When they visited Maine shortly after they were married, Sarah Watts Beneke and Charles Beneke vowed that they would make it their home one day. The dream simmered for more than 30 years until the timing was finally right for them to relocate from Ohio. “This listing in Harpswell kept popping up, but it was rather ambiguous,” says Charles. “As soon as we stepped onto the property, we knew it was where we wanted to be.” The secluded, forested site overlooking the water would make the perfect setting for their family’s new primary residence, but it had another thing going for it that the couple hadn’t bargained for. As the lot was once part of a larger family compound owned by poet and editor Harold Pulsifer and his wife, author Susan Nichols Pulsifer, a 200-square-foot octagonal writer’s cottage also came as part of the deal. The structure, which was constructed for Susan during the mid-twentieth century, boasts a prime spot near the water—so close, in fact, that it wouldn’t fly in today’s world of setback requirements. “The cottage had deteriorated, but you could feel its history upon walking in,” recalls Sarah. “Susan’s writing desk was still there, along with a collection of seashells collected by her grandchildren. It was magical.”

Having found the ideal spot to begin their Maine adventure, they commissioned architect Caleb Johnson and his firm, Woodhull, to design their new primary residence as well as restore this vestige of the previous owner’s history. “I remember being inside with Charles and Caleb and discussing its potential like giddy little kids,” continues Sarah. “Charles is a visual artist and professor, and we envisioned it as a place where both artists and writers could come to create.” (The couple is still getting the residency program off the ground, but the goal is to have creatives visit each month from spring through fall.) According to Charles, the hope was to keep the building as close to the original as possible while bringing it up to date and making it functional for year-round use. “This peaceful, intimate space was begging to be restored,” he says. “There was an overwhelming sense of love, adventure, and a life well lived.”

This project, too, became a labor of love for everyone involved. “Sarah, Charles, and I met on-site, walked in the woods, and dreamed together,” recalls Johnson. “It’s an unbelievable setting with the spruce forest and this fjord-like ledge that ascends out of an emerald-green cove. With the main house being brand-new, this cottage adds richness to the entire property.” However, transforming the structure into self-contained, efficient guest quarters with the addition of heating and plumbing was no small feat. “The intention was to take apart the cottage piece by piece and then put it back together, similar to the process of old boat building,” explains Johnson. “We soon realized that the majority of the wood was rotten and would need to be replaced. In the end, not all of the original materials remain, but the original spirit does.” A new cupola inspired by the original was even created to bring natural light into the center of the structure. The foundation was reinforced with local fieldstone by a stone mason to match what was already there. And while the design team had to stay fairly true to the previous forms due to regulations surrounding what percentage of the existing structure could be changed, they did have a bit of wiggle room. For instance, the roof was raised slightly to offer a bit more breathing room inside. But the most dramatic alteration is a three-foot-deep addition on two of the walls: one bump-out to house the new Murphy bed and another for a small bath. “We didn’t want the addition to be confused with the old structure, so we designed it with a more modern architectural language,” says Johnson. “Instead of the live-edge horizontal Maine pine siding found on the rest of the octagon, the addition features straight vertical siding of the same local pine.”

Pine prevails inside as well, with local pine cladding the walls and reclaimed pine boards on the floor. And while the interior has gotten a major upgrade, the hand-hewn details allow this second iteration to have its very own sense of soul. “I’ve renovated a lot of old houses, and it’s very easy to lose all the character,” says project manager Dee Dee Germain of Woodhull. “But this still feels like the same quirky, magical place that it was before. It’s just a nicer version.” The firm is responsible for all the millwork, including the custom panels on the Murphy bed as well as the compact kitchenette, which occupies one of the eight walls. What one doesn’t realize upon first glance is that the kitchen serves double duty as a mechanical closet, as there isn’t enough space for a dedicated room. The heat and hot water heater are efficiently tucked below the sink and behind a curtain next to a small refrigerator, while the other technical systems can be found underneath the house. “The well tank is located under the structure, which is sitting on a ledge, so insulation and heat are critical to keep that area conditioned,” explains Germain. Meanwhile, the gas shut- off is under the front steps, where it can be easily accessed.

Although every aspect of this project needed to be expertly planned, Woodhull and the clients were careful not to make the interiors feel overly decorated, but rather functional, efficient, and in keeping with the rustic setting. The natural wood is joined by touches of green in the kitchen, on the back wall of the Murphy bed, and in the new bath, which features a green sink and green Vermont slate. “The bath is moodier than the rest of the cottage,” notes Johnson. “We didn’t want the bath to flash when the door is ajar, so we chose darker tones that tend to recede.” Given its diminutive footprint of about 3 by 6½ feet, the bath is essentially constructed as a wet room, and because of that, certain challenges arose. “We wanted the door to match the wood-clad walls, but in order to contend with the moisture, we ended up painting the edges and side that faces inward with marine paint,” explains Germain.

As Johnson points out, this cottage is smaller than many hotel rooms, so deciding on a furniture plan also took considerable thought. “The priority here is enjoying the view, so everything works around the two armchairs in front of the enlarged window,” says Johnson, who stresses the importance of flexibility and moveable furniture in this scenario. For instance, the lightweight dining table and dresser with wheels can be shifted to the side before lowering the Murphy bed. “The margin of error is zero,” he continues. “Having an extra piece of furniture just isn’t possible. Keeping the fixed items—the kitchen, bathroom, and bed—along the edges allows the primary space to be flexibly furnished for the specific day or time of day, depending on the clients’ needs.” Many of the pieces that ended up working are actually the owners’ family heirlooms. “Given that this cottage has always served as a family gathering place, it felt right to use meaningful things that have lived with our family for a long time,” says Charles. After all, this space is meant for reflection and enjoying the small moments, whether gazing at the perfectly framed water view from bed, watching the light change throughout the day, or standing directly under the cupola and relishing the echo of your own voice. “You can leave the world behind here,” says Sarah. “It’s just you, the water, and the birds.”

A Paris cafe, a New York art gallery, a cozy bookstore—what if you could live in them all? When Jack Cullen and Sam Thomas* purchased a preconstruction apartment on the Portland waterfront, they took the opportunity to design a home that felt like all the places they most adore. “We love art galleries and bookstores and coffee shops and Europe and New York,” says Cullen. “We had this great ambition to get all of that in here.”

That ambition was all the greater because “in here” is a small apartment—just 1,350 square feet. But Cullen, a retired architect, leaped at the challenge. When the couple’s usual travel habits were curtailed by COVID, he poured his energy into design. Cullen used SketchUp modeling software to create a detailed 3D rendering of the space and all that would go in it. The result of his labors is a home whose every inch has been carefully considered, every object intentionally selected to suit the couple’s lifestyle, reflect their history, and connect the space with the local scenery and vernacular.

The apartment’s entrance belies its small footprint, creating an impression of space and dramatic form. Visitors are greeted by the challenging gaze of a young man in an oversized acrylic by Provincetown artist Cassandra Complex. “We call him ‘The Lobsterman,’” Cullen says. In selecting art and decor, the couple had looked for connections to the Portland waterfront, and they liked that they could imagine the painting’s subject on one of the fishing boats they can see from their windows. A concrete bench beneath the painting offers a space to rest bags and take off boots while taking in the quartet of photographs that runs down one side of the hall. The large-format images, by photographers Tom Jackson of Texas and Jennifer Pritchard of California, were selected because they evoke the couple’s “small-town origins and the inklings of wanderlust,” says Cullen. The hall is anchored by a sculpture by Mark LaRiviere that the couple calls “Mother Ballerina.” It took some time to find the right sculpture, says Cullen. “It had to do a lot of things,” he says. “It had to be curious, and beautiful, and draw you down the hall. Everything before is pretty; this one is raw.” The sculpture rests on a rough-hewn plinth that evokes the timbers of an old waterfront building.

The hall ends in a small room that serves many functions. It’s an office for Thomas (a retired botanist) as well as a media room and a place for second breakfast and card games—and for wine and chocolate (a glass cloche always displays a single bonbon, a promise of the next treat). For this room, the design inspiration was midcentury Paris. Above the sofa is a large, bright painting the couple commissioned from Maine artist Rick Hamilton, whose work they discovered at Portland Art Gallery. The carpet pattern suggests European tile, linking the room with a similar pattern that Cullen hand-stenciled on the wall of the hallway bathroom. “When you have a small space, I don’t think you can shift gears too much,” says Cullen. “I had a test of taking a piece of furniture into a different room and seeing if it still feels cohesive. It has to all make sense together, and then you tweak it just enough to give each room its own identity.”

The apartment’s main room includes the kitchen as well as living and dining spaces. Here, says Cullen, “a bunch of things were challenging from a design point of view.” The room is square, with a large island dividing the kitchen from the living/dining space. Cullen wanted to ensure that the living area didn’t feel cramped or overwhelmed by the kitchen. A large, deeply textured rug signals that the living space is a primary area, not an accessory to the kitchen. “Rugs, I’ve found, are the most restrictive,” says Cullen. “I start with the rug because there are not many choices if you want to have them feel really distinct but also really comfortable.” Here, he chose one with a botanical pattern that subtly references a display of dried plant specimens, collected by Thomas during graduate school, that hangs nearby. Cullen further shaped the space with a bit of trompe l’oeil in the form of drapes that flow continuously across the exterior walls. Without the drapes, the divisions of walls and windows drew attention to the small size of the room, but now, “the eye reads all the edges as one consistent, white thing. It brought the kitchen down to a better proportion, so we could still have the big island, and it didn’t overwhelm.” A small dining table is set by the window under a chandelier. “It feels like you’ve gotten the best table in a restaurant,” says Cullen.

Rather than using a high-backed couch to divide the living and dining areas, Cullen selected a double-sided sofa that keeps the space open and enables conversations in multiple directions. A wingback chair near the fireplace creates a firmer boundary for a reading nook. “I love books, and I wanted a library,” says Thomas. “Jack said, ‘Of course, but I’m not going to spend ten years with a half-empty library while you slowly fill it with books.’” The solution was buying books by the foot, to be replaced with more curated works over time. “Much to my surprise, I found out you can buy by content,” says Cullen. “We both wanted travel books; we wanted art and design; we wanted botanical books, but not gardening books. We bought 30 percent more than we needed and got rid of the crappy ones.” The art books, in particular, have proved to be a source of delight, introducing the couple to previously unknown artists and styles. Some of the art books make their way to the bedroom dresser, where the couple start each day with a new page and a new work to ponder.

Cullen’s deep and longstanding passion for space and design haven’t always been shared by Thomas. “Before we got together, all my apartments had nothing in them. You could call them minimalist, but that would say there was a plan,” he says. While Cullen was the driving force of the apartment’s design, however, the result is very much a space for the two of them. Their history, shared interests, and life together flow through the elegantly arranged space, infusing every artwork and furnishing. “It wasn’t designed for anyone else but us, and what’s going to make us the happiest, living here,” says Cullen. “When we’re here, spending the day is so nice. No parts go unused. It feels like us.” 

* Homeowners’ names have been changed to protect their privacy.

It is not easy to build a new house near Higgins Beach in Scarborough. The picturesque stretch of sand has been a destination for sunbathing and dog-walking Mainers for over a century. But parking is notoriously difficult, and summerhouses are always in high demand. It’s hard to buy a home near Higgins and even harder to find an unoccupied patch of land. “This was one of the very last empty lots, it felt like,” says Jon Sevigny of Kevin Browne Architecture. “We didn’t have to tear down to build this, which is different for Higgins. But we did have to adhere to the character code, which has many, many stipulations. The criteria include roof pitches, heights for various parts of the building, eaves, and setbacks, the percentage of glass at each elevation … Long story short, there’s a lot of things you have to comply with.”

Fortunately, Sevigny and Kevin Browne weren’t daunted by the lengthy, thorough code. They had built one house by Higgins Beach before, so when the homeowner approached them about her empty little lot, they felt prepared to tackle its challenges. “It makes designing in the Higgins Beach neighborhood interesting and challenging,” Sevigny says. “You end up trying to design the coolest small house that you possibly can.”

The tiny lot was a huge opportunity for the homeowner to create a home that would accommodate her family of five and her parents. Although they currently split their time between Maine and Massachusetts, the homeowner grew up in Scarborough and spent her childhood playing on Higgins Beach. She wanted to build a house that would comfortably accommodate three generations for extended stays. “We had a place there for 30 years, but our family was quickly outgrowing it,” she explains. “Once I got married and had three kids, the existing house just wasn’t working anymore.” They needed more bedrooms, more bathrooms, more kitchen space, more of everything.

It took some clever finessing, but Sevigny and Browne were able to create a design that would fit all seven family members, plus the occasional guest, into a narrow rectangular envelope. The three-story house has a back deck overlooking the lawn and a compact front porch entryway that pays a subtle tribute to the historic cottage style of the region. “The shingles take a long time,” says builder William Royall of the cedar siding. “But they look beautiful when they’re finished.” The house needed to fit into one of the pre-approved typologies, which dictated the visual style. This didn’t present a problem for the homeowner, who appreciates the traditional coastal look. “I didn’t want anything boxy,” she says. “I wanted cottage-style, beachy, shingled. And I really wanted the roofline to be as interesting as possible, so we could have all these little nooks of space on the inside.”

The finished house is a mixture of the homeowner’s sensibilities and Browne’s preferred aesthetics. “It has more contem- porary flair than a true shingle-style,” he says. “The detailing isn’t quite as fussy. We like to do clean lines, and this appealed to us.” They did add a little bit of interest to the exterior with the curved, shingled posts that bracket the entryway. “We dressed it up with different window patterns and detailing, which distinguishes it from its neighbors,” he says. “I think it’s just a really nice-looking house,” says Royall, who has worked on eight different builds in the Higgins neighborhood. “[Browne and Sevigny] did a great job interpreting the character code and using it to everyone’s benefit.”

Since the home is located enviously close to the beach, it needed to be raised up on pilings. “When the weather gets crazy, it’s designed for water to flow right under the house,” Sevigny explains. However, storage space was extremely limited, what with no basement and no attic. “This meant that plumbing was an issue we had to think about,” adds Royall. “All the water pipes must be insulated from the cold, so we built an insulated box under the house. It’s been a few years, and so far, so good.” Marvin windows help further defend against winter storms, as do the open-cell spray foam insulation and the custom metal roof.

Although it may look like a beach house from the outside, once you enter it becomes clear this is more than a vacation spot. It has everything the family needs for both short visits and long-term stays. The first floor features an open plan that allows for entertaining, plus several cleverly delineated spaces where residents can enjoy a sense of quiet amid the cheerful chaos. “We love the little nooks on the first floor, with the two chairs, where we read the paper in the morning,” says the homeowner. “It feels like this separate space with a little privacy.” In the kitchen, instead of shelving, the homeowner opted for drawers with their contents separated by wooden pegs. This created an even greater volume of storage. Throughout the house, built-in cabinetry and seating are used in much the same way as in a ship’s galley. The relative lack of furniture causes the rooms to feel larger than they truly are, while also ensuring that every piece of daily mess, from board games to beach towels, has its designated place. The mudroom has shelves for shoes and cupboards for tote bags, the living room has drawers for throws and cabinets to hide speakers, and the stairway hides a number of storage solutions—one for each floor.

As Sevigny explains it, the entire layout was designed around the “stair tower.” Built by Terry Dolloff, the U-shaped white oak stairway is the most compact and efficient use of space. Not only does it hide a small pantry (tucked under the steps on the first floor), it also contains a built-in window seat for reading and a small play area. “As you’re going up to the third floor, there’s a shelf with tons of puzzles, books, and games,” the homeowner adds. “That was something that Kevin and Jon suggested when they were going through the design process. It’s a different element that feels special.”

While the third story is taken up with kids’ sleeping quarters—the carpeted space squeezes in four single beds with built-in cabinets—the second story is devoted to the needs of the parents and grandparents. Instead of having one primary suite, there are two calming bedrooms, each with their own bathroom. “We wanted to keep things minimalist and clean,” says the homeowner. “In both bedrooms, we did sconces rather than having lamps plopped on nightstands, which makes it less cluttered. Both rooms also have very simple wool rugs, which are soft underfoot when you wake up.” There are some differences, though: one room features a live-edge Chilton bed, while the other boasts a small deck. In the grandparents’ bathroom, they’ve managed to fit the “smallest freestanding white tub we could find,” plus a double sink and pretty Calacatta marble tiles. “There’s a good-sized walk-in closet in there too,” she says, and a window that looks out toward Scarborough Marsh. The homeowners’ bathroom has a walk-in shower covered in sky blue tiles from Old Port Specialty Tile Company, plus a Kohler double-trough sink, a custom vanity built by Downeast Woodworks, and a window seat with a storage drawer. (In addition to the two full bathrooms, there’s also a small powder room located on the first floor.) 

Although the nickel-gap walls mean there’s little need for art, the family does have a small and growing collection of paintings, sourced primarily from the Willard Gallery in South Portland. “We grew up in New England,” says the homeowner to explain their classic aesthetic. “And this is a shared family house. We’re partners in this.” For her, the little Higgins house marks the culmination of years of planning and a lifetime of daydreaming. It has everything the family needs, and you absolutely can’t beat the location. It’s just a short walk away from their “perfect beach.” “It has that beautiful sand, with tons of places for kids to play, but you also get those dramatic rock cliffs on the side, those great Maine views,” she continues. “I love it. We love it.”