Nominate your favorite Maine businesses for Best of Maine!

Best of Maine: Home and Garden 2013

Decorate with vintage Americana goods. Hide away in Longfellow’s Garden. Find Down East flavor in Perry.

Photo: courtesy Home Remedies/Scott Dorrance

Home Design Store 
for Inspiration 
Home Remedies
Owner Rachel Ambrose designed her home decor store, Home Remedies on West Commercial Street in Portland, with an open-concept plan. The result is a 4,000-square-foot space where you can get inspired by all the stages of interior design in the same room. Enter the store, located in the historic Star Match Co. building, and flip through Ambrose’s many fabrics, observe the processes of sewing and re-upholstery, and browse a carefully selected assortment of rugs, furniture, wallpaper, and other home items.  83 West Commercial St., Portland. 207-899-0135. mainefabrics.com

Vintage Americana Store 

Cape Porpoise Outfitters
Fueled by the curiosity of owner Jared Paul Stern, Cape Porpoise Outfitters serves up an eclectic but curated mix of vintage Americana items. Filled with nautical paintings, antique furniture, vintage Barbour jackets, old watches, and even Gucci tennis racket holders, the store is a “best of” of the many junk stores you’ll find in Maine. It somewhat takes the fun out of that junk barn hunt. But if you’re looking for that one decorative piece to bring together a living room, we doubt you’ll mind choosing from only the best options. 8 Langsford Rd., Cape Porpoise. 207-200-3737. cape-porpoise.com

Gift Store 
Red Sleigh
Travel as Down East as you possibly can along Route 1 and run into a delightful red cabin named The Red Sleigh. This store in Perry, on a fairly deserted stretch of the route, features products for your home from more than forty local artists, farmers, artisans, and food producers. This isn’t a touristy gift store, however. Its quirky personality matches that of its owners, who started the business to serve not only as a place of commerce but also as a community gathering spot that exhibits local art, holds events to meet new people, and showcases live music. 1881 Route 1, Perry. 207-853-6685. theredsleigh.com

Hidden Garden 
Wadsworth-Longfellow House
Right on the busiest section 
of Congress Street in Portland is one of the city’s finest gardens — yet most residents don’t even know it’s there. Hidden behind 
the childhood home of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Longfellow’s garden meanders amongst flowers and benches between the back of the Maine Historical Society and a red brick wall. It’s the very spot where the poet himself ached for the woman who would later become his wife. Maine Historical Society. 
489 Congress St., Portland. 
207-774-1822. 
mainehistory.org