Backdrop’s Checkerboard Wallpaper Looks Right at Home in This Restored Historic Hotel

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The Norumbega Inn inward Camden, Maine, wouldn’t look out of place in a kids’ storybook. Its exterior lone, consummate alongside a magical turret, is similar something out of a fairy tale. So when it changed ownership in 2022, the consensus among loyal guests was: “Don’t alter the space; nosotros dear it every bit is!” recalls designer Lisa Galano, whose exercise, Studiocake, was hired to refresh the interior.

The building, which was constructed inward 1887 equally a individual residence, yet retained many original details, such as coffered ceilings, wainscoting, and wood paneling, just the decor itself was unremarkable. “Our priority was to conserve the sincerity of the existing architecture in addition to finishes spell introducing contemporary moments,” explains Galano. Camden is a yr-circular destination amongst a first-rate artisan coffee and dining scene, and so the aim of the modernization was to residuum the integrity of the hotel’sec New England style piece appealing to a broader demographic. 

Galano’sec vision for each of the 11 invitee rooms was “to feel similar the primary guest room of your ain residence” too to elevate the lounge spaces amongst vintage piece of furniture finds together with custom upholstery. Here, she explains precisely how she pulled it off. 

Play to the Building’sec Strengths

Whether it’second inward a downtown loft or a country kitchen, exposed brick lends a highly textural, rustic mood to a space. So why did Galano select to comprehend it upward in the newly created game room? “It was rattling inconsistent,” she explains of this detail wall’s lineament. It besides sucked upward the natural light: “It gave you this feeling of existence [inward a] cellar.” Her compromise was to panel over it simply to a tiptop “that nonetheless allows yous to see the sweet petty arches that were previously covered over inward former possessor iterations,” she notes. By picture the novel surface inward white gloss, the calorie-free bounces around, lifting the infinite.

Go Arts in addition to Crafts-y

In high-traffic areas such equally hotels, flooring needs to live incredibly hard-wearing. Expertly made vintage rugs—about of which have stood the examination of fourth dimension for decades—was Galano’second solution for the staircases. She worked with Sacco to notice kilim, Oushak, as well as Anatolian rugs, too cutting them upwards as well as sewed them dorsum together on-site. The consequence is a unique and sustainable choice to buying a new runner. “We did non concur back on what vibe we were sourcing from. We actually wanted it to feel like a patchwork of both unlike countries as well as patterns,” she says. 

Rethink Checkerboard

In its new guise, the Norumbega boasts a dozen patterned wall coverings from the likes of Cole & Son, Zak & Fox, Wallshoppe, and The Netherlands & Sherry, alongside no ii repeated across any space. But the ane that garners the nigh feedback is an ombré checkerboard by Backdrop inward the Sandringham Room. Galano calls it a “maximalist second amongst a minimalist palette,” noting how the colors echo the opinion of the lush landscape outside. Designed to await similar a mitt-tiled surface, it’sec the sleeping accommodation’s context that is and so disarming. “Checkerboard is usually shown inwards tile on the floor, in addition to so to role it in this in-betwixt scale on the walls felt really fun,” explains Galano.

Find a Common Thread

Galano wanted each chamber to have its ain unique character, piece simultaneously creating a reassuringly cohesive experience across the inn. So she picked the same finishes for every bath, settling on shiplap to cozy upwards the walls, fitting as well as accessories from Ferguson, in addition to vanities from RH. She besides chose the same bed linens throughout. With the sleeping in addition to bathing experience universal in price of await and comfort, it allowed her squad to play alongside different wallpapers, low-cal fixtures, carpets, throw pillows, as well as art inside each infinite. It’s a subtle move that has won over the clientele. “The feedback we received is people saying: ‘We didn’t think you could get in ameliorate, just yous actually celebrated it—you brought the Norumbega to the mod solar day,’” says a beaming Galano.