Back to Seaside Maine with Cora Hilts

We’re revisiting coastal Maine, where our favorite sustainability expert, Cora Hilts, is growing roots and taking care of her stunning historical farmhouse. Cora, the co-founder and CEO of Rêve En Vert, a platform for elevated sustainable living, moved back to her Maine hometown several years ago with her husband Jamie and their two sweet pups.

Committed to building a seaside haven focused on slow living and regenerative agriculture, this sweet family finds themselves amidst a flurry of renovations and garden projects galore. Their Dekayess Sofa anchors their living room oasis, alongside their Emilia Credenza that keeps books and blankets at bay (yes, this is the cozy life of our dreams). 

Get up to speed with Cora’s Maine home and read her first home tour here.

Q: You were firm about not rushing renovations so the house could "teach you" first. Now that you've had more time in it, has your home revealed anything about itself that changed your plans?

Yes! I am just so glad we decided to take our time with this renovation because it has allowed us some grace with this old farmhouse. This winter, we had a huge issue with plumbing that caused us to redo our kitchen unexpectedly when a leak destroyed the ceiling, and not having rushed into anything, we were able to handle it as calmly as we could! 

I am more confident than ever that I want timeless design in our home, and pieces and decor that reflect the history of the property, the beauty of the nearby ocean, and also pay a little homage to my husband’s home country of England. 

We have learned that we don’t love white as much as we thought that we did, that I do not want everything to be an open floorplan, and that having a very spoiled dog means you need darker furniture and flooring than you may have thought. Going slowly has made the process more fun in my opinion, and working with Medley on each room as it evolves has been such a treat!

Q: How have the landscaping and garden projects progressed since we last spoke? You mentioned wanting to try regenerative agriculture and rewilding. Have you started growing your own produce yet?

We are fortunate enough to have 5 acres here, so we made a conscious decision that we wanted to give about 3/4 of that back to nature and keep the rest for our use. We have done that by planting native trees all around our perimeter, and then letting most of the lawn go to native meadow, which is so beautiful. My husband has cut paths through the areas that we need to walk in, and in the summer months this is just magical. You can still have lawn, but we realized we need much less of it than we might have thought!

And our organic vegetable garden is growing each year - I now have six beds that I am tending to. I am also trying to make sure most of my summer pots are full of herbs, and planting as many pollinator friendly flowers amongst it all as possible. Seeing our property become such a haven for wildlife and biodiversity makes me incredibly happy and each year we try to do a little bit more! This year I have been planting a lot of echinacea, yarrow, calendula and borage; and everyone is very happy with it. 

Q: You mentioned never wanting the house to feel like somewhere you can't get comfortable. Does the living room pass that test? 

We just had friends and their children come to stay and I can officially say that I think the living room has passed the comfort test! We really wanted a room that would feel elegant and warm, with a lot of wood and earthy tones. A room you can put your feet up in, have a glass of wine in, read in, have conversations in, let children draw in. For me, making sure we had some darker pieces to hide any stains was really key, and we offset that with creamy walls and soft light fixtures and rugs. 

Q: How are you liking your Dekayess Sofa, and what drew you to it?

I am in love with this sofa - the green color we chose is just perfect and the linen-cotton fabric has stood up so well to constant use. It looks beautiful yet inviting and I cannot recommend this piece enough. 

It also has withstood the love of our black lab, Peggy, who is obsessed with sleeping on it. Even though she is on it with my husband or I everyday, it looks as good now as it did when we first got it months ago. The style is timeless, the size is just right in our space, and the natural materials make it feel comfortable. 

Q: What's your favorite object in the room?

Well, I would say that is a toss up between our Emilia Credenza and the upcycled wooden ceilings my husband did for the living room. The credenza is such a perfect piece for both styling and practicality. The doors hide all the things I want to store in there like winter blankets, books and trinkets, but then the surface area is beautiful for books, a vase of fresh flowers and even manages to make our TV look chic, haha. 

The ceiling in the space I love particularly, because my husband cut each board from old wood in our barn to make sure we were using what we already had and honoring the history of the space. The wood in the living room is decades old, and I love that we have given it new life! 

Q: What are the objects you play around with the most in the space? 

Coffee table books and the books that we are currently reading (I love fiction), fresh flowers from local farms or the garden, ceramics and pottery. I like having things in my space - no sparse living here!

Q: What’s a favorite memory you’ve had here?

I would say Christmas this year was pretty magical, because we had a new fireplace and a tree in the room. It was very snowy in Maine this winter and so being able to sit on the couch, look at the fire, have friends and family over and feel confident that the space was warm and inviting was really special to me. 

Q: If you could sum up the feeling of this room in a few words, which would you choose?

I would love to say that our living room is natural, earthy, comfortable and hopefully curated, but still a little bit effortless! 

Q: A few years into this chapter, living in Maine, the farmhouse, the land, the slower pace — do you see yourself here for the long haul? Has the house come to feel like home? What's next?

Yes this is absolutely our forever home. The feeling we have here is one of real happiness and we have built a strong community here in Maine. The house, barn, and property feel like a lifelong project that I will always love working on. I think having a bit of purpose that is also pleasurable is one of life’s great joys and this home feels like that to me. 

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Thanks for your words, Cora! You can get even more dreamy Maine content by following Cora Hilts @corahilts on Instagram here.

Feeling inspired? Find Cora’s Dekayess Sofa in Natural Latex and Wool right here. Order free fabric samples to make your vision real.