This dream began to unfold when the couple was living in Valencia, Spain. They spotted the property online while planning a move back to Rhode Island. “It was on a street we had always loved,” Maaike says with a smile. Tucked away at the end of a leafy driveway on an acre-and-a-half of land, the location offered a country setting just ten minutes outside of downtown Newport, where they had previously lived for five years.

While the location was ideal, the house itself was not. The 1980s contemporary style was a far cry from the country cottage of Maaike and Erik’s dreams. “We had to have some serious vision,” Maaike explains. The couple gutted the house down to the studs and opened it up without expanding the original footprint. They used wasted attic space to create vaulted ceilings with skylights, which flood the house with light. Dark wood paneling and cold floor tiles were replaced by clean white walls and hardwood. They added red cedar shingles to soften the exterior and allow the structure to blend in with the natural surroundings.

From the kitchen, there is a clear view into the living, dining, and family rooms, but each one still remains separate. The home manages to feel airy and open without sacrificing warmth.

Many of the wood furnishings that fill the house are inherited family heirlooms – a coffee table made from the floors of Erik’s grandfathers’ office in Paris and Maaike’s dresser that was her changing table when she was a baby. Sentimental artwork and items big and small were inherited from their grandparents in Sweden and Holland, and add to the comfortable, lived-in feeling of the home. New pieces, several of which are made from reclaimed wood, mix effortlessly with antiques and create an organic feeling that mirrors the lush surroundings. Naked windows offer a clear view of the outdoors in every room and add to the overall feeling of tranquility. The peaceful surroundings, after all, are what drew the couple here from the start.

Text and photos by Jacqueline Marque.

You can read more about Maaike and Erik’s style and see the full Apartment Therapy house tour HERE.

There’s nothing cookie-cutter about a converted greenhouse; changes often require custom designs and clever craftsmanship. With a love for the quirkiness of their non-conventional home and an eye for interesting design, Amy, a freelance color consultant for residential and commercial spaces, and Rob, a sailmaker who owns two sail lofts and races sailboats professionally, have kept the building’s original purpose in mind as they’ve updated their home throughout the years.

The first thing you notice as you enter the house is a long, light-filled hall with French doors on either end. A day bed looks right at home in this corridor that feels like a sun porch worthy of afternoon tea with a friend. Blue and white Flor tiles, pieced together as a runner, add a pop of color and a graphic element that draws the eye forward and accentuates the unusual shape of the room.

The kitchen, which retains the original a-frame roofline and floor-to-ceiling windows, is the most obvious reminder of the home’s origins. Custom-designed cabinets mirror a wall of glass, which floods the room with natural light, a precious resource during New England’s long winters. A copper-capped windowsill provides a perfect place for potted plants to thrive year-round. A table made from old bowling alley flooring is one of many examples of the MacMillans’ love of repurposing materials. Open storage throughout the room, including a space for shoes underneath the banquette seating, makes the most of the room’s sharp angles.

The house is filled with an eclectic mix of new and old, consignment shop pieces, hand-me-downs from family, and trash-to-treasure finds. The comfortable kid-friendly environment is filled with personal photographs, artwork, and plenty of space for Tatum and Mo to play. A hand-painted growth chart – with names, dates and ages of family and friends – and a chalk paint corner between the playroom and kitchen are a testament to this home’s easy, laid-back vibe. “I don’t mind drawing on the walls… from the tallest of friends to newborn babies, we tend to measure most everyone who comes around,” Amy explains. “Living in a quirky house with so much character and history is really special,” she says. “It’s fun to see it evolve and grow with us throughout the years.”

Text and photos by Jacqueline Marque

You can read more about Amy and Rob’s style and see their full Apartment Therapy House Tour HERE.

I’ve looked forward to the day when I’d have a child to take to this party. Although I was shooting the event for the newspaper (are you recognizing a common theme here?), Evangeline was lucky enough to enjoy the delightful tea party with her Nonna and Kiki, who was visiting from New Orleans.

All of the beautiful desserts were from The Newport Sweet Shoppe.

Here are some of my favorite photos of the party from past years:

I took this one in 2010 when I was pregnant with Evangeline:

This was Evangeline’s reaction when she spotted me from afar. Is there anything better than being loved by a small, joy-filled human?

Surprisingly, when Amy Cervini asked Evangeline to name her favorite food, she froze under the pressure of having a microphone in front of her. She just stared blankly at Amy like a deer in headlights.

Oh, my, what lovely eyes miss Aria has!

My girl, soaking in the scene and wearing the same serious expression as her father:

Did these ladies coordinate their outfits?

Evangeline couldn’t get enough of the bottomless supply of Late July chips in the Family tent.

Note the excitement on Evangeline’s face as she watches Jim James:

Throughout the weekend I kept noticing the fantastic outfits worn by this stylish beauty, Odessa Rose. I love the way she combines this look, reminiscent of the late 60′s/early 70′s, with a pair of leather boots.

After I quickly squeezed my way through the crowd to get this photo of Beck and Ramblin Jack Elliot together on stage, I made a couple of new friends and discovered these awesome sunglasses made of wood.

This was our view as we enjoyed Beck’s set backstage after a long weekend full of wonderful music:

You can see some of my favorite Folk Festival images from past years HERE.

Hiromi is quite possibly the most dynamic musician I have ever seen. She is a photographer’s dream!

Our Evangeline is becoming a Jazz Festival regular. She hasn’t missed a festival since 2010 when she was in my belly. Here she is with my mom, clearly feeling the familiar New Orleans love coming from Jon Batiste and Stay Human.

The neighborhood, known as Bay Spring, began as a community of modest summer cottages built on small lots around the turn of the 20th century. Hurricanes in the 30’s, 50’s and 60’s took a toll on the area. The Kings’ house, which started out as a rental that was not much to look at, was barely winterized when they moved in. “The curtains still fluttered in the slightest breeze, even with the windows locked shut,” Brian recalls.

Seeing that the neighborhood was on the verge of a comeback, the couple purchased the house in 1984 and got serious about turning it into a home where they could raise a family. “Our little summer cottage had to be made solid enough to remain cozy through New England winters when even the bay froze over,” explains Brian. In addition to making the house structurally sound, they opened up the first floor by eliminating walls and enlarged the second floor. The renovations were completed just in time to welcome their son Nick.

Throughout the years, the house has evolved as the Kings have built their life as a family of three. The addition of a front room with vaulted ceilings and French doors that open to a wraparound deck creates what Joanne aptly describes as “a fluid space that spills out into both the landscape and the seascape.” “I always feel like the outdoors is right there,” Joanne explains, “I never feel enclosed.” The sea air, the ocean breeze and the sound of birds chirping in the trees make the airy room a favorite spot for afternoon naps. Nikko blue hydrangeas — planted as a nod to their son’s childhood nickname and his “bluer than blue” eyes — surround the house along with sea grasses, lavender, poppies, irises and rosa rugosa. A private Zen patio garden, a quiet sanctuary for morning coffee and relaxation, provides a perfect space for annual flowers.

Joanne acts as art director for the house, continually rearranging furniture, adding decorative touches, and displaying the work of local artists and friends. She draws from their abundant gardens to make flower arrangements and fills the kitchen with artful displays of fresh produce from nearby farms and seasonal markets, special touches that add to the feeling that the home is one with its natural surroundings. Randomly placed dimes are present throughout the house as a spiritual reminder of Joanne’s mom, who had an affinity for the tiny silver coins.

The King house is filled with memories. Looking back to when their journey as homeowners began, Joanne recalls sitting in a lawn chair while pregnant, during the ‘84 Olympics, and thinking, “When you arrive, this house will be ready for you.” She remembers the spring days she spent watching Brian and Nick play catch on the lawn — a sure sign that summer was around the corner — and white Christmas nights when holiday lights illuminated the house like a snow globe. “Every season is beautiful,” she says. Hurricanes, Nor’easters and winter blizzards may come their way, but the Kings are in it for the long haul. “We’ve built our life here,” Joanne says, “I can’t imagine ever letting this go. It’s just wonderful.”

You can see more photos of the King’s cottage and read about their style and inspiration on Apartment Therapy.

Photos and text by Jacqueline Marque.

The ideal vessel they sketched during dinner overlooking Newport Harbor became a reality six months later. Kristen shrieked with excitement when she laid eyes on the 1969 houseboat on a freezing cold day in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Within a week they were making plans to transport her back to Newport, Rhode Island.

That March, the new boat owners took a road trip to Miami in search of inspiration for the renovations that lay ahead of them and to visit Kristen’s father, a master carpenter and builder. He offered much insight into how they could execute their designs. When they returned to Newport, fresh with ideas, Kristen recalls visiting the boat and thinking “What have I gotten myself into?”

The boat needed lots of work. She had rotten wood and leaky windows. She needed new plumbing, wiring, floors and walls. They found vendors at a Boston boat show to come check her out and give them estimates for repairs. “One quote for plumbing was six times what we paid for the boat — the amount we had set aside for total costs including renovations, mooring and insurance. When the vendor left the boat yard, I was standing in front of my boat in shock, with black leather boots and a fur coat, and an old salty sailor walked by and said ‘nice boat shoes.’ I had tears in my eyes and went home and called my dad.”

This is when the hard work began. Kristen’s father intended to come for two weeks and stayed for six. He knew exactly what needed to be done to bring Chris and Kristen’s vision to fruition. He took on the role of foreman and began directing them and their team of friends and family who came to help. The boat was gutted, the stringers inside the hull reinforced, the floors and walls rebuilt. The work went on well into the evening on many cold New England nights. Slowly, the interior began to look more like the inside of an apartment and less like “a wet cardboard box.” “My father is incredible,” says Kristen, “and without him there is no chance I would have had the guidance or knowledge to do half of what was done.”

They put the boat in the water just before Memorial Day in 2012, and christened her Belafonte. “It seemed like a good vessel name. I love Harry Belafonte and his music,” Kristen explains. “The Life Aquatic had a magical boat named Belafonte and it seemed to make sense; an ode to Wes Anderson and Bill Murray who were here filming Moonrise Kingdom, which Chris helped make some props for.” They still had work to do, but over time, they have put it all together, little by little; adding curtains, fabrics, sheets, pillows and cushions. This summer Chris and Kristen began renting Belafonte for overnight stays, dinner parties and spa days. When the boat isn’t rented, she is the ideal setting for Chris and Kristen to entertain their ever-present stream of summer guests.

Moored in the center of Newport Harbor, Belafonte is easily accessed by a water taxi that leaves from downtown Newport. The exterior is a classic navy blue and white. The deck rails are beautifully wrapped with rope. The interior is filled with light that bounces off a gleaming white ceiling and white beadboard walls. An emerald green sideboard adds a pop of color and doubles as a sink and storage for food and tableware. The bed, bordered by windows on three sides, is a perfect spot to relax and read a book or drift off into slumber.

The upper deck seats 12 for alfresco dining and has a blue and white canopy – a deconstructed spinnaker – that can be adjusted in countless ways to create shade as the sun shifts throughout the day. Seeing it billow in the wind evokes the feeling of a dreamy island getaway and adds a bohemian spirit to Belafonte’s mod design. Chris and Kristen say that everyone who steps aboard falls in love with Belafonte’s charm. They’re right; she’s got the stuff that dreams are made of.

You can see a full tour of Belafonte and read more about Chris and Kristen’s inspiration for their renovation on Apartment Therapy.

Photos and text by Jacqueline Marque

The couple met in the late 1980’s when Gail began playing bass with Chil’s punk rock band, The Boneyards. The two bonded over music, a shared love of history, and joy rides that lead to adventures exploring abandoned buildings. “I love stories about houses that were just left as they were — with the table still set and everything — the family up and moved, or, sadly, the elderly died or were put away. There are so many abandoned houses that I am dying to break into,” Gail explains.

Chil’s reverence for the past dates back to his childhood, when he would accompany his mother, a second-generation genealogist and family historian, to cemeteries. He would shine a light on gravestones as she searched for clues to the past. “Don’t be afraid of ghosts,” she used to say, “Just ask them a lot of questions.”

Together the couple has developed a style they like to call “dead grandmother.” The first floor of their home echoes the feeling Gail previously described — minus the dust and cobwebs — of walking into a home untouched by time. The house manages to look a bit like a movie set while still feeling comfortable and inviting.

The kitchen is the most striking example of a time warp. Vintage hand-painted wallpaper with a repeating pattern including a fruit motif is the perfect complement to the house’s original cabinets, now painted a bright cherry red and stocked with Fire-King and LuRay tableware. Sparkling white 1940’s appliances look right at home beside a mid-century red and white dinette set.

The bathroom — tiled by Chil in black and white with Vermeer’s “Allegory of Painting” as inspiration — displays old apothecary bottles, vintage glass jars and a working vintage red hairdryer.

The guest room was inspired by the Nature Lab at Gail’s alma mater RISD, and intentionally has a little bit of a creepy Bates Motel vibe. The red walls feature botanical paintings and drawings from long gone relatives — Chil’s grandmother, Gail’s great-uncle — and antique taxidermy Gail acquired for use as study models when she taught drawing at Mass Art. The room holds some of Chil’s most precious family heirlooms: a glass-front bookcase filled with antique genealogy and history books inherited from his mother, and the rocking chair his great-great grandfather was sitting in when he died.

The frozen-in-time feeling of the home ends on the second floor. Once an unfinished attic inhabited by pigeons, the large open space filled with custom built-ins made by Chil is now the office of Greenwood Associates, the illustration and graphic design company started by Gail’s father Robert in 1954. Gail and Chil inherited the business from Robert and Gail’s late sister Betsy. Although the business has a long history, the office and art studio is filled with things that distinctly mark the space with signs of modern life — computers, magazines, lighting equipment, props for music videos.

A large collection of electric basses and guitars that line the walls tell the story of a life filled with music: the Rickenbacker and Thunderbird Gail played when she was on the road with Belly, L7 and Bif Naked, a black and white Hamer that used to belong to Rhode Island rock legend Carlotta Christy, and the ones they now play with their current band Benny Sizzler. The instruments are also reminders of the old Boneyards days when they first met and traveled with their bandmates Sluggo and Gene in a red and white van, playing shows with the Goo Goo Dolls, Social Distortion and the Circle Jerks. “To this day I have never laughed — nor cried — as hard as when we were all in that van, the “Pack of Luckys.”  The funniest people I have ever met,” Gail remembers fondly.

Their band no longer takes them far from home, but their life is still filled with music and laughter. The couple is currently planning a new Benny Sizzler video, complete with costumes and props they make themselves, featuring their charming and incredibly well-trained dogs Maurice Cheeks and Bear.

You can see Gail and Chil’s full house tour and read more about their style and inspiration on Apartment Therapy.

Photos and text by Jacqueline Marque