While I was on vacation in Maine a week and a half ago, I got an email from Justine from designskool, who wanted to know if I knew about the Marston House, which I didn’t. And by the stroke of kismet, it is also in Maine, and I was staying only about 25 minutes away from the sweet little town of Wiscasset, where the Marston House sits on a just-removed corner from the center of the village–all its streets lined with antique shops and every view over the harbor a postcard. When I stopped by that very same afternoon, the lovely owner, Sharon, was arranging fabric behind the counter of the shop, which sells a rustic, utilitarian and totally romantic array of culinary and garden antiques and housewares–brooms, stools, tools, metal pitchers, sheers, leather satchels, cracked cutting boards, waxed linen string, antique linen grain sacks and antique ribbon.

If I didn’t have kids waiting outside for me with melting ice cream cones, I could have spent an eternity browsing and buying up all the well-worn goodies she brings back from France, where she lives half the year (maybe you’ve heard rumblings of the harsh Maine winters. I can assure you they’re all true). Sharon gave me a tour of the two-bedroom b&b, tucked into a carriage house across a wide expanse of garden out back. She and her architect husband renovated and decorated the place with a straightforward simplicity, adding thoughtful details like an antique vase full of fresh flowers from her wild cutting garden. They’ve been hosting guests for more than 20 years, and it still looks every bit a charmer.

The Details
Each room sleeps two in a queen bed, and if you’re traveling as a family with kids, you can scoop up both rooms, which have an adjoining door between the two for an instant suite-like effect. $110 per night, per room. Breakfast is served in your room, or in the beautiful gardens outside. They also offer a three-bedroom cottage house a block away, and it’s decorated in the same simple, rustic fashion but with the added benefit of a kitchen and living space. Book your stay at marstonhouse.com.