The latest stories from Remodelista

by Julie Carlson

Suddenly everywhere: products made from recycled sails. Here are 11 current favorites.

Above: Among Dvelas’s many offerings made from recycled sail canvas is this chic beach lounger made from a strip of repurposed sail cloth. (It rolls up super efficiently for carrying, too.) The Devlas Fortuna Folding Sunbed is $498 from Couture Outdoor.
Above: Also availavle from Devlas: a wide variety of one-of-a-kind poufs for lounging, each made from a recovered sail. Shown is the Cheslon UE.202, $674, with sails from the boat Nilaya out of the port of Palma de Mallorca.

Above: The B7 Sail Cloth Lamp with White Leather Cording is 2,900 DKK (about $441) from Birgit Øestergaard.
Above: The Butterfly Chair made from sailcloth is from Airborne in France, via Vent de Voyage; €594.
Above: From Re-Sail, Rhode Island-based purveyors of housewares made from upcycled sail cloth, comes the All-Sail Doorstop, $40.
Above: The Recycled Sailcloth Large Holdall is $57.94 from Etsy seller the Old Salt Loft. We also like the vintage sailcloth bags from Sea Bags in Maine.
Above: Diamonds & Rust carries a rotating array of bags and totes made from salvaged vintage canvas and other nautical finds.
Above: We love the onetime laundry baskets made from sails and rope from Trimm Copenhagen; sadly they’re no longer in production, but here’s hoping they make a comeback. Meanwhile, this Upcycled Sailcloth Laundry Hamper from Etsy seller Bientot Dimanche is great, too; from $133.73.
Above: In Setting Sail: Susan Hoff’s Live/Work Space in San Francisco, couch cushions are made from upcycled sails.
Above: A sail, secured with thin rope, serves as a curtain.
Above: At Westward, a waterfront restaurant in Seattle, custom light fixtures have shades made from reclaimed sails.

N.B. This post originally ran on June 27, 2014 and has been updated with new products, images, and pricing.

More ideas? Have a look at our Nautical Style posts, including:

• Beach House Chic: 9 Inspired Nautical Notes
• Netscapes: 9 Stairwells with Nautical Enclosures and Rails
• Object of Desire: Diamonds and Rust Buoy Bags

by Annie Quigley

Lately I’ve been poring over Coaster’s Chance, a 1760s captain’s cottage on the coast of Maine, north of Acadia. The house is the newest project of Rhode Island-based Moore House Design—and their first Downeast. Available to rent, the interiors have been redone in moody hues befitting the palette of pine, rocks, and seaweed outside the front door.

Join us for a look around:

Photography by Erin McGinn, courtesy of Moore House Design.

Above: The cottage, called Coaster’s Chance, sits on the end of a private road on Cutler Harbor and has been in the Moore family for 30 years.
Above: The newly redone kitchen has original beams and a wood stove. The Moore House team sanded back the wide-plank wood floors and redid the walls in plaster.
Above: An antique “boulangerie” table serves as both island and gathering space.
Above: The cabinets are painted in a muted hue, Sherwin Williams’ Bosc Pear.
Above: Two Maine classics: painted wood floors and a braided rug. The rug was existing in the house; after looking for ways to tone down the color, the Moore House team settled on “DIY trash can-over-dying” to get a more muted look.
Above: The dining room has 200-year-old horsehair and plaster walls.
Above: Some of the old wallpaper is exposed in the living room. “It was a slightly bigger project than we had originally thought, because much of the wallpaper was still VERY securely pasted to the plaster,” Moore House Design writes on their blog.

“Our team went at it with razor blades, putty knives, and sandpaper to expose as much of that original plaster as possible. As we were working, we started to fall in love with the map-like look of the two materials and ran with it—adding a bit of coffee-colored paint slurry over the top to soften the contrast.”

Above: “The outcome felt aged and imperfect, like something out of an abandoned historic homestead,” the team adds.
Above: The main bedroom suite is housed in a transformed hay loft.
Above: Antique wood blocks (once used for making wallpaper) hang on the wall, and a linen curtain opens to reveal the soaking tub.
Above: A fold-away drying rack, hung in a window, helps towels to dry—an old Shaker trick.
Above: Once the home’s main bedroom, the Captain’s Suite is named for the sea captain who built the property.
Above: On the subject of the pleated shade, the team writes: “We definitely went minimal with the additions to this space, so we wanted to add a touch of texture as well as pattern somewhere without overpowering any other elements. In the spirit of having a little fun during our install, we ruched up the fabric around the shade’s base and voila! Just what we were looking for.”
Above: The painted floors add dark gloss.
Above: The ensuite, with beach finds on the shelves.
Above: The Wheelhouse Loft—named for a brass plaque on the door that reads “certified wheelhouse,” a seafaring term—got an all-over coat of white paint to make it feel more open.
Above: “To add a little visual depth we painted the headboards fun colors that paid homage to some of the paint colors original to the cottage,” the team writes. “The set of twins are a deep forest green to tie in the floors from downstairs.” The full bed, not pictured, is done in mustard yellow, a nod to the color of the original kitchen.
Above: The view over Cutler Harbor.
Above: Dinner can be taken outdoors in good weather.

N.B.: Want to see more of the project? It’s also featured in Magnolia Network’s series Point of View: A Designer Profile.

For info on renting Coaster’s Chance, head here. And for more Maine style, check out our new book, Remodelista in Maine—plus:

• The Soot House: Conjuring the Ghosts of Old New England on Spruce Head in Maine
• Heart and Science: A Researcher’s Eccentric Handed-Down Home Off the Coast of Maine
• Seven Lakes Inn in Maine: Summer-Ready Lodgings by a Mother-Daughter Duo

N.B.: This story originally ran on September 30, 2022 and has been updated.