Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: Summer Camp Style for a Lakeside Home in Maine
A family turns a cookie-cutter home into a classic New England summer getaway on the water
A lakeside home in Maine should look like it belongs on a lake in Maine. That wasn’t the case originally for this home, built in the early 2000s with simple siding and fake roof angles. For a more appropriate look, the homeowners hired Whitten Architects to revamp the summer home and ensure it would be a draw for their college kids to come home to year after year.
AFTER: The first thing the team did was strip off the faux gables and let the home take on a more authentic shape with a clean dormer line.
Roof: Custom Metal Roofs of Maine; front door: Simpson Door; outdoor sconces: Restoration Hardware
Roof: Custom Metal Roofs of Maine; front door: Simpson Door; outdoor sconces: Restoration Hardware
Both the main house and the garage received new standing seam metal roofs, which will last twice as long as shingled ones. Eastern white shingles replaced the siding for a look more true to Maine.
Garage doors: Clopay; siding: Maibec; trim: Boston Cedar
Garage doors: Clopay; siding: Maibec; trim: Boston Cedar
BEFORE: The original porch was unstable and stopped short of the front door.
AFTER: The team added a wraparound porch that begins at the front door and continues around the side of the home, where there’s an outdoor dining space, and connects to a screened-in porch off the living room at the rear of the home overlooking the lake.
BEFORE: Short windows prohibited full lakefront views from the living room, while a lack of access to the side deck made indoor-outdoor living a little tedious.
AFTER: Larger windows now capitalize on the views. And new screened-in porch and side deck access make the outdoors more livable.
Windows: Marvin
Windows: Marvin
BEFORE: Wood cabinets dominated the original kitchen.
AFTER: Ash cabinetry gives the kitchen a lakeside camp feel. The kitchen boasts a lot of local materials, such as Maine granite for the countertops. The architects lined the walls in nickel gap, which looks like shiplap, Tyson says, but instead the boards lock together in a tongue-and-groove style. “They turn corners really cleanly,” Carroll says, and help keep the interiors streamlined for a more contemporary feel.
A pocket door on the left leads to a home office.
Flooring: red birch, A.E. Sampson & Son; cabinetry: Huston & Company; countertops: Morningstar; appliances: Central Furniture & Appliance
A pocket door on the left leads to a home office.
Flooring: red birch, A.E. Sampson & Son; cabinetry: Huston & Company; countertops: Morningstar; appliances: Central Furniture & Appliance
When the pocket door is shut, a chalkboard wall sports “camp” messages and dinner menus.
An appliance garage helps keep the kitchen free of clutter by storing the coffee maker and wine glasses.
A new mudroom off the kitchen organizes shoes, books, water skis and bags. The room also features white nickel gap on the walls and ash built-ins.
Built-ins: Huston & Company
Built-ins: Huston & Company
In the living room, the homeowners sourced local stones and built a reclaimed wood mantel themselves. Blue and white furniture keeps the decor natural and soft, while local artwork graces the walls. The windows on the left look out to the screened-in porch and lake.
Fireplace: Heat & Glo; sofa: Crate & Barrel
Fireplace: Heat & Glo; sofa: Crate & Barrel
BEFORE: The porch-like den was poorly insulated, and the windows cut off part of the view.
AFTER: Now floor-to-ceiling windows run the length of the wall and make the room feel like it’s floating. Better insulation keeps this a true four-season room. “Rather than stepping out into another interior, it feels like a porch, but it’s warm,” Tyson says.
The master bedroom has an ash wood feature wall and red birch floors. The windows were left unpainted to create a warm, raw look. Outside, native greenery fills the view.
Bedding: Pine Cone Hill
Bedding: Pine Cone Hill
In the master bathroom, ash nickel gap lines the walls. A live-edge wood shelf displays art and keepsakes. Porcelain tiles line the shower with a frosted glass window for privacy.
Tile: Akdo
Tile: Akdo
Upstairs, a bunk room allows for overflow kids and guests. Bunks were built into the dormer to save space. Drawers below offer storage for clothes and blankets. A small, square window gives a peek-a-boo view to the lake.
Rug: Angela Adams; built-in bunks: Huston & Company
Rug: Angela Adams; built-in bunks: Huston & Company
BEFORE: The original landscape was mostly grass. The homeowners worried about fertilizer and pesticides running down the slope into the lake and causing environmental harm.
AFTER: Richardson & Associates Landscape Architects created lush areas of native sod and blueberry and huckleberry bushes with boulders strategically placed. Here, a large rock kicks back the heat from a fire pit for friends enjoying the lake view. The “greener” landscape concept earned the team the prestigious LakeSmart Award in 2016 by the Maine Lakes Society.
Builder: Douston
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Builder: Douston
Browse more homes by style: Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
Houzz at a Glance
Location: Acton, Maine
Size: 2,200 square feet (204 square meters); three bedrooms, two bathrooms
Architect: Russell Tyson and Jessie Carroll of Whitten Architects
BEFORE: The “fake roof angles” over the dormer cluttered up the architectural character, says Russell Tyson of Whitten Architects, who took the lead on the project with colleague Jessie Carroll. “The existing house felt very suburban,” Tyson says. “It could have been plopped down anywhere in the country. It didn’t have a feel or aesthetic that it belonged on a lake in Maine.”