Laura Bayne was ready to start a new chapter. After a divorce and the pandemic, which made working from anywhere a real possibility, she decided to make a move from Winchester, Massachusetts, to her favorite place in the country: midcoast Maine. She envisioned a cozy hideaway in a friendly community somewhere near Harpswell or Rockport that valued the arts and the outdoors, and a hub for her two grown children and their families. But there was one major issue with this plan: Laura didn’t like any of the homes she toured in those areas.

To start a new chapter, Laura Bayne bought land in midcoast Maine and built a prefab on it by BrightBuilt Home, tailoring it to her specifications." layout="wide" credit="Photo by Sarah Szwajkos" photoUserId=""/>

“I was driving here frequently to check out listings, and during one of those trips, my son turned up one for land and we stopped by and fell in love instantly,” Laura says of a property they found in St. George, closer to Rockport. “On my second visit, a neighbor walked over to say hello and offered to answer any questions, which helped make my decision easier.”

The land has a gentle slope and is surrounded by trees that change colors in the fall. The calm currents of Cutler Cove, off the St. George River, are visible through the branches. Laura, a chief information officer, imagined kayaking and paddleboarding after work and hosting Thanksgiving dinners against a backdrop of vibrant leaves. But then a second issue came into play. “I was naive in thinking that building would be less expensive than buying a new house, or at least not more expensive,” she says, having seen one estimate. “So I started the process with a different architect and builder, but their estimate was 50 percent higher than the original, so I canceled the project.”

At this point, a friend in Maine directed her to BrightBuilt Home, a Portland prefab company with 20 models to choose from. From the outset, the numbers worked better for Laura, she says. And “since I was going to be building something new, I wanted to minimize my climate footprint and avoid fossil fuels and short-term building materials,” she adds, echoing a few of BrightBuilt’s tenets.

She decided on the Little Diamond model and worked with Jessica Benner, the studio director and co-owner of BrightBuilt, to turn it into her dream home. “I wanted a space where I could host dinners and create art,” Laura says. “I did not want an ostentatious home, but one that would make people happy to be in—including myself.” Adds Benner, “We wanted to bring the outside in, and create a refuge. Our goal was to create a modern, warm, and inviting home by capturing the colors of the water alongside vignettes of the foliage.”

$9,306 Well	$30,410 Septic	$46,840 Excavation
$37,000 Concrete, Slab, and Frost Piers	$267,011.25 Structural	$62,983 Wall Finishes
$37,856 Flooring	$23,479.25 Hardware	$26,950.50 Electrical
$36,556.25 Plumbing	$25,643.50 HVAC	$25,744.25 Kitchen & Bath Fixtures
$3,159.25 Lighting	$21,829.50 Cabinetry	$13,406 Countertops
$14,174 Appliances	$62,370 Windows & Glazing	$18,711 Doors
$1,559.25 Millwork	$32,486 Tilework	$12,665 Metalwork
$6,450 Glass Shower Doors & Panels	$14,266 Set Crew & Crane	$1,612 EV Charging Port
$4,755 Water Supply & Treatment	$102,402 Labor	$2,391 Waste/Debris Removal
$113,126 General Contractor	$28,000 Architect Fee
Grand Total: $1,083,142

Built out of two primary “boxes” joined together on-site, the farmhouse-style home of about 2,400 square feet has three beds and two baths with an office on the loft level and a pottery studio in the basement. A wide deck off the shared living, dining, and kitchen area provides an alfresco spot for Laura’s morning coffee, as well as a place to relax after a day of work or getting out on the water.

Laura splurged by going with an abundance of generously sized windows from Paradigm Windows, wanting to frame views of surrounding trees and the water beyond. The oversize deck was always part of the plan, as was bathrooms tiled to bring in the hues of the outdoors. Reserving more space in the budget for these choices meant spending less on other elements, like cabinets by Merillat Cabinetry, recessed lighting, and doors. “I have to mention that for a baseline model, my cabinets are lovely and I wouldn’t change a thing,” Laura says.

Laura and Benner prioritized sunlight and vantage points wherever possible, maximizing the home’s connection to the land. They agreed on skylights in the primary bedroom and windows on a double-height wall that illuminates the common areas and loft above. White paint and light wood help bounce rays around, while river-hued colors add dimension to black-framed details. “It’s refreshing when a client opts to go in a direction that is something other than neutral,” Benner says. “We see enough gray through the winter months here, so the colors really provide a vibrant backdrop to Laura’s life through the seasons.”

The home was finished in the summer of 2024, and since, Laura has already begun making the most of her fresh chapter. “I hosted Thanksgiving last fall for 16 with extended family, which I hope will become a tradition,” she says. “And I have found a wonderful community of strong, smart, and creative women who I am really enjoying.”

More Budget Breakdown stories:

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In the Netherlands, a Historic Thatched Cottage Meets a $97K Prefab

Project Details:

Designer of Record: BrightBuilt Home

Builder: T.A. Greenleaf Fine Woodworking and Home Building

Manufacturer, Structural Engineer, and Civil Engineer: KBS Builders, Inc.

Appears In

Budget Breakdown: A $1.1M Prefab Gives a Divorcée a Fresh Start in Midcoast Maine