a maine summer home for monday

My April issue of House Beautiful arrived over the weekend and as always, it was chock-full of inspiration--interiors I appreciate and designers I admire, but as I was flipping through, something rare occurred--one of those amazing discoveries that make the arrival of a design magazine so exciting...

Behold: a room featuring almost every. single. one. of my favorite design elements--a grand stone hearth as the centerpiece of the room, flanked by built-ins filled with books, surrounded by wood painted white, with beams, model ships, wicker and rattan, a touch of tartan, an elephant garden stool and--wait for it--Lee Jofa's Althea! You know how much I love my Althea...

It was love at first sight.

Where, you ask, is this perfect storm of style? In Libby Cameron's Maine summer home. I mean--Maine! I love Maine!

Cameron was Sister Parish's protégé and her sophisticatedly eclectic and subtly colorful style certainly reflects Parish's influence, but this summer home seems to be more of a happy accident where family heirlooms and beach finds have collected over generations in the most inviting way. Ever.

The magazine feature left me wanting more, so I searched stalked Cameron's summer home and found the following photos on Homeaway (yes, you heard right--anyone want to go to Maine with me this summer?!):

The home's casual kitchen and porch are equally as charming:

In addition to stalking Cameron's family summer home, I stalked her, as well (duh). Here are some other interiors by Cameron that I absolutely love:

Cameron in Coastal Living

Much like her mentor, Cameron creates seemingly effortless interiors by mixing colors and patterns that compliment each other--her spaces make perfect sense, but the elements in them do not necessarily match.

Like Libby, I too love painted wood floors, especially in a summer home. She says she used marine deck enamel on the floors in her Maine home for low maintenance. Here are some more of her painted floors:

Cameron in House Beautiful

Since I have done all of the online stalking possible, my next stop it to buy the book which Cameron co-authored with Parish's granddaughter:

Libby Cameron

Aaand maybe I'll even take a trip up to Maine to stay the house sometime soon...