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Loon Lake Retreat floor plan

The concrete wall behind the porch provides a backdrop for the wood stove and privacy from the road.

“Friends can use the screened porch for the day, like a cabana,” the wife says. The couple are also planning for teachers from High Meadow Farm to hold practices here. “People will be able to use the porch and have access to the lake while our family is also using the house,” the husband adds.

There’s a one-foot level change down to the primary bedroom, which is Shaker in spirit. Instead of closets, each bedroom has a set of deep, built-in drawers. “The architects kept us to our word that the house is meant for short-term stays,” the husband says. Lachapelle sourced the Ethnicraft bed and side table from Fiore Home in Portland, Maine, and the vintage velvet Ligne Roset chair from the Brimfield Antique Market.

Modern Windsor chairs by Hay surround an oak extension table by Ethnicraft. “You flip a lever and it gets larger,” Lachapelle says. The original plan called for a center island, but the owners wanted the flexibility of a table they could also use as a prep surface. The oak cabinet behind the sofa is on casters for additional utility. “We can even use it outside,” the husband says.

In the entry, a high interior window borrows light from the bedroom wing and a woven wood screen in the kitchen lets the owners see who’s at the front door. Kalon Studios crafted the bench from a single ash log. “It will split a bit over time,” Lachapelle says.

A floor lamp nearly eight feet tall anchors the seating area in the living area. Ceilings that are 12 feet tall at the highest point help the room feel expansive. “We needed to find a way to define different areas in a relatively tight space,” Lachapelle says. It’s the clients’ first experience with an open floor plan. “We raised our kids in an old Victorian, and the farmhouse we live in now is chopped up into tiny rooms save for the studio we just added,” the husband says.

“We designed the landscape and house in tandem to ensure continuity between the exterior and interior,” diNiord says. An outdoor sling chair by Croft House sits in front of the outdoor shower under the covered patio in front of the primary bedroom.

DiNiord collaborated with craftsman Ken Hood to design the concrete bench with firewood storage and detachable wood back. Douglas fir columns along the walkway creates a colonnade. The mono-sloped roof is a nod to the long roofline of the original house that stood on the property. “Reducing the angles also reflects the strictness to budget,” the wife says.

Interior designer Heidi Lachapelle chose unfussy furnishings with clean lines. “Nothing should feel decorative or unnecessary,” she says. “We looked for things that would age beautifully to speak to the wabi-sabi concept.” The oak daybed is by Bautier, the indoor/outdoor rug is by Dash & Albert, and the trapezoidal cushions on the concrete bench nod to similar ones that the wife saw at Georgia O’Keefe’s home and studio. The Scandinavian-inspired fireplace throws heat from two sides.