Boynton

Floor Plan of Hills Beach by Woodhull

Friends and family hang out on the back patio. “It’s kind of a fugly house, but we don’t care,” Caleb says.

The team replaced the rot-damaged shed with a new shed in the existing footprint.

Shannon, who’s involved in the craft community, suggested that Caleb commission local metalsmith Erica Moody to make the hardware for the cabinetry in the entry.

The entry is full of function, including a washer/dryer that hides behind a mod arrangement of floor-to-ceiling cabinetry made from painted MDF with walnut detailing.

Local artist John Bisbee created a decorative screen out of nails for the end of the base cabinet. Stuart built the drawers using traditional wood-on-wood slides and proportionally spaced dovetails, which operate differently in summer and winter. “Those idiosyncrasies effect the way you interact with it,” Stuart notes. “The kitchen is experiential in that way.”

The insides of the carcass are as beautiful as the exposed faces. “You can’t capture a piece of solid wood in a frame or it will expand, contract, and crack, so we re-assembled our leftover walnut strips to infill the framework,” Stuart says.

“I like the darkness of walnut. Other woods tend to yellow if you don’t stain it, while walnut stays true to itself,” Caleb says. The white glass tile backsplash melds with the wall.

“Using only wood to form a cabinet results in artistic moments. Diagonals read as decorative, but these strong triangles are necessary when you’re not using plywood,” Caleb says. “It’s pure joy to use the kitchen, knowing that all parts of it are built with meaning and without compromise.

Stuart crafted the banquette base using ambrosia maple that he had been saving for a worthy project.

The perimeter countertop is made from waxed cold-rolled steel. “I like materials that get better with age; this will fill up with color,” Caleb says.

The home’s modest size meant Caleb did not have to worry too much about material and labor costs. For example, all the interior walls are done in plaster, which is three-to-four times more expensive than drywall in Maine.

In the first-floor bathroom, the mermaid backsplash Caleb carved plays off the Hygge & West “Mermaid” wallpaper.

Caleb hand-carved the frame around the windows on the ocean side of the home. “Old buildings have hand-carved ornamentation or terracotta panels with ornate patterns around the doors. I’m kind of over classical modernism; let’s use some ornamentation and texture in modern buildings,” he says.

Furnishings in comfortable neutrals minimize distractions so the ocean is the focus.

Shannon Richards, Caleb’s partner, often uses her laptop at the 13-foot long banquette, which needed to be finessed a bit because the initial version looked too bulky. The team laid the maple floorboards at an angle and used a white-tinged stain that will preserve their natural appearance.

Penny tiles in two colors cover the walls in the wet room on the second floor where wall-mounted plumbing fixtures preserve countertop space atop the solid brass sink.

Old doors and mismatched hardware from an old nunnery in Massachusetts carry stories from the past forward. “There is something nice about living with reused materials and taking advantage of the hours of labor put into the old stuff we salvaged,” Caleb says.