Maine
Martha Stewart redid her Maine living room, and the Internet is not loving it
Martha Stewart was “surprised” by the “harsh judgement” commenters were hurling at her Maine living room redo, which she shared on social media earlier this week.
“I rarely read all the comments that come in after I post but because I was so happy at the transformation of my Maine living room I did go through many of the comments and was surprised at the harsh judgment so many displayed !!!” Stewart wrote on Instagram Thursday.
The earlier reveal post featured multiple beige-and-black scenes from Stewart’s recently redecorated living room.
Aside from beige sofas and dark wood and black accents, artwork of birds and plenty of furniture made to look like wood lined the lavish rooms.
She wrote in the initial post, that she had a “big day rearranging the furniture in the three main living rooms at Skyland,” noting that she “switched the living room from grey blue upholstery to a creamy pale buttery yellow.”
Commenters were less than pleased with Stewart’s latest design choices, with one writing that the redecorated living space “looks old and stuffy” and another noting that it’s “not your best work” and that the room feels “empty like no soul empty.”
Not all the comments were critical, though, with plenty of fans chiming in on the original post to let the queen of domesticity know they think her home is “beautiful.”
“I have so missed your interior decorating segments,” one commenter wrote. “YES YES YES to all of this.”
Stewart said in her initial post that some of the furniture was repurposed from a home she sold two years ago, and, in an attempt to explain herself and design choices, provided further context on the redecoration on Thursday.
“I and my Maine helpers spent three hours moving out the old furniture and putting in the new,” Stewart said Thursday, adding that she and her team “were pleased that the pieces actually fit the room and were proportionate to the large size of the space.”
She made clear that the refresh “was not a ‘decorator’s’ professional installation,” rather, “It was an attempt to change quickly and efficiently.”
“Making a house a home, or a room a beautiful livable space takes a lot more than three hours,” Stewart continued on Instagram. “Of course there will be color, plants, mirrors, a new rug or two and other art and objects Stay tuned!!!!”
Many Maine municipalities will open cooling centers this week with the National Weather Service issuing a variety of heat advisories covering the next few days.
The Maine DEP also issued an air quality alert for Wednesday with ground-level ozone expected to reach levels that are unhealthy for sensitive groups.
All of York County, interior Cumberland and Androscoggin counties, and the southern half of Oxford County will fall under an extreme heat warning from 11 a.m. Wednesday to 8 p.m. Friday.
The warning calls for “dangerously hot conditions” that could feature heat index values of up to 110 degrees, with overnight lows only expected to fall into the 70s, according to the weather service’s office in Gray.
The rest of the state — save northern Aroostook, Piscataquis and Somerset counties — falls under a heat advisory from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday. However, the weather service has also placed much of the state under an extreme heat watch for Thursday.
Heat index values, which measure how hot it feels to the human body when relative humidity is combined with the air temperature, are expected to reach up to 104 degrees during the heat advisory period, the weather service warns. They could reach 110 degrees Thursday, when the extreme heat watch is in effect.
Northern Oxford and Franklin counties, and central Somerset County, can expect a heat index value of up to 99 degrees Wednesday, according to the weather service.
The weather service advises people to drink plenty of fluids, stay in air-conditioned rooms when possible, avoid extended periods in the sun and check up on relatives and neighbors. It also warns not to leave young children and pets in unattended vehicles, as “car interiors will reach lethal temperatures in a matter of minutes.”
Cooling Centers
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has also issued an air quality alert from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Wednesday along the coast from Kittery to Acadia National Park. The agency warns that ground-level ozone concentrations are expected to reach levels that are unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Ozone levels may reach “moderate levels” further inland, according to the Maine DEP, including in all of Androscoggin and Kennebec counties, as well as parts of Cumberland, Knox, Lincoln, Penobscot, Sagadahoc, Waldo, Washington and York counties.
Elevated ozone levels can pose a risk to children, older adults and people suffering from respiratory or heart diseases, according to the Maine DEP. Anyone exerting themselves outdoors may also experience health effects, which could include coughing, shortness of breath, throat irritation and mild chest pain.
Ozone levels were already climbing in southern New England on Tuesday, according to the Maine DEP, and winds are expected to bring those conditions to Maine on Wednesday.
The Maine DEP recommends that vulnerable populations avoid strenuous outdoor activities, keep windows closed, and circulate indoor air with fans or air conditioners. Those with asthma are also advised to keep quick-relief medication handy.
Particle pollution levels are also expected to be moderate across the state on Wednesday due to wildfire smoke, the Maine DEP said in its announcement Tuesday. Wildfires in Colorado, which have claimed the lives of three firefighters, had burned nearly 90,000 acres as of Tuesday, according to the Denver Post.
Maine could face up to $50 million in penalties next year due to errors in its payments for federal food benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Newly released data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture find that Maine’s error rate last year was nearly 11%, the bulk of which were overpayments. That’s in line with the U.S. average. But starting in October of next year, states with error rates above 6% must cover a portion of the SNAP benefits.
Anna Korsen, executive director of Full Plates, Full Potential, said the overpayments aren’t fraud — they’re human error. She said this new cost-shifting policy enacted last year under the Trump administration further complicates the SNAP application process.
“Instead, we could make this program more accessible and more efficient,” Korsen said. “And that would reduce the number of errors and also ensure that Mainers who are eligible for SNAP have access to it.”
She’s urging Congress to delay or reverse the policy under the farm bill that’s currently under consideration.
Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services said it’s taking steps to reduce the error rate, including modernizing its systems and hiring an additional 40 eligibility specialists.
This story appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
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