When New Yorkers Hélel Harton and Roy Kasindorf first saw the Ullikana, a Tudor-style mansion in Bar Harbor, Maine, their reactions differed. Kasindorf took one look at the sheet-covered, cobweb-draped interior and whispered, “Let’s get out of here.” Harton replied, “Shhh. I’ll talk to you later.”

Where Kasindorf saw financial disaster, Harton saw creative potential for a successful bed-and-breakfast in this scenic seaside town on Mount Desert Island, located off the coast of Maine. “We had seen a lot of places that were turnkey properties, and I couldn’t see myself undoing what someone had done,” says Harton, a soft accent revealing her Quebec roots. They had arrived at the perfect time of day for sunlight to stream through the huge stained-glass window on the stairwell, and she was charmed. “I loved the feel of the house, the character, the spirit. Like a blank canvas, you could make it your own.” And they have.

Built by Alpheus Hardy in 1885, the three-story Ullikana was among Bar Harbor’s earliest summer “cottages,” as the palatial summer homes of the wealthy were called. Over the years, although it had been renovated a few times, it had not been structurally altered. Upon that blank canvas, Harton went to work blending contemporary art and craft with traditional antiques, vibrant colors with soft pastels. “We made sure from the very beginning that we were not doing the Ullikana as a period house,” Harton says. “Right away, we set the tone, mixed things and made it very eclectic.”