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SPONSORED CONTENT

2021

Maine Homes
Design Awards

- Readers' Choice Winners -

The COVID-fueled urban exodus that has driven home buying and building in Maine through the proverbial roof, combined with months to focus on #pandemicprojects for those who stayed put, made this a banner year for our fourth annual Maine Homes Design Awards contest. We know we gush about the beautiful submissions every year, but in 2021, they truly were unsurpassed.

Dozens of talented folks submitted nearly 100 entries across five professional and five reader categories, including curb appeal, living and/or dining room, kitchen, bath, and landscaping. Thousands of visitors also viewed our online gallery, casting votes to pick a Readers’ Choice winner in each category, shown here. And it was all for a good cause: All submission fees from this year’s contest will be donated to the Maine chapters of Habitat for Humanity, whose work building energy-efficient, affordable housing addresses an especially critical need right now.

Thanks to everyone who submitted and congratulations to the winners. Special thanks to Knickerbocker Group and RE/MAX by the Bay for sponsoring this year’s competition. And if you didn’t get a chance to enter, there’s always next year!

The Sponsors

Knickerbocker Group

The Beneficiary

habitat for humanity

2021

Maine Homes Design Awards

- Readers' Choice Winners -

The COVID-fueled urban exodus that has driven home buying and building in Maine through the proverbial roof, combined with months to focus on #pandemicprojects for those who stayed put, made this a banner year for our fourth annual Maine Homes Design Awards contest. We know we gush about the beautiful submissions every year, but in 2021, they truly were unsurpassed.

Dozens of talented folks submitted nearly 100 entries across five professional and five reader categories, including curb appeal, living and/or dining room, kitchen, bath, and landscaping. Thousands of visitors also viewed our online gallery, casting votes to pick a Readers’ Choice winner in each category, shown here. And it was all for a good cause: All submission fees from this year’s contest will be donated to the Maine chapters of Habitat for Humanity, whose work building energy-efficient, affordable housing addresses an especially critical need right now.

Thanks to everyone who submitted and congratulations to the winners. Special thanks to Knickerbocker Group and RE/MAX by the Bay for sponsoring this year’s competition. And if you didn’t get a chance to enter, there’s always next year!

The Sponsors

Knickerbocker Group

The Beneficiary

habitat for humanity

PROFESSIONAL CURB APPEAL

Building #20

Photograph by ISAAC OSTERHOUT

PROFESSIONAL CURB APPEAL

Building 20, Springvale

Isaac Osterhout Says: The timber-frame bones of this structure came from a maintenance building that had been part of the Sanford Mills. It was known as “Building 20.” The frame was dismantled and redesigned to become a warming/gathering spot next to owner Joe Sevigny’s ice-skating pond. The exterior incorporates reclaimed bricks from a Rumford mill; the stained-glass window uses a wagon wheel found in a basement in Springvale; the metal roof was salvaged from a building in York; the iron hardware on the custom door was forged in our blacksmith shop in North Berwick; and the weather vane is an antique that belonged to the homeowner’s grandparents.

General Contractors:
Isaac Osterhout and Cat DeSimone

Masonry Contractor:
Danny Bright

Stained-Glass Window:
Maine Rockers

PROFESSIONAL LIVING AND/OR DINING ROOM

West End Living Area

Photograph by DARREN SETLOW

PROFESSIONAL LIVING
AND/OR DINING ROOM

West End Living Area, Portland

Elena Duralde Says: My goal was to infuse color and life into this historic space, characterized by quirky exposed beams and wide-plank, heart-pine floors. Because the ceilings are low, I was careful to select low-profile furniture to maximize the amount of open visual space in the room. Mid-century-modern pieces, such as the Lucite side table and armless velvet chair, are juxtaposed with classic antiques, like the brass-and-steel coffee table. Knickerbocker Group’s construction team built the living-room’s wall unit, which serves as a TV cabinet, window seating, bookshelf, display case, and storage area, and installed a cable lighting system with adjustable halogen lamp heads. Overall, the space is a lively mix that’s both personal and fun.

Architect, General Contractor, and Interior Designer:
Knickerbocker Group

Rug:
Bradford’s Rug Gallery

Window-Seat Fabric:
Schumacher

PROFESSIONAL KITCHEN

Harpswell Kitchen Renovation

Photograph by JOE PALMA

PROFESSIONAL KITCHEN

Harpswell Kitchen Renovation

Alexander Haines Says: This was a stem-to-stern renovation of a kitchen in a 1987 timber-frame home. The owner is a former luthier and has a love for unusual wood, a passion for cooking, and a playful nature. We wanted the project to fit in with the comfortable nature of the home, while providing the ease of a professional kitchen. The walnut for the cabinets was rescued from a defunct factory, where thousands of boards were left to rot in a field, and the figured-walnut panels were saved as “special” by a retired sawyer who collected them throughout his career. We made the butcher-block countertop and flooring from flame birch and the backsplash from patinaed copper. The cabinetry has the unmistakable presence of handcrafted work, complete with hand-cut dovetailed drawer boxes.

General Contractor:
Alexander Haines

Painting Contractor:
Kevin McGovern

Appliances:
Agren

Tile:
Capozza Floor Covering Center

PROFESSIONAL BATH

Lakeside bath

Photograph by MAILLETT PHOTOGRAPHY

PROFESSIONAL
BATH

Lakeside Bath, Lovell

Hannah Guilford Says: The homeowners asked us to turn their primary bath into a fun, functional space for them to unwind after a day on the lake. When I first saw this bath, it was stuck in the 1960s, and not in a good way. A pine vanity topped with cream laminate, an almond-colored fiberglass tub/shower unit, and red faux-brick linoleum made the room feel dark and dated. We decided the best thing was to start fresh, so we replaced the vanity and toilet with modern pieces, installed marble-like porcelain floor tiles, and lined the shower with chevron-patterned marble tiles, angled to look like mountains, along with porcelain subway and hexagonal tiles. Shades of blue, gray, and white reference the lakes and mountains around the property and keep things bright. Each of our projects is specially designed to capture the finest possible views. If we can’t capture views in a room, we try to tie in nature through color and other elements to ground the space.

General Contractor and Designer:
Hannah Guilford

General Contractor:
Cody Guilford

Shower Curtain:
HomeGoods

PROFESSIONAL LANDSCAPING

Bluestone Patio meets Flagstone Walk

Photograph by MICHAEL GILLIS

PROFESSIONAL LANDSCAPING

Bluestone Patio Meets Flagstone Walk, Bar Harbor

Michael Gillis Says: This small backyard landscape renovation features a bluestone patio that was designed to be incorporated into a Heritage Valley flagstone walkway, forming a symbiotic hardscape. The project also includes a new cedar fence for privacy and low-maintenance native plantings, such as bayberries, cinnamon and hay-scented ferns, lowbush blueberries, bunchberries, and foamflowers.

Landscape Architect:
Michael Gillis

Masonry Contractor:
Leland Burnham

Fencing Contractor:
Allenfarm Fence Company

READER CURB APPEAL

Raeside Dame Cedar Shakes Restoration

Photograph by ANN COUSER KITTREDGE

READER CURB APPEAL

Raeside Dame Cedar-Shakes Restoration, Cape Neddick

Ann Couser Kittredge Says: Upon inheriting our Raeside Dame home, built almost 30 years ago, the first project we tackled was restoring the aging cedar shakes. We washed, brushed, and sealed every one. Today, the shakes are a beautiful natural golden color, accented with Benjamin Moore’s historic Essex Green on the trim.

READER LIVING AND/OR DINING SPACE

Grandmillennial Living Room

Photograph by EMILIE HATCH

READER LIVING AND/OR DINING SPACE

Grandmillennial Living Room, Scarborough

Emilie Hatch Says: I was drawn to the traditional architectural elements and symmetry of our living room, which is open to the kitchen and the heart of our home. We live near the beach, which inspired the living-room’s blue-and-white palette and nautical accents. Styling the built-ins with books, family photographs, and collected treasures is an ever-evolving project and perhaps my favorite, as they draw the eye to the feature I love most in our home — the fireplace.

Ginger Jars:
Antiques on Nine

Shells:
Bulfinch Antiques

READER KITCHEN

MCM Lake House Kitchen

Photograph by BETH MILLAR

READER KITCHEN

MCM Lake House Kitchen, Lovell

BETH MILLAR

Beth Millar Says: The kitchen in our mid-century home on Kezar Lake had good cabinetry and open shelves and an amazing vintage double sink. We had the sink refinished and fitted with matte-black faucets, painted the base cabinets HGTV HOME by Sherwin-Williams Tricorn Black and the uppers HGTV HOME by Sherwin-Williams Alabaster. We chose matte-black Café appliances with copper accents and Danby marble countertops. A local carpenter built our range hood to match the cabinetry and added natural-wood trim to match the wooden knobs and maple floors. The walls are Alabaster. I like whites because everything you put with them pops.

Countertop Supplier and Installer:
Granite & Cabinet Creations 

Flooring Contractor:
Abrams Hardwood Floors 

Painting Contractor:
Picture Perfect Painting

Range Hood:
Joe Maclean

READER BATH

1st West Nest Farmhouse Reno-Bathroom

Photograph by ERICA WEST

READER BATH

1st West Nest Farmhouse Reno Bath, Westbrook

ERICA WEST

Erica West Says: When we bought our house, there was a tiny full bath on the main floor and the laundry was down in the depths of the basement. The existing shower wasn’t super functional and was hardly large enough to turn around in, so we decided to turn a den into a guest bath and laundry room with a large shower lined with dusky-blue tile, a black-and-white tile floor, and a Carrara-marble countertop; the room’s original floorboards serve as the laundry shelf. Initially, we weren’t so sure about moving the washer and dryer here, but it ended up being a great decision — we actually do the laundry now!

Plumbing Contractor:
AT Plumbing Services

READER LANDSCAPING

Friendship Hobbit Hole/Fairy House

Photograph by DONNA ROGGENTHIEN

READER LANDSCAPING

Friendship Hobbit Hole/Fairy House

DONNA ROGGENTHIEN

Donna Roggenthien Says: On our heavily wooded property on Muscongus Bay, there are several different garden spaces to explore. As trees grow taller and some fall, the environment changes and the gardens morph with it. With only 18 inches of soil covering the granite ledge, the area has been a challenge, and a delight, to landscape. Our Hobbit Hole by Wooden Wonders was designed and created with our grandchildren, and other young friends, in mind. Inside, there are games, art supplies, and books, and there’s a comfortable place to snuggle up and read. We wanted the structure to look as though it is emerging from the ground, so we brought in a load of loam and a pallet of stone so we could build up and around it and covered the roof with moss from our property. Raspberries, blueberries, trees, and other woodland plants naturally started growing on the roof, which I augmented with faux flowers and succulents for a magical effect.

Hobbit Hole:
Wooden Wonders