Get Inspired By These Charming New England Summer Cottages

A charming collection of New England summer cottages from the pages of Yankee.

By Aimee Tucker

Apr 26 2023

With its ample natural light and sandy hues, the O’Briens’ living room epitomizes coastal casual.

Photo Credit : Mark Fleming

Whether it’s on a lake or by the sea, the relaxed vibe of the classic New England summer cottage is something many of us dream about. Here’s a look at a few of our favorite recent Yankee summer cottage features to help fuel your next daydream – or perhaps more!

Designer Sara Fitz’s Ocean-Inspired Maine Cottage

A Maine cottage reflects the passion and aesthetic behind the designs of Sara Fitz, where foamy color washes the walls and bleached pine cupboards and tables—antique chunks of them—are strewn about like driftwood.

Props from Sara Fitz photo shoots and coastal treasures collected over years fill the shelves in the studio.
*Photo Credit : Mark Fleming*

Sara and husband Miles in their York, Maine, kitchen with sons Everett and Oliver.
*Photo Credit : Mark Fleming*

See more of Sara Fitz’s Maine cottage (and her charming artwork!) in our 2019 feature, “Sea World.”

Author Joyce Maynard’s New Hampshire Lakeside Cottage

During a time of great struggle and sorrow in her personal life, author Joyce Maynard took a 3,000-mile leap of faith when she purchased a humble New Hampshire lakeside cottage after seeing it online. She’d been dreaming of an authentic lake escape. One that featured “just an old kitchen table and a screened-in porch, with the breeze passing through.” Built in 1900 with a semi-screened-in wraparound porch, the house and adjacent boathouse sat on a dirt road and overlooked a small, quiet lake. Inside: a living room with a bay window and fireplace, a big old-fashioned kitchen, and two bedrooms. “The shower was just where a shower should be, for an unwinterized summer cottage,” she says, “outside.” We agree that she found the perfect slice of lakeside heaven.

Maynard’s home as seen from the lake. Friends helped convert the shed behind the boathouse into a wood-fired sauna, which she uses almost every night.
*Photo Credit : Photographs by Mark Fleming | Styling by Heather Marcus*

The living room, with artwork by Maynard’s friend Daniel Thibeault, a Peterborough artist.
*Photo Credit : Photographs by Mark Fleming | Styling by Heather Marcus*

The kitchen’s vintage stove, whose propane heater is most welcome on chilly mornings.
*Photo Credit : Photographs by Mark Fleming | Styling by Heather Marcus*

Details of the interior and deck of the boathouse, including the desk where Maynard wrote *The Best of Us*, her memoir about her late husband, Jim.
*Photo Credit : Photographs by Mark Fleming | Styling by Heather Marcus*

See more of Joyce Maynard’s New Hampshire lake house in our 2018 feature, “A Beacon on the Water.”

Gingerbread Magic on Martha’s Vineyard

A peek inside the iconic Pink House at the Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association, one of the island’s most recognizable summer homes. The cottage that would become known as the Pink House was built in 1870, but nearly three-quarters of a century would go by before it got its eponymous hue. That change was made by New York City artist Lillian Cotton, who bought the rather run-down home for $200 in the aftermath of the Depression. In 2021, the Pink House was once again for sale, and we couldn’t resist taking (and sharing) a peek thanks to then-owner Maureen McDonald. No surprise – it quickly sold.

The Pink House in all its eye-popping brilliance, which has made it a favorite subject for local postcards.
*Photo Credit : Courtesy of Maureen McDonald and Anchor Realty*

A view of the cottage kitchen, with its updated appliances and, yes, pink flooring.
*Photo Credit : Courtesy of Maureen McDonald and Anchor Realty*

A wall of windows installed in 1960 floods the living room with natural light, casting a glow over the recently refinished pine floor.
*Photo Credit : Courtesy of Maureen McDonald and Anchor Realty*

Gothic doors are a recurring design element in the Pink House. Here, they provide access to the front balcony from a color-splashed bedroom.
*Photo Credit : Courtesy of Maureen McDonald and Anchor Realty*

See more of the Martha’s Vineyard Pink House in our 2021 feature, “House for Sale: In the Pink.”