I wanted to pursue expressing myself [for a living], this was the place I had to be to do it,” says artist and … Continue reading
On the website of her eponymous firm, Carol A. Wilson Architect, Carol Wilson quotes T.S. Eliot: “It is not necessarily those lands which are the most fertile or most favored in climate that seem to me the happiest, but those … Continue reading
“I grew up with Maine values,” says Josh Morrison, lead project manager at R.P. Morrison Builders in Windham. After working as a fire protection engineer in New York, Morrison decided to move back to Maine and join the family residential … Continue reading
For nearly thirty years, Scott Simons has presided over changes impacting the shape—and spirit—of Portland. As the principal of Scott Simons Architects, Simons has redesigned some of the city’s most compelling landmarks, including the Portland Public Library, and as co-founder … Continue reading
Vanessa Helmick, owner of Fiore Interiors in Portland, sums up the contemporary design zeitgeist in one sentence when she says, “People are just having more fun with their homes.” Helmick tells MH+D Inside Out what it means to “have more fun” with … Continue reading
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