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Do you remember Sharon Mrozinski’s week of outfits? Well, we couldn’t get enough of her laid-back style, so now we’re taking a peek into her beautiful Maine home, where she lives with her husband, Paul. Here are some photos, in collaboration with The Maryn…
LIVING ROOM
On moving to a tiny island: We had entered our seventies and felt that we had to rethink our lives. Paul fell in love with a wonderful building on Main Street in Vinalhaven. So, we moved there in 2017 and opened our new antiques shop, Marston House.
On a pear collection: Pears are one of my favorite foods to eat, and I find them to have such lovely shapes. A bit human without a head, arms or legs but with that bum they always sit on! With or without good posture! Paul, knowing how much I loved the fruit, started buying little gifts for me whenever he would find one.
DINING AREA
On the dining table: The table was originally a standing work table from an English library; we removed the big drawers under the table so we could sit and eat around it. It’s probably our favorite spot in the house. We love sitting at the table doing our computer work, dining with friends and family and watching out the window what’s happening on Main Street.
KITCHEN
On cooking at home: Paul and I eat 99% of our meals at home. We like homemade soups and raw salads, as well as goat and sheep cheeses. Carver Market nearby does their best to get fresh greens all summer, and we go the Rockland farmer’s market on Thursdays.
On beautiful jugs: I love American jugs with blue painted stripes. One by one, I found them irresistible, and so a collection began. Most of these are for making breakfast pancakes — and the smaller ones for maple syrup.
OFFICE
On natural collections: These nests, eggs and turtle shells were all homes. They remind me of how much I love my personal home. Paul found a couple of amazing collections of nests from old libraries. I’m so grateful to have each one. They are built and furnished with such individual care and needs.
On admiring your spouse: I love the installations that Paul makes. He has a quiet way of always creating. And I love his patience with me. As a little kid, I was a handful and not easy to live with, and I’m still strong minded.
On relationship advice: Being a couple is never always easy. Communicate with one another. Be honest, even if it is painful. The ego often has to be left behind in order to move on together. One question to carefully consider is, ‘Do you want to win or do you want to heal and grow?’
BEDROOM
On a special painting: The portrait is of my mom and me during the summer of 2004. Anna B. McCoy, a dear friend and favorite artist, wanted to paint us when my mom was living with us in her late eighties. I wept when Anna B. unveiled the portrait. She completely captured my deep love of my mom and my fear of losing her to dementia.
On reading habits: Paul often reads to me and vice versa, and we both tend to love nonfiction. My favorite book last year was The Salt Path by Raynor Winn, an inspiring true story of a couple in their late fifties who lost everything with a bad investment, became homeless and walked the 650 miles of salt paths of Cornwall, England.
On daily walks: We love taking daily walks for three to six miles, if possible. Vinalhaven is wonderful for walks with the water on one side and the old neighborhoods on the other. The island has the most beautiful gardens, which we are constantly amazed by. There are no beaches to walk on Vinalhaven since it is a working harbor, but we love the night air and the lobster boats rocking idly. One of us aways wears white so we can be seen. It does get dark, but the star-studded skies are amazing.
Thank you, Sharon!
P.S. More home tours — including an England house, a San Diego bungalow and a New York apartment — and Sharon’s week of outfits.
(Photos by Marta Xochilt Perez for the Maryn. Produced and art directed by Michelle Adams for the Maryn. Photos republished with permission.)
