This classic colonial located in the Kittery, Maine Foreside neighborhood has officially been “loved back to life”.
When I walked on this job site in the January ’18, the contractor was literally pulling the house back together by threading a steel rod and tightening it a bit every day. Post-demolition, it was discovered that not only was there a serious fire in the house years back, but the walls were literally falling off the foundation. An addition off the back of the house that was falling down had already been removed.
Kittery, Maine is the oldest town in Maine, home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and has a lot of history to it – and so does this house. During the war, the house was a boarding house for those working on the Shipyard and in the 50’s it was a duplex with shared doors. For the first-time homeowners, the amount of work that had to be done was more than a surprise, but they took it as an opportunity to create exactly what they wanted.
We rebuilt the back addition of 14’ x 28’ and added a second floor. The first-floor functions as a mudroom, powder room, pantry and kitchen with a large island while the second-floor functions as the kid’s bath and master bath. The roofline provided a space for the hvac system to reside.
The rest of the house laid out easily with a large dining room and living room divided by the staircase and on the second floor, the master bedroom on one side of the stairs with two bedrooms on the other. The third-floor was divided in two as well, with two new shed dormers added for sweet views of the Memorial Bridge linking New Hampshire to Maine for another bedroom and sitting area.
A new 24’ x 24’ garage was replaced the old cinder block garage with room above it for an office or in-law apartment.
The client’s taste is consistent with the style of home – classic and true. The custom kitchen has a blend of painted and white oak cabinetry as well as quartz countertops. Beadboard was added to the mudroom and pantry for dimension and texture. The little bar was finished at the same height as the window sill so that it can function as a bar pass-through from the patio.
With 5” wide white oak floors throughout, it blends beautifully with the tile. In the Kid’s bath, the classic black and white 1” hexagon mosaics on the floor work beautifully with the 3×6 white subway tiles surrounding the tub. I love introducing a vanity with functional drawers at the bottom and raising the door shelf for function with the quartz top.
In the master bath, we used the 2×2 hexagon with grey accent tiles on the heated floor and ran it into the shower with Ann Sacks glass subway tiles – both shiny and matte – on the walls. The double vanity is complimented by a custom dressing table, complete with small drawers for makeup and lighted mirrors.
This house is truly classic and true. It was a ton of fun to work with these clients and see their dream become a reality.