Have You Seen This Perfect Seaside Cottage in Maine? (And You Can Own It!)

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Welcome to summer.

My inbox received a notification of a new house on the market for sale in coastal Washington County.  Yes, because I am a real estate geek, I receive notifications of all properties when they hit the market.  I’m not currently looking to buy another house, but, hey, you never know.  I really hadn’t been in the market for any of my other home purchases either.

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This one instantly intrigued me.  As I scrolled through the photos, I called to my friend who was visiting (and is somewhat of a house-geek herself and WAS in the market for a house).

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(pssst. Get a load of that moulding on the windows…)

“Look at this house.  It’s….It’s awesome… and I’ve seen it before.  Either I’ve been in this house or I’ve seen it… somewhere.”  She came running over and agreed that the photos were stunning.  I needed to find it.  Putting on my detective hat, I did a google search and found it in a Yankee Magazine article from a few years back.  Wow!  this new listing had been  featured in Yankee Magazine and it’s just around the corner from my house.  We just had to go and look at it.

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When I think of a summer house, this is the house that comes to mind.

The property is an antique cape, perched high above the Machias River, where it greets the bay, with a bird’s eye water view.  The day that I saw it, a sailboat bobbed up and down in the waves below.  The exterior features cedar shingles and magical wavy glass windows and peeking through the pear trees, you can see the cupola of Machiasport’s Liberty Hall rising above to keep watch on the property.

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Let the sun shine in.

Inside is just perfect.  I should clarify. In my opinion, it’s just perfect. One of the owners is a designer, artist, and author and… I think I had remembered that Yankee magazine article because I really, really like his style — simple and clean – like an Andrew Wyeth painting come to life.  The cape house is very traditional – it has a center hallway with a staircase and hand-painted mural (done by one of the owners, but looks like it’s been there for centuries).  To the left are two sitting rooms.  I know the trend is for ‘open concept’ but I’ve always liked separate cozy spaces to retreat to.  One could be a sunny, water view sitting area and the other a shady tv room retreat, for example.  On the right side of the stairwell is the dining room and kitchen. 

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OMG — I want that sink!

Oh…the kitchen.  It’s small and if you like sleek and modern, you probably won’t like it, but for me, it’s just the perfect blend of vintage and industrial.  There is a professional stainless steel gas stove and two side by side stainless steel refrigerators – plenty of space for pitchers of chilled lemonade or sweet tea.  The farm sink is a marvelous stone vessel sink.  The kitchen island is an antique cupboard… which makes me think… I have a very similar cupboard in my barn.  Hmmmmm. Do I sense a project for my own kitchen?   Currently there is one bathroom and it’s on the first floor.  Yes, it is small, but they’ve made the most of the space and even included a clawfoot tub and charming transom window.

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Upstairs there are three bedrooms plus an extra room that looks like it could perhaps become a second bath (disclaimer:  I have not verified this with owner or plumber).  The bedrooms are all on the small size, with the sloping ceilings that you find in cape cod style homes, but there is room for beds and dressers and that’s all you really need.  Floors throughout are painted wood, perfect for bare feet on summer days.

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What a view from the cottage.

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Listen to the slam of the screen door, the flicker of the fireflies, the chirping of the crickets.

 

This little cottage is featured in the owner’s book, Summer House.  Can’t you just picture yourself spending your summers here, watching the boats and smelling the salty air?

The Cottage is offered for sale by the Christopher Group for $185,000. Click here for more information.

The beautiful photographs were done by Kindra Clineff.

Maria Lamb

About Maria Lamb

Maria is the owner of Wicked Awesome Maine Vacation Rentals based in beautiful Washington County, Maine.