A Serene Historic Home in Maine

Name: Danny
Location: West End — Portland, Maine

My wife and I live on the historic Deering Street in Portland, Maine. The building was built in the mid-1800s and our unit is around 950 square feet. We have 10 foot ceilings and black marble fireplaces in both the living room and bedroom. We recently moved from Wisconsin, where we lived in another mid-1800s home.

In January, I started my own design studio and our apartment doubles as my workspace. We chose to live in Portland for the slower pace of life, the incredible culinary scene, the creative environment and the easy access to nature. The location of our home gives us easy walking access to Old Port and the Arts District, but is on a more residential street and feels more homey. The city just reconstructed the street with wide brick sidewalks and kept many of the large old trees.

I have Swiss heritage and my wife has Norwegian, so our style is heavily influenced by both strong design cultures. We recently painted the entire apartment white with white trim to tone down some of the massive architectural details and focus on the black fireplaces. This gave us the freedom to start from scratch, decorate minimally and load up on plants. We love having a home that reflects our design style!

Thanks, Danny!

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