Although every person has a slightly different idea of the perfect camp, there’s one thing camps all share, one aspect that sets each apart from the standard building, one element that makes it a camp, not a house: the land matters most. This might not be true for a summer home or most year-round residences, but when it comes to a camp, the land is first.

In this case, “the land” refers to over 350 wooded acres and over half a mile of shorefront on the side of a pond in north-central Maine. The homeowners acquired the lot in 2020 with the intention of preserving its natural peace and quiet. “The parcel was on the market for development in a subdivision,” says one homeowner. “They had already put in the infrastructure for the road and 14 or 15 little parcels to be developed on this little pond.” But the Maine-based couple didn’t want to see that happen (nor did the neighbors). “It was unbelievably attractive to us for many reasons, but one of them is because we fly-fish,” the homeowner reveals. “And this property was on a pond that is stocked by the state with brook trout. And there are no motorized boats allowed, and no ice fishing. It was ideal. It was very quiet.”

Of course, it was also empty, which meant the couple had some work to do if they wanted to retire in the woods. The first step was to assemble a team of craftspeople. Fortunately, they had previous experience with several highly regarded firms, including Wright-Ryan Construction and e4 Interior Design. Kevin Browne of Kevin Browne Architecture and Todd Richardson of Richardson and Associates rounded out the roster of local talent. “On the intake form, one of the things that stuck out to me is that they wanted to enjoy the process,” says Emily Ennis Mattei of e4 Interior Design. “From my perspective, we did. The flow and the cadence of the project were awesome, from the design-build team to the clients. If I could write a manifesto about the perfect client, they would be the model. They were fabulous.”

Browne describes the resulting structure as being “cabin-like.” He says, “They didn’t want a big grand place out in the woods, so what we created is almost like a series of connected small camps.” The couple also wanted to be able to age in place, so Browne designed a house that would be primarily one story (except for a bunkhouse, located over the garage). Their issue with having a long, low building was that it might feel too dominated” by the necessary transitional spaces. “We wanted to add some interest. We had a hallway running along the back of the series of spaces, and we put a little kink in it so that it wouldn’t be all one long line,” explains Browne. “We laugh about the angles,” the homeowner says now. “That little angle in the hallway, how much did it cost? But we just love it.”

The slightly skewed camp also created a challenge for the builders when it came to the roofline. “That was the hardest part: the busy roofline,” says builder Jeff Heseltine. “It was especially complicated where the angles came together by the entranceway and above the bunk room upstairs.” In order to achieve the connected camp look—plus the cathedral ceiling that distinguishes the living area—the builders had to reinforce the interior with steel beams. “The living room ceiling was challenging to draw but also very challenging for the builder,” says Browne. “It introduced structural problems.” Fortunately, the black steel rods feel harmonious with the overall color palette of the house, defined as it is by neutral tones, blues, greens, and the occasional grounding iron black. “The homeowners didn’t want anything shiny,” says Mattei. “So all the metal finishes have a beautiful patina to them. The finish on the walls, floors, even the tile—a lot went into making it beautiful.”

A good portion of the home’s elegance comes from the use of white oak paneling, which lines every room (save the birch-ply bunk room). “To have no drywall, and to use oak, that was a goal of the clients’,” says Browne. While the exterior is clad in Cambia, a thermally modified product made from poplar, the interior’s hardwood presented more problems. “White oak is not an easy wood to work with,” says Heseltine. “It’s very hard, and very grainy. You can’t get it in long lengths, so you have to use a lot of short pieces.” The homeowners chose character-grade white oak, because they wanted it to have knots and irregularities. “That made it even more of a challenge,” Heseltine says. “You have to really think about where you are cutting. You don’t want to cut through a knot and have it explode.”

However, the team at Wright-Ryan genuinely enjoyed the high-focus task of working with these materials. “We’re most proud of the white oak finishes and how they all came together,” says Heseltine. “It’s a great spot, on gorgeous land. There is a nice flow to the house; it came out really sharp.” The homeowner adds, “We had to wait for a lot of the material because of the pandemic. But just like in fly-fishing, our patience paid off.”

For Mattei, the best word to describe the elevated cabin is “thoughtful.” All the components were deliberately selected and painstakingly executed, yet none appear overly precious. This was by design. Similar to the little “crick” in the hallway and the knotty oak boards, the furnishings and finishes Mattei selected are marked by their slight imperfections. “After we made the bigger decisions as a team, we were able to dig into the details of using textiles and other elements to give each room its character,” she says. “We wanted everything to have a relaxed elegance, like the tumbled edges of the slate in the laundry room. It looks like something you might find in nature in Maine.”

Similarly, the bathrooms feature irregular tiles by Fireclay Tile (in a deep, hand-glazed green tone) and Artistic Tile (a neutral-hued “Broken Joint” mosaic). “We did the same thing with the metal,” Mattei continues. “Every piece of metal, from the cabinet hardware to the railing, all have live finishes. As they get touched and exposed to air, they will age with the house.” Mattei even worked with the homeowners to choose the doorbell plate. “All of the things you see in that house, they’re all intentional.” But the house doesn’t just look good; it’s also highly functional. There are no curbs on the showers and no interruptions to the flooring, which means as the homeowners age in place, they won’t have to worry about navigating trip-prone surfaces or hard-to-open doors. Mattei worked closely with the clients to determine how they wanted to use the storage space, particularly in the kitchen and the mudroom. “We identified every drawer and cabinet, as to what would go there. [The homeowner] has a pretty awesome collection of linen napkins, so there’s a drawer we designed specifically for them. There’s a pop-up stand for the KitchenAid mixer, since those are so gosh-darn heavy,” Mattei says. And when you come back from skiing or snowshoeing, it’s easy to stash your bigger outdoor gear in the ski room (located off the garage) and the smaller stuff in the mudroom. In addition to the extra-large boot dryer, there are drawers for gloves and hats. “Then, once you get out of your smelly ski clothes, you walk into the living area where there’s a fire going,” says Mattei, “and it’s like you’re still outside. There’s very little between you and nature.”

For the clients, this was a dream come true. “I’ve been involved in nature conservation for years,” the homeowner reveals. “I have a love and deep appreciation for habitat biodiversity. And I know how important it is to support the local economy.” With this camp, not only did the “stars align,” as the homeowner puts it, but so did the intentions. “Everyone on the team was so amazing, just great craftspeople,” gushes the homeowner. “It’s a very, very special place.”