BRUNSWICK

P atricia Porell has an eye for interior design and décor. After 33 years as general manager of the Yellow Pages, she has fulfilled her dream of being an interior decorator and shop owner.

“A week after I turned 55, I retired to follow my passion,” she said recently, and Timeless Cottage on Maine Street in Brunswick was born. Porell gives interior design advice either over the counter at her store, or in your home.

“I’ve always studied, watched and dabbled in interior design. I have a natural affinity for it,” Porell said.

She started collecting items in her barn in Richmond before she opened Timeless Cottage.

“I was told this space would be too big, but now I wish I had twice this size,” said Porell of her 66 Maine St. shop. “I don’t offer consignment. If I like it I buy it. Owning the inventory allows me to move my inventory quickly. Offering new inventory frequently is critical to keep people coming back frequently,” she said.

Her goal as a business owner and interior designer is to find the highest quality items for the lowest possible price. She attends estate sales and auctions two to three times every week.

“I am the anthropology, pottery barn, alternative. I go to New York twice a year and I visit those stores to see what’s hot, and then I come back to Maine and recreate that look using items I’ve found locally. I want to offer people accessible interior decorating,” said Porell.

Her favorite item, if forced to pick one, is the rustic farm table. “I love farm tables and rustic looking tables, along with original art. I search far and wide to find the gems,” she said.

The biggest obstacle she believes she has to overcome is when people want to change or alter the pieces they wish to buy from her. “I often have people come in and say they want to buy this piece and that piece and then they want them painted the same color. I try very hard to dissuade them, because repainting two pieces that have different personalities and looks in order to have them look the same is just wrong,” said Porell.

Usually she asks customers if they are looking for something in particular or something for a certain room.

“I often say to people ‘where would you put that?’ just to get a conversation going and to glean from them information about what they are trying to accomplish. I think a piece looks more evolved rather than decorated if it’s left the way I present it here,” she added.

Original art

Nearly all the paintings and works of art in her store are original. “Ninety percent of what you see hanging on the walls in here are originals. I think a lot of people miss that fact when they come in here. They just assume it’s a print,” said Porell.

She does some of her own restoration work and has a workshop at the back of her shop.

Porell will help you find just the right piece of furniture, if you are looking for something in particular.

“I love to go and find things for people. I can go to an estate sale or auction with a specific piece in mind and focus on that. But most of the time I am tempted by a lot of other pieces I see when I am there,” she said.

Porell does not want Timeless Cottage to be seen as a re-sale shop.

“When someone calls this a re-sale shop it really hurts my feelings, because that’s not what this is. I work very hard at getting just the right pieces. I am not just re-selling things. I sell custom wood tables and C.R. Laine furniture. What I have here is really new and vintage decor,” she said.

Timeless Cottage can be reached at 207- 725-5057.

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