Maine Living (Hardcover)

by Carol Bass (Author), Dennis Welsh (Photographer) "This book begins where the first Europeans landed, and where, every morning, the first light of day shines in this country-the Maine Coast..." (more)
Key Phrases: organic farmers, Right Page, Left Page, Grey Havens (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Maine’s beauty has always captured hearts, but has never been a place for the faint of heart. Its severe climate and geographical remoteness have no use for fussy, high-design and big-city styles. Maine Living is about living with pragmatic grace.

Author Carol Bass discovers the vernacular beauty of unpremeditated Maine in everything from clotheslines, tractors and lobster boats to sheds, barns and cabins, porches, inns and artists’ studios. With sumptuous photography that covers the diversity of Maine’s landscape—from the salty coast to rural landscapes to country summer celebrations—Carol Bass proves that Maine style is mysterious yet natural, romantic yet hearty and bold.

Carol Bass is an artist and interior designer. In 1988, she co-founded Maine Cottage Furniture in Yarmouth, Maine, which now boasts 200 stores across the United States. Her award winning furniture designs have been described as "straight from the heart," "spontaneous and direct," and "bold and full of energy." Her work has been featured in Metropolitan Home, Country Home, Redbook, Country Living, In style, Coastal Living, Better Homes and Gardens, Home, House and Garden, and Cottage Living. She is also the author of The Cottage Book.

From the Inside Flap
$34.95 Maine's beauty has always captured hearts with the striking hues and bold forms of its natural beauty; it clings to its roots in the fine lines of treasured antiques and speaks to the present in the playful individuality of family-style home comfort. Maine's climate and geographical remoteness have created an improvised style where the ordinary is beautiful, from salvaged antique tables and wicker porch furniture, to warm crockery and homemade art. Maine Country Living is about living with pragmatic grace, a quality you can incorporate into any home or cottage. In the beautiful homes and living/workspaces photographed in this book, Carol Bass proves that Maine style goes far beyond stereotyped lobster traps. Just as Mainers highly prize self-reliance and authenticity, all of the designs you'll find here are products of real people who live real lives-on inland lakes and the salty coast, in rural landscapes and in city dwellings, in snow-frosted architecture and throughout Maine's celebrations of summer. When the summer folks have gone home, the subtly nuanced individuality of life in Maine shines out like a lighthouse beacon. And like sand from the shore in your pocket, the tools in this book allow you to bring it home.

Carol Bass is an artist and interior designer. In 1988, she co-founded Maine Cottage Furniture in Yarmouth, Maine, which now boasts 200 stores across the United States. Her concept of cottages, encompassed in her company's products, encourages people to pick boldly colored home furnishings, much as an artist would choose paint for a composition. Carol's belief that color can change people's lives has created a wide following in this country and abroad. Her award-winning furniture designs have been described as "straight from the heart," "spontaneous and direct," and "bold and full of energy." Carol gives art and design workshops at schools and in her studio, and works with architects and their clients to create fresh new spaces with a nostalgic charm. Her work has been featured in Metropolitan Home, Country Home, Redbook, Country Living, In Style, Coastal Living, Better Homes and Gardens, Home, House and Garden, and Cottage Living. In Maine Country Living Carol celebrates the people and places in Maine that have inspired her work and life over the past thirty years. She is also the author of The Cottage Book.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Gibbs Smith (September 24, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1586853708
• ISBN-13: 978-1586853709
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 10.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #454,721 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cultivates a Sense of Wonder, July 27, 2006

By	Rebecca Johnson "SeasonedwithLove.com" (Washington State) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

"Maine, a geographical outpost thrust into the wild North Atlantic, has offered romance, mystery, retreat, and renewal to hundreds of thousands of people over the years." ~ Carol Bass

Thinking about Maine makes me wonder about two of my best friends in the world and what their lives were like growing up in this beautiful area. Now and then they tell me about the winters or school life, but now I have pictures to go with the stories. The pictures are gorgeous and are authentic representations of the Maine lifestyle and culture.

Throughout the book, advice is given on how to bring the feeling of Maine into your home. You may want to paint a picnic table or cook up a fish chowder. I found a quilt that has a very cozy Maine feeling to it and they suggested I put more red cushions in the living room.

General stores are also a feature and Carol Bass shows you which flowers to plant to give your garden added beauty.

I just know that one day I won't have to keep dreaming about a trip to Maine, I'll be there at a bed and breakfast where the breeze blows curtains through an open window, wandering down country roads and maybe even writing a poem while overlooking the water. The Blueberry Hill Farm Bed & Breakfast looks fascinating to visit in the late summer or early autumn.

"Sixty thousand fun-loving visitors had up to Unity each fall to reconnect with rural living, to join in this feast for the senses, and to participate in a down-home celebration of the season's harvests: organic apples and squash, sunflowers and late-blooming perennials, fresh berry pies, homemade honeys and jams, and the best cottage cheese and goat's cheese this side of heaven."

~The Rebecca Review

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning, October 30, 2007

By	one reader - See all my reviews

This book is completely gorgeous and artfully conveys the beauty of the land, wit of the people, and talent of the photographer. I highly recommend it.