Designing a Vacation Home: What We Consider at Violet Marsh Interiors
Montana Fishing Shack
Designing a primary residence is always deeply personal, but designing a second home or vacation retreat carries a different kind of responsibility. A vacation home should feel like a departure from the everyday—not just geographically, but emotionally. At Violet Marsh Interiors, we’ve had the privilege of designing second homes in dramatically different landscapes, from the rugged quiet of our Montana Fishing Shack to the salt-washed serenity of our Maine Cottage in Harpswell and our Maine Coastal Cottage. While each project reflects its setting and the people who inhabit it, our approach to vacation home design follows a thoughtful and intentional framework.
A second home should feel like an exhale. Here’s what we consider when designing one.
Maine Coastal Cottage
Letting the Location Lead
Every successful vacation home begins with its setting. The landscape, climate, and light all shape the interior decisions that follow. In Harpswell, Maine, the Atlantic Ocean influenced everything from the material palette to the window treatments. Salt air requires durable finishes, and expansive water views call for interiors that feel light, layered, and in conversation with the horizon. In Montana, the surrounding mountains inspired a grounded palette of wood, stone, and warm neutrals, with materials selected to withstand remote living and heavy seasonal use.
Rather than imposing a style onto a home, we design in response to place. Natural materials that age beautifully, textures that reflect the landscape, and architectural details that honor the setting are always foundational to our process.
Maine Coastal Cottage
Designing for How the Home Will Be Used
Second homes are often designed around gathering. They host extended family, visiting friends, and long weekends filled with activity. That reality shapes everything from space planning to furniture selection. We prioritize generous dining tables, kitchens that allow for multiple cooks at once, and seating arrangements that encourage conversation without feeling overcrowded.
At the same time, retreat is just as important as gathering. A well-designed vacation home includes quiet moments: a window seat overlooking the water, a soaking tub positioned to capture a view, or a reading nook tucked into a corner. These spaces allow the home to feel restorative, not just social.
Montana Fishing Shack
Durability Without Sacrificing Beauty
Vacation homes experience a different kind of wear. Sandy feet, ski boots, fishing gear, and children running in and out require thoughtful material selection. We often incorporate performance fabrics, durable natural stone, and millwork designed to handle seasonal shifts in temperature and humidity. Storage is carefully considered to accommodate everything from beach towels to outdoor equipment, often through built-ins and hidden utility zones that preserve visual calm.
However, durability never means sacrificing beauty. Wool rugs, custom upholstery, statement lighting, and layered textiles remain integral to the design. A second home should feel elevated and intentional, not temporary or overly practical.
Maine Cottage in Harpswell
A Slightly Braver Palette
Interestingly, clients are often more open to taking design risks in their vacation homes. While a primary residence may lean toward timeless neutrals, a second home allows for deeper color, richer texture, and a slightly more expressive approach. On the coast, this might mean embracing layered blues that echo the coastline. In the Rocky Mountains, it could mean leaning into moody woods and darker tones that feel appropriate against the mountain backdrop.
Because vacation homes are often tied to emotion and memory, they invite a certain freedom. We use that opportunity to introduce personality while still ensuring the design will age gracefully.
Maine Coastal Cottage
Creating a Legacy
For many families, a second home is not simply a retreat but a legacy property—a place where traditions form and memories accumulate over time. That perspective informs our commitment to longevity. We prioritize classic proportions, natural materials, and thoughtful detailing that will feel relevant for decades. Trends are filtered carefully, and permanent selections are made with restraint and intention.
Whether we are designing a Montana mountain retreat or a coastal Maine cottage, our goal remains consistent: to create a home that reflects its surroundings, supports gathering and rest in equal measure, and feels deeply personal to the family who will return to it year after year.
Designing a second home is about more than aesthetics. It is about capturing the spirit of a place and translating it into an interior that feels warm, layered, and quietly luxurious. When done well, a vacation home does not just look beautiful — it changes the pace of life within its walls.
Whether you’re building a mountain escape, renovating a coastal cottage, or transforming a lakeside retreat, we approach every vacation home with the same care and clarity: thoughtful planning, enduring materials, and a design that will feel just as meaningful twenty years from now.
If you’re beginning the process of designing a vacation home, we would love to partner with you. Reach out to schedule a consultation and let’s create a retreat that feels like a true exhale.
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