Along the shore of Ocean Park, at the southern end of Old Orchard Beach, an array of historic homes and hotels crowds right up to the long, low dune that separates beach from town. Covered in idiosyncratic balconies and Victorian flourishes, the tightly spaced structures present a challenging front to anyone contemplating a new build. But a few years ago, when it became clear that an old inn would have to come down and the lot would be sold, the couple living next door jumped at the challenge. Having lived for 20 years on the large second floor of a building that also holds rental and retail space, they had put down deep roots in the neighborhood, but they wanted a whole house where they could entertain and host their children and grandchildren. “To us, family is so important,” says one of the homeowners (whom I visited on a day she was watching a grandchild, as she does every week). “The purpose of this house and the space is, and always was, family gatherings.”

Family connections also provided a head start in putting together the team that would solve their puzzle: creating a large house on a small footprint in a dense neighborhood. The couple knew they wanted Crystal Wilson of Douston Construction, a relative by marriage, to manage the project; to design it, they had in mind Crystal’s father, Walter Wilson of the Design Company, who had previously done work for their son. A father-son pair led the framing team, with Butch Rush as foreman and Ethan Rush as lead carpenter. Crystal completed the team with interior designer Louise Hurlbutt of Hurlbutt Designs and kitchen designer Nancy Bither of Atlantic Design Center. In the early stages of planning, the homeowners named just a few must-haves—a garage under the house, a wraparound porch, a painting studio at the top of the house—and knew what direction they wanted the style to go in. “They didn’t want to duplicate an old Victorian-looking house, but they wanted it to have that feel, and then modernize it,” says Walter Wilson. Those notes were enough for him. “When I stood out in the street and looked at it, and saw how much space I had, I drew a rough sketch right there on a pad. It ended up being the basis for the final plan,” he says. 

Walter Wilson’s sketch featured ridgelines that break up the mass of the house and complement the older homes surrounding it. “Older homes had ridgelines perpendicular, to give them character. We didn’t want to have a great big, rectangular block roof,” he says. The home is nearly 40 feet tall—its height enabled by the dimensions of the previous structure and made desirable by the dune that blocks its ocean view from the lower level. Varied rooflines, carefully arranged windows, and bracket details keep the structure from looming. “The exterior is not a confrontation, even though it’s four stories high and five feet from the street,” says Crystal Wilson. “The outside anchors it into the neighborhood.” Walter Wilson kept the interior simple, stacking similar layouts on each floor. “The idea was to keep it as open as possible, and to take care of all the views,” he says. “We weren’t trying to create a new kind of space that doesn’t exist. Everything was put into a fairly simple framing plan. Sometimes, by the time you’re getting to the third floor, you need skyhooks to hold it up. Here, the way the design worked out, everything was over each other; there were no big open spaces to cross.” 

Walter Wilson has been designing Maine buildings since 1965, and the years of knowledge that went into his plan, along with the depth of experience brought by the Douston and Hurlbutt teams, helped the home go up with remarkable smoothness. “I can honestly tell you, in two years, there was not a day of stress,” says the homeowner. But the project wasn’t without its share of challenges. In a densely packed area, a big construction project isn’t always welcomed, but the neighborhood seemed to make the project its own. “It was very communal,” says Crystal Wilson. “Everybody was really engaged in it as their project. On my way to the site, people would stop me—‘How’s it coming? Did she get her kitchen?’ Everybody knew everybody.” Furthermore, construction started in the spring of 2020, so the team had to accommodate COVID restrictions and manage sourcing problems. “We were a bit lucky because of how quickly we saw what was happening with COVID,” Crystal Wilson recalls. “We preordered quite a bit to get ahead of that. We had to divide up the space so everyone could work but also retain social distance. The four floors helped with that.” Despite the uncertainties and difficulties of the time, the project felt like a respite. “For some reason, everybody working on that house was happy to be down here. I don’t know if it’s because you’re looking out at the ocean or what. It was a tranquil, calm place amid what we were going through, which was anything but tranquil and calm. It removed you from the craziness somehow.” 

Peace and calm were the watchwords for the interior design as well. Louise Hurlbutt chose a palette of pale blues and warm whites that connect the rooms with the ocean view, and she used varied textures to keep peaceful from crossing over into dull. “It’s very much a cottage-style house, very casual and beachy,” she says. The windows are covered in shutters, which allow for privacy while also creating a clean-lined look. Nickel-gap paneling—8,000 feet of it—covers the hallways and transitional areas of the home. On the main floor, Hurlbutt worked with the Douston team to break up what would have been a long, flat sweep of ceiling, adding beams and beadboard in the kitchen and dramatic coffers in the living room. Crystal chandeliers—including an arrestingly whimsical bubble lamp over the dining table—are touches of delicacy and luxury, creating some intriguing tension with the beachy style. Powder rooms and the owners’ bedroom bring in some whimsical prints and splashes of color. “I love doing blues, but I love popping it with a green or a coral,” says Hurlbutt.

A year into living in their new home, the owners have seen the crystal bubbles over the dining room table filled with the hues of the sunrise, and they have gathered family around the large kitchen island for holiday meals. Their grandchildren have taken many a ride in the elevator. From their flower-filled porches, they watch neighbors and beachgoers pass by, many of whom stop to chat. The home has become what they wanted: a place for family to gather, and a peaceful respite. “We call it the Tranquil House,” says Crystal Wilson. “You walk in, and you feel like you’re breathing out.”