An Inside Look into Martha Stewart’s 12-Bedroom Estate in Maine

We all remember Martha Stewart’s iconic southern-style fried chicken, don’t we? Martha started a career in culinary art. She began her own catering business in the late ‘70s with her friend, Norma Collier. Her cooking shows and cookbooks were instant hits.

Her fascination with homemaking started in the 2000s. She owns houses in several places — from New York to Connecticut. Her summer vacation home in Maine and the farmhouse in Lily Pond Lane are two of the most exquisite houses of all time!

Martha purchased the Skylands almost 24 years ago, in 1997. Located in Seal Harbor, Maine, Skylands was originally built in 1925 for automotive executive Edsel Ford — son of Henry Ford. This 18th-century house is designed by the esteemed architect Duncan Candler.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that this three-story residence is heaven on Earth. Surrounded by greenery, this house sits high atop the hill looking over Seal Harbor. It looks like a luxury mansion, once owned by the Fords, now in the safe hands of Stewart.

As soon as you enter the house, you’ll be greeted with this beautiful terrace. We all know how much Martha loves greenery. This house really turned her imagination into reality. The terrace is full of kiwi vines, vegetable gardens, flowers, and so on!

You can lie down on the chairs and take in the view as long as you want. This house is so different from any other celebrity houses. It doesn’t stand out, but rather it seems to be nestled on a mountain, embracing all the greens.

This one is a different angle of the terrace, showing the kiwi vines all around the terrace. These vines give the house its signature look as if it purely belongs to nature. The vines climb up the rear of the house, almost hugging the whole dwelling.

This particular part of the outside was actually designed by Jens Jensen in 1920. The Ford Family loved the naturalistic landscapes so much that they made sure the house was truly engulfed by the soothing greens.

Martha calls Skylands her “favorite place on Earth.” We can clearly see why. Rumor has it that many high profile friends of her often spend the summer in this exquisite house. Any guess where they dine? This amazing dining space on the terrace, of course.

A portion of her terrace is furnished with this European style Mackintosh teak table and chairs! Martha loves spending her summer brunching with friends and family in this terrace space. Shaded by the vines, it would certainly feel like you’re dining under the Tuscan sun!

Wondering how it looks from the inside? Here you go. The living hall of Skylands looks unreal — so unreal, in fact, that it looks like it could be a painting. The floors and ceilings are all wooden, harmonizing with the stark greenery outside. Martha truly is an experienced homemaker and understands the color-play in interior design.

The main furniture of the living hall — from the sofa to small stools — are all neutral in color with whites and creamy velvet shades. A vintage tassel-footed metal table designed by Carole Stupell sits in the center.

This is the first look inside the summer haven. If you were expecting it to look like a grim 18th-century house from the inside, prepare to be baffled. Stewart truly owns the place and made it sure with the décor — especially when it came to the entrance.

As you step foot inside the house, you’ll notice a vintage white bench with the existing furnishings. Martha also added her finishing touches with the faux-bois pieces and self-designed console rest.

This is a corner living room of the house. If you know Martha’s love for the maximalist style, then it shouldn’t surprise you. Even the corner sides of the house are decorated with luxurious pieces. This side of the living room faces the terrace.

The diamond-pattern French doors and windows are the main attraction of this area. The button-tufted chairs here are designed by Liz O’Brien. It goes perfectly with the comfy couch and a vintage faux-bois birdbath.

No need to pluck any flower from the garden. Skylands has a special room for that — the flower arranging room. This oak-paneled flower room is full of beautiful mercury-glass vases. However, it’s not the vases that’ll blow your mind, but rather it’s the array of wonderful colors.

The flower room is filled with different varieties of flowers, carrying the whole color spectrum. The wooden shelves carry the vases filled with orchids. The marbled floor looks perfect with the soft light from the vintage lantern.

Perhaps you noticed that there are no curtains here. Martha has a good reason for this and it’s evidently clear if you take a look at the view from the dining room. Right beside the huge French-style wooden windows, the simple dining room basks in the natural light.

Imagine sipping on your breakfast smoothie while the sun warms the room and wakes you up! The diamond-patterned windows go perfectly with the simple marble dining table and comfy chairs. The room is meant to be very minimalistic — just sunshine coming from the windows is enough!

We’re still not done with the living room! The living room of Skylands is truly the heart of the estate, as it’s where you can see the past and present collide. On one side, you have the vintage art pieces and torchiere on the wall. On the other side, you’ll come across a modern aesthetic.

This side of the living room is certainly reminiscing of the past. A circa-1880 sofa from Ann-Morris with antique Georgian stools — looks like this is the most luxurious part of the hall.

Being the culinary goddess herself, it makes perfect sense that Stewart’s kitchen would be just as exquisite as the rest of the house. As you can see, the cooking space of this house is very well furnished.

You’d expect Martha to tweak the design of the kitchen, but surprisingly she didn’t have much to do. The Fords were ahead of their time and the design of the kitchen co-incodes with the modern era.

Who would have thought kitchen décor could look this exquisite? We’re in awe just looking at this shelving space. The wainscot you are seeing is made of vintage Pewabic tiles. The antique fishmonger table against the wall is also from Ann-Morris.

Stewart is a big fan of this brand and added many elements to it. The sunlight streaming through the window enhances the beauty by ten-folds.

Let’s have a look at Martha’s master bedroom — another amazing mixture of vintage and modern home décor. The bedroom is kept minimalistic. What catches the eyes right away is the four-poster bed. The Roger & Goffigon canopy fits perfectly with the antique style bed.

The Chinese embroidered screen hangs is a special edition by Stewart, who loves Asian embroidered art pieces. Morning tea while reveling in the beauty of the terrace? Well, the bedroom has a balcony attached, so why not? We finally get why she’s so excited about summer!

The master bath of Skylands will certainly cement the idea of why Martha Stewart is such a popular homemaking expert. Just look at these vintage basins and the Pewabic tiles. The whole look is magnificent.

The all-white interior really works here and has even lent a charm to the overall vibe of the estate. The signature element of this is the huge window, and the bathroom is no exception. A square-patterned window allows sunlight to stream through. A touch of nature here and there with flower vases increases the beauty and overall warmth.

Martha’s love for home décor is not confined to art pieces or furnishing. She recently redecorated Skylands, especially the terrace. As you know by now, Skylands is filled with greenery from all sides and angles.

To enhance the beauty, she added a pergola covered with kiwi-vines. Needless to say, the western side of the terrace looks even more elegant. The terrace is one of the main attractions of the outdoor of this house, and Stewart left no stone unturned to make it look extra awesome!

Martha has a special fondness for artwork. You will find hundreds of expensive décor all around the estate. If you walk up the stairs towards the hallway of the second floor, you’ll come across these beautiful globe engravings.

This is a series of 26 reproduction 17th-century globe engravings. Any art enthusiast will tell you the same thing — these engravings are very rare and pricey. Well, Martha couldn’t care less about the money. She’s worth millions, after all!

Know why Martha Stewart’s books on homemaking are always sold-out? Aside from her impeccable taste, she has another special quality — her attention to detail. Even the smallest and the least used item of the room gets the same priority. Take this work table, for example.

This porcelain work table with open shelves looks like a phenomenal addition to the decor. The finishing is done very skillfully and it’s also perfectly organized.

Wondering who watches over this entire property in Maine? Well, according to Martha, it’s the sphinxes! There are two glazed terracotta sphinxes on the terrace. You can see one of them here. These were designed by Emile Muller, the esteemed art designer.

If you’ve been following Martha’s blog, you’d know there’s a special place for terracotta items in her estate décor. This ‘baked Earth’ adds a rustic edge to the overall vibe.

Martha Stewart believes in one thing for sure and that is — go big or go home. She loves to use the scale dramatically. Take, for instance, her six-foot-long mirror. It’s hanging from a 10-foot-long table, which she designed by herself.

The table has a polished pink granite top. Upon the first look, you might not notice the hidden drawers. To complete the whole look, the homemaker placed huge concrete planters on either side of the table.

Martha Stewart has an obsession with faux bois décor items and you can’t blame her. Take a look at these faux bois concrete planters. These planters imitate the Renaissance style very closely. Filled with moss from the surrounding woods, these run the whole length of the guest dining table.

The addition of these planters is a clever trick to include some green in the home décor. And despite being the focus of the room, these plants give off a very humble vibe.

Martha always has guests over at Skylands. Perhaps this is why she makes sure that the guests have somewhere to rest. Aside from many seats and benches, she has included around 18 stools in the kitchen. Remember her attention to detail? She carefully selected stools of varied height and all-white color.

Gathered around the kitchen island, they look like art themselves. It’s pretty amazing how she can manage to make simple items look so great!

Martha’s love for special cutlery knows no bound. You can see a demonstration here. She made her own Great Wall of China in the kitchen. She gathered all her white dishes from the cupboard and put them out on the display on the kitchen shelves.

The shelves are right above the porcelain fishmonger’s table, which goes perfectly with the white dishes. We just hope no one knocks them over!

This grand circular table is the heart of the living room. This nine-foot diameter table dominates the whole great hall. It’s the hub of the Skylands. You might be wondering who in their right mind would need a table this big. However, the living hall is 28 by 42 feet!

Martha knows the dimensions all too well. She also collected seven stools and placed them around the table. These are upholstered in wool damask, the same one you can see on the sofas.

With the way Martha keeps adding one skill after one in her portfolio, we might see her take up singing as a profession in the near future. She also happens to have many musician friends and an unlikely friendship with rapper Snoop Dogg. While we don’t know if we’ll see any rap collaborations, we can certainly feel her appreciation for music.

A testament to this is Steinway grand piano at her great hall. This vintage piano had grown to a darker color over the years, made to look ebonized.

This nickel-coated copper-topped table is simply mindblowing. Over the years, Martha has restored, redecorated, and relocated many items in the Skylands. This metal table is a recent addition to her décor. Don’t mistake this table as a mere tea-table!

It’s one of the main attractions of her dining room. You will find this vintage tabled topped with glass tableware. The mellowed look of pewter on this table goes really well with the whole house.

Martha’s ability to make a simple thing into a work of art never ceases to amaze us. Just have a look at this card table. Martha completely transformed this ordinary card table by covering it with a tablecloth. It’s no ordinary table cloth, though.

It’s made from pumice-colored leather and antique silver mesh ribbon at the seams. Whether it’s cards or a game of Scrabble — this table is right there to initiate it. No wonder why guests love to hang around this house so much!

She must really like metal items! We can’t blame her, though. An 18th-century house is never complete without vintage metal artifacts. Take a look at this bronze tray. How beautiful is it? It’s an antique bronze faux-bamboo mirrored tray and it sits on the copper table we just mentioned.

The combination of the tray atop the table just creates an ethereal display. Imagine the afternoon light peeking through the curtains and falling on this piece. Quite a sight!

As you already know, Skylands is filled with many vintage items. Some are meant to take your breath away while others are subtle in their presence. This window seat here certainly belongs to the latter style. The cabriole-leg bench is just beside a huge window of a square pattern.

Martha is actually a bookworm, a fact that may surprise many. We love the small bookshelf beside the window seat. Summer evenings, coffee in hand, and reading books sitting by the window — sounds like a dream!

Martha loves having guests over. It’s not just one of two guests — she literally hosts summer parties for hundreds of people. Wonder how she remembers the guests’ names? She loves to do this the ancient way. There’s an enormous guestbook sitting atop a vintage table right near the entrance.

The book measures 30 by 36 inches, with a tall brass floor lamp standing guard. See the silk shade with antique ball fringe? It’s designed by Stewart herself, showcasing her prowess in homemaking.

Skylands is Martha Stewart’s summer haven. In 2000, she purchased another house in Bedford, known as the Canitoe Corners. Named after the wife of an Indian chief called Katonah — who lived in this region in the 1700s — Canitoe Corners was first established in 1784.

One look at the house from the front and you know why Martha loves it. This one is also surrounded by greenery! This 4,500-square-foot home is Martha’s winter house, adorned with grand entryways and a stable farm nearby.

Here is yet another view of the grounds of Martha’s Bedford farm. What you’re looking at specifically is the television personality’s tenant house. According to Martha’s blog, this house is where her “daughter, Alexis, and her children stay during visits to the farm.” How cozy!

The shot of the house was taken during Martha’s annual holiday party in 2017 in which nearly 200 guests wandered in and out of the three buildings on the farm. Each building had a different festive theme…

Now, we’ve already spoken about Martha’s beloved library room, where she spent much of her time when she stayed at her Turkey Hill estate — but this? Well, it’s next level! What you see here is a cookbook library of dreams!

Although Stewart does keep duplicates of her most references books on shelves in her main kitchen, the businesswoman decided to create a “bright and beautiful library for my volumes, in the dining room of the Maple Avenue house on my farm in Bedford.”

This is another angle of Martha’s prized library, where we can get a closer look at the beautifully pristine mantle fireplace With the help of a designer, the homemaker chose black floor-to-ceiling adjustable shelving.

She then organized her collection by type of cuisine. Her vision for this room was to make it feel like a “well-lit reading room in an old public library. A large dining table for hosting lunches and dinners doubles as a work surface where I can spread out multiple books, papers, and photos.”

We can’t get enough of Martha’s Bedford home; it’s just so beautiful. And thanks to the fact that Martha is a big-time drone lover, we now have this special opportunity to see aerial shots of the farmland.

This particular shot, which totally captures the geometric shapes and symmetry of the terrace parterre outside Martha’s home, was taken in late July. “It even captured a group enjoying lunch. Smile for the camera,” Martha wrote on her blog.

How did Martha Stewart’s hunt for vintage houses begin? It all started with her Turkey Hill house, which is located in Connecticut. She lived here for almost 36 years. So, Turkey Hill certainly holds the most special place in her heart. “It was a dream place for my family and me for many years,” she quipped in an interview.

This is her first vintage house, built in 1805. The four-acre estate includes three bedrooms, two bathhouses, a heated pool, and is surrounded by orchards and gardens.

Many people don’t know this, but Martha recently sold her beloved Turkey Hill house. When asked about this home, Martha gets emotional. One of the best things about the house, as she remembers, is her library room. She has always been a huge bookworm and decided to have her own book paradise.

Adorned with simple decorations, it also is the place where she penned many books and typed her cookbooks. It’s the room that made Martha the maker of her own fortune.

Martha Stewart’s home on Lily Pond Lane in East Hampton is one of the best-known houses in America. The queen of cookbooks and homemaking first discovered the house in 1961, also by sheer luck. It was the oldest house on the street and called the ‘wreck of Lily Pond Lane.’

Built in 1878, this house has been completely transformed by Martha. She updated all the floors and walls, turning it into a getaway for her family and friends.

Martha’s East Hampton home has a very traditional feel and aesthetic, which you can see by taking a look at the multi-landing staircase. This classic staircase is full of beautiful detail and even includes a built-in bench with pale pink cushions — what a great place to sit while you put your shoes on before starting your day!

When you make your way up the stairs to the second floor, you’ll be met with a breathtaking view of the land, thanks to the wall-to-wall window design.

The dining room in Stewart’s Lily Pond estate has a super cozy and welcoming vibe. With its mustard yellow/pale lime green shade, the beamed ceiling adds to the overall ambiance of the room.

Naturally, the shelves that cover the length of the room are stuffed with various gardening books. Sheraton-style chairs surround the table, which has been thoughtfully set with Steuben glassware and Limoges china. In order to keep the look of the dining table clean, just one seashell was chosen to sit as the centerpiece.

One of Martha’s East Hampton living rooms is decorated in coral and neutral tones, and features a set of windows that overlook a plethora of trees and greenery. A Venetian-style chandelier hangs above the coffee table, which is unsurprisingly topped with stacks of books to choose from.

The sofa and armchair are upholstered in a Rogers & Goffigon linen. Throughout the house, you’ll be able to find numerous specimens of stuffed fish and birds as, according to Martha herself, “it makes a peculiar, loud statement.” Peep the fish wall mount in this room.

Welcome to Martha’s East Hampton cottage kitchen. The handmade Mexican floor tiles in bright teal help to give depth and vitality to the kitchen. According to Martha’s blog, “the green pigment was pressed into the cement as the tiles were being made. They were then air-dried and polished by hand.”

Wow! What a process, but we think it’s safe to say that it was well worth it considering the end result of this kitchen. The combination of handcrafted mahogany woodwork, white marble countertops, and shades of teal is truly something to be admired.

This small mudroom — which is located right off the kitchen — doubles as a country-home office. It features a vintage ceramic lamp, a ’50s-style chair with a cushioned seat, and a farm table that has a durable galvanized aluminum surface.

Above the desk hangs an antique pantry cabinet, which provides storage for all sorts of books and supplies. Of course, we’re sure that the technology has been updated since this photo was taken in 1994 (check out the clunky desktop computer)!

How cozy and relaxing does Martha’s bedroom at her Lily Pond estate look? We’re absolutely in love. The Victorian oak bed is covered in silk batting, between vintage linen sheets embroidered with her initials. The two large bedside tables were once café tables with cast-iron bases that Stewart had topped in galvanized steel.

You’ll notice that the tables are topped with stacks of books, of course. We bet that you’ll be able to find a book in every one of the rooms of every house that Martha Stewart owns — and that’s impressive!

Looks familiar? Lily Pond’s second living room has similar elements to Skylands as Martha loves shades of white and creamy. Although it is much smaller than her summer home, it’s very elegantly decorated. You can see how she always chooses soothing shades to make it feel cozy.

Martha went a bit off her style and opted for a much simpler décor. We love how she snuck in green touches here and there — classic Martha!