Ep. 461: The "Rusticator" Lifestyle with Laura Keeler Pierce

How to Decorate

Caroline McDonald

Arts, Business, Design

4.4 • 838 Ratings

🗓️ 14 April 2026

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We are heading up to the beautiful coast of Maine for today's episode! Our guest is Laura Keeler Pierce, the founder and principal designer of the New England-based interior design firm Keeler & Co., and the co-founder of Rusticator, a curated home furnishings shop located in Seal Harbor, Maine. Laura sits down with Caroline, Taryn, and Liz to discuss her signature aesthetic, which masterfully blends historic New England charm with modern, updated livability. She shares how growing up moving from city to city shaped her design eye, the inspiration behind the "rusticator" lifestyle in Acadia National Park, and her approach to designing incredible commercial spaces like the reimagined Claremont Hotel. Quick Decorating Takeaways: Respect the Architecture: When working with older, historic homes, Laura believes in maintaining the architectural integrity while infusing it with modern character. Don't fight the bones of the house—embrace them, and let the history of the home inform your material and fabric choices. The "Rusticator" Lifestyle: Inspired by Mount Desert Island's iconic summer cottages, Laura recommends looking for "first-generation heirlooms." These are timeless, well-crafted, sturdy pieces that can handle everyday life (and sandy feet) but still bring a sense of tailored elegance and deep comfort to a space. Mix Classic with Contemporary: A room shouldn't feel like a museum. Laura creates warmth by layering classic, traditional patterns (like Sister Parish or William Morris & Co.) with fresh colors, vintage bamboo pieces, and contemporary art to keep the room feeling spirited, welcoming, and deeply personal. What You’ll Hear on This Episode: 00:00 Welcome & Introduction to Laura Keeler Pierce 02:00 Growing up surrounded by "sawdust and custom draperies" 06:00 Balancing a heritage design sensibility with modern living 12:00 The foundation of Keeler & Co. in Boston and Maine 18:00 The story behind Rusticator in Seal Harbor and the island lifestyle 25:00 How to source timeless furnishings and everyday heirloom pieces 32:00 The design process for reimagining the historic Claremont Hotel property 38:00 How a sense of place and local nature influences interior color palettes 45:28 Closing thoughts and where to visit Rusticator in person Also Mentioned: Keeler & Co. | Website Rusticator (Seal Harbor, ME) | Website The Claremont Hotel Follow Keeler & Co. on Instagram: @keelerandco Follow Rusticator on Instagram: @rusticatorshop Shop Ballard Designs Please send in your questions so we can answer them on our next episode! And of course, subscribe to the podcast wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode. You can always check back here to see new episodes, but if you subscribe, it’ll automatically download to your phone. Happy Decorating! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to How to Decorate from Ballard Designs, a weekly podcast all about the trials and triumphs of decorating and redecorating your home.
0:09.1	I'm Caroline. I'm on the marketing team. And I'm Taryn and I'm a product designer. I'm Liz. I head of the creative team.
0:14.8	We're your host. Join the expert team at Ballard Designs for tips, tricks, and tales from interior designers, stylists,
0:20.9	and other talents in the design world. Plus, we'll answer your decorating dilemmas at the end of each
0:24.8	episode. We love answering your questions, so don't forget to email us at podcast at balderdesigns.net.
0:30.5	Now on with the show.
0:33.6	Our guest today is Laura Keeler Purse, the founder of the New England-based design firm Keeler & Co.
0:40.3	Under her leadership, the firm creates spaces that thoughtfully connect contemporary living with heritage design sensibilities.
0:47.3	Whether she's designing a private residence or an iconic commercial space like the Claremont Hotel in Maine,
0:53.3	her projects are always rooted in history, rich with narrative, and deeply connected to their sense of place.
1:00.1	She's a recipient of the prestigious New England Home 5 Under 40 Award, and alongside her husband is the co-founder of the beautiful home furnishing shop, Rusticator in Seal Harbor.
1:12.1	Laura, welcome to the show.
1:13.9	Thank you so much for having me.
1:16.6	I'm so delighted to be with you both this afternoon.
1:21.7	I always love to hear people's journey into interior design.
1:23.7	So let's start there.
1:29.7	How did you get into interiors and where's talk about your passions? Yeah, it's such a great question. It's been a really meandering road for me. I, uh, my parents are originally from the
1:37.2	UK and they moved over here just before I was born. And I spent, uh, a lot of my youth, all of my youth, moving around.
1:46.2	And so I think I'd lived in like 16 different houses before I graduated from high school,
1:51.5	which was quite remarkable and all over North America.
1:55.7	And when it came time to then go to college, I was highly ambitious and thought that I was going to be
2:01.9	pre-med and a bio major. And, you know, time went on over the years. I ultimately graduated with
	...

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