House of Style Owner of legendary Bangor boutique turns her eye for design to her own home

Nancy Graham is a woman of style. As the proprietor of Nancy’s, the designer boutique that graced downtown Bangor for two decades, she earned a reputation for impeccable taste and her commitment to quality. In those days, her slogan was, “Nancy’s: When the ordinary just won’t do.”

Today, the same could be said of her Bangor home.

Over the last 30 years, Graham has feathered her nest with the finest of fabrics, furnishings and finishes – many with a French flair. A 2002 remodel showcases her confident approach to decorating. Yet, her home doesn’t feel “done.” Instead, it feels gracious and comfortable.

“I used to say, I don’t understand why people hire decorators because they know what they like,” Graham said, standing before an antique burlwood armoire in her bedroom. “I don’t know how anyone couldn’t know what they want to do.”

For Graham, these things come naturally. Her kitchen features a mixture of cabinets, open shelving, basket-filled drawers and a “garage” for the toaster oven, all painted and distressed to look antique. They complement one another, but don’t all match. Hand-painted quotes from people Graham admires punctuate the white walls, and one from Oscar Wilde sums up the whole scene:

“I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best.”

An elegant island topped with honed Carrara marble takes center stage, but her refrigerator, concealed behind a pair of brilliant blue cabinet doors with hand-forged iron handles, draws the eye, as well. Graham stores her everyday dishes behind folding doors with curtained windows that resemble the entrance to a sidewalk caf? in Paris. On the glass, she had the words “Chez Nancy” painted in an Art Nouveau-style font that evokes Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.

“I like everything European,” Graham explained. “I like English gardens, French d?cor inside. The colors, the style of furniture, the pattern of the fabrics, the way of just putting these things together I’m attracted to.”

Outdoors, her gardens, laden with hosta, poppies and lavender, have a distinctly British influence. They were designed by Claire Ackroyd of Orono. For her interiors, she relied on her own design acumen, which she has refined through reading magazines and fearless – but educated – experimentation.

Her husband, John, has his own suite of rooms, with heavy woodwork in the sleeping quarters, a hotel-style tiled bathroom, and a study with gilt-framed paintings of hunting dogs on the deep navy blue walls. A large, brown leather couch from Ralph Lauren completes the look.

Upstairs, Nancy’s own suite of rooms complements her personality. The walls of her breezy bedroom are covered with a subtle blue paint – shipped from England, and, as a crest on the can attests, the same brand favored by her royal highness. She ordered her bed, which she first saw in a decorating magazine, from France. It took two years to arrive, and when it did, it was signed by Gabriella, the artisan who designed it. And on the dresser? Chanel No. 5, of course.

She refers to her sitting room, where she likes to curl up and read, as “the Hemingway room,” with its bold red walls, safari-inspired border and animal print textiles – including a pair of leopard-print slippers.

Downstairs, in a room off the kitchen, she proudly points out a slipcover created from an antique French postal bag. It covers the back of a chair upholstered in black and white toile.

“I don’t know if you’d call my decorating eclectic or not,” Graham mused. “Whatever I see that I like, I work it into my home.”

Take, for example, the mustard-yellow caf? chairs in her foyer, which she found during a buying trip for Nancy’s. In the opposite corner, a large, earthenware vessel used for drying lavender forms a table of sorts. On the doors of the coat closet, small enameled signs read “Vestiaire,” French for cloakroom. A large, hand painted sunflower adorns the hardwood floor.

Her choices may be bold, but they reflect Graham’s independent spirit and her timeless elegance. She takes the same approach to dressing her home as she did to dressing Bangor’s most fashionable women – classic, but with flair.

“I don’t feel anything in my home is trendy or will not last,” said Graham, dressed in Lilly Pulitzer Capris, a crisp, white linen tunic and Chanel flats. “As long as you’re comfortable in your home, whatever it is, whether it’s in right now or not, it’s OK.”

Because confidence never goes out of style.

Kristen Andresen can be reached at 990-8287 and kandresen@bangordailynews.net.

The Graham house

Architectural style: Georgian Colonial

Intriguing features: heavy wood molding; deep French farmhouse sink with wooden drip edge; quotes painted on kitchen walls; Carrara marble on kitchen island; sunflower painted on hardwood floor; “rooster with attitude” handpainted over stove.