How to Live with History
Elle Decor US|May 2023
In Downeast Maine, a rare 1960s home by local icon Emily Muir gets a shipshape renovation.
Kathleen Hackett
How to Live with History

Maine summers are mythic, its coastal cottages perhaps even more so. There are the shingled behemoths built by 19th-century rusticators, Greek Revival captain's houses clustered in seaside villages, and simple fisherman's shacks strung along the ocean's edge. None of them interested Carolyn Evans as she scrolled through rental options from her Charleston, South Carolina, kitchen in the spring of 2020. "We'd never been to Maine, but friends had moved there to escape the Southern summers, and we were feeling that heat," says Evans, a psychotherapist and author. Those friends happened to be Bill Bowick and David Bouffard, an architect duo who knew exactly what she and her husband, Ray, wanted. The couple had recently traded in a traditional 1840s Charleston "single" for a 1950s midcentury home, all angles, glass, and brick, with an open floor plan. "I just love a straight line," Evans says she realized. "I have a hard time living with a curve."

This story is from the May 2023 edition of Elle Decor US.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the May 2023 edition of Elle Decor US.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM ELLE DECOR USView All
This Room Could Save the Planet
Elle Decor US

This Room Could Save the Planet

In a well-designed passive home, where elegance and insulation go hand in hand, anything is possible.

time-read
3 mins  |
April 2024
Net Benefit
Elle Decor US

Net Benefit

A design couple builds a sun-filled family Fretreat on Long Island-one that's as welcoming as it is friendly to the environment.

time-read
3 mins  |
April 2024
This Is California
Elle Decor US

This Is California

A 1950s house in Ojai taps childhood memories of the Golden State for designers Nathan Turner and Eric Hughes

time-read
3 mins  |
April 2024
SERENITY NOW
Elle Decor US

SERENITY NOW

A peripatetic Brazilian jewelry designer plants roots in São Paulo via the comforts of a faraway place.

time-read
3 mins  |
April 2024
A NEST IN EAST EGG
Elle Decor US

A NEST IN EAST EGG

Here's how a Gatsbyera mansion lured Alfredo Paredes and his family away from the big city.

time-read
3 mins  |
April 2024
PIAZZA SUITE
Elle Decor US

PIAZZA SUITE

Eric Egan, an interior designer of both homes and leading hotels, creates his own turnkey pied-à-terre in Milan.

time-read
3 mins  |
April 2024
Ain't It Grand?
Elle Decor US

Ain't It Grand?

After two decades, Dallas designer Jean Liu refreshes the historic Manhattan studio apartment she bought when she was just 22.

time-read
3 mins  |
April 2024
RUNS IN THE FAMILY
Elle Decor US

RUNS IN THE FAMILY

For a sibling, Studio Muka channels a love of alpine architecture and the great outdoors in a revamp of a California cabin.

time-read
2 mins  |
April 2024
Will A.I. Replace Your Decorator?
Elle Decor US

Will A.I. Replace Your Decorator?

We’re in the midst of yet another tech upheaval. But, for interior design at least, artificial intelligence might not be as scary as it seems.

time-read
3 mins  |
April 2024
DOES THIS SOFA GO WITH MY MONET?
Elle Decor US

DOES THIS SOFA GO WITH MY MONET?

When decorating one's home, which comes first: the art or the room?

time-read
2 mins  |
March 2024