Our clients found a piece of property they did not want to pass on, and they built ahead of their planned retirement timeline. The cottage was designed and built with their long-term plans in mind, including future additions that will support how they plan to use the home over time.
This home was featured in the September 2025 issue of Maine Home + Design.
The exterior reads as a traditional Maine camp, with brown siding, white windows and trim, and rough-sawn porch posts on both the front porch and the screen porch. Galvanized barn light fixtures flank the entry and carry the camp feel through the lighting choices. The covered front porch over the entry provides shelter when coming in from the rain and works as a second outdoor space to sit.
We showed our clients a sample of Douglas fir while selecting the entry door, and the tight grain and amber tone became the connecting thread for the interior. Our door supplier owns Douglas fir forests, which keeps it among the lower cost solid wood door options and makes it a practical starting point. From there, the wood runs through the kitchen cabinets, the living room beams, the wainscoting, and the dining table top. The pine ceiling is stained to match.
We pulled the kitchen finishes around honed black pearl granite, which reads as understated rather than reflective. Off-white tile, a centered range, and Douglas fir cabinets work alongside the granite as the visual anchors of the room. We selected Emtek hardware throughout for its durability and standard hole spacing, so it can be swapped out later without rework.
A built-in pantry next to the kitchen conceals a microwave on its own electrical circuit, with rollouts for additional storage. Our clients initially wanted a wood stove in the living area, but after working through the trade-offs around clearance, stovepipe routing, and wood storage in a house without a basement, they chose a gas stove on a thermostat that heats the whole cottage.
We worked within a compact plan, and the details reflect choices made to keep the cottage efficient without feeling tight. The cottage has no basement and no dormers. The stairs tuck against a wall and turn partway up, with no traditional newel post. We used southern yellow pine for the treads and white pine for the risers, and the lower steps double as a bench near the entry. We roughed in the upstairs bathroom and came back to finish the tile and trim two years later. A mudroom and garage are pre-planned for a future addition, with one window positioned to convert to a door and be reused when that work begins.
