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Location: Harpswell, Maine
Project size: 4,255 square feet

Program: Floating over an undulating bank that falls steeply to the ocean, this house responds to the site while representing the clients’ personality and craft. The dwelling centers on a kitchen designed to flow directly out to the wooded landscape. The primary suite is suspended among the trees over a carport that doubles as a party space. Three bedrooms located at the top of the stairs high above the entry point are nestled in the woods as the building follows the protected landscape. Sitting areas snuggled into the building are designed as respites from the open floor plan, offering privacy and more intimate views into the forest.

Design Solution: Pine Cove, a trio of buildings designed by Woodhull for exploration and reflection, was inspired by a pair of artistic, adventurous clients and the house’s unique location within the pines. The initial site selection was collaborative effort to capture the quintessential Maine experience, and the arrival sequence was meticulously planned.

The building’s form references the curve of a nearby cove and embraces natural outcroppings. Its vertical siding mirrors the surrounding pines, blurring the lines between architecture and nature. The interior is an expression of craft and the owner’s personal story—inherited family pieces and the client’s own artwork blend with precise, solid wood millwork—while diverse spaces cater to gatherings and moments of quiet reflection. From meticulously crafted walnut veneers in the kitchen to sequence-matching hundreds of spline joints on the wood slat walls, subtle attention to detail inside matches the house’s precise and harmonious engagement with nature outside.

Pine Cover Woodhull

Photo © Trent Bell


Structure and Materials: The house is constructed with a wood frame and features an exterior insulation layer and rain screen made of locally milled Eastern white cedar designed to blend into the understory of the spruce trees. The East Coast ash millwork was designed and constructed in-house by the architects. The kitchen features a mix of walnut and stained solid wood on intricately crafted cabinet doors that blend into the walls, including a custom powder room door. Ash floors complement the custom ash, south-facing sliding interior sunscreens. A local craftsman fabricated a waxed metal fireplace surround that divides the library from the living room.

Additional Information
Completion date: November 2022
Site size: 3.8 acres
Total construction cost: Withheld
Client/Owner: Sarah and Charles Beneke

Pine Cover Woodhull
Pine Cover Woodhull
Pine Cover Woodhull
Pine Cover Woodhull
Pine Cover Woodhull
Pine Cover Woodhull
Pine Cover Woodhull
Pine Cover Woodhull
Pine Cover Woodhull
Pine Cover Woodhull
Pine Cover Woodhull
Pine Cover Woodhull
Pine Cover Woodhull
Pine Cover Woodhull

Photos © Trent Bell

Pine Cover Woodhull
Pine Cover Woodhull
Pine Cover Woodhull
Pine Cover Woodhull

Images courtesy Woodhull; click to enlarge

Credits

Architect
Woodhull
93 High Street, Portland, ME 04101
207-283-8777
www.woodhullmaine.com

Project Team
Principal achitect: Caleb Johnson
Project architect: Amit Oza
Architects: Stacey Woodworth, Michael Chestnut

Interior designer
Woodhull

Engineers
L&L Structural Engineers

Consultants
Landscape Design: Soren DeNiord Design Studio
Landscape Installation: Pinnacle Landscape and Design
Metalwork: Jim Larson
Millwork: Woodhull

General Contractor
Woodhull

Photographer
Trent Bell

Specifications

Exterior Cladding
Rainscreen: Stained Eastern white cedar

Windows
Wood frame: Loewen

Doors
Entrances: Loewen
Sliding doors: Loewen

Hardware
Locksets: Loewen, Emtek
Pulls: Canadian Building Hardware, Schoolhouse Electric

Interior Finishes
Cabinetwork and custom woodwork: Woodhull
Paints and stains: Benjamin Moore
Floor and wall tile: Engineered ash hardwood flooring

Lighting
Interior ambient lighting: In Common With, Allied Maker
Downlights: Lotus
Exterior: FLOS

Plumbing
Faucets: AXOR
Showerheads: Hansgrohe
Basins: Kohler
Tubs: Kohler
Toilets: Toto USA