BOOTHBAY – Here nestled into a hilltop glade is as distinctive and picturesque a Maine home as you are ever likely to see – unless perhaps you are familiar with artist-builder David Lee’s previous two-dozen-plus custom creations. They are unique houses with an aesthetic both medieval and timeless, and the aura of another world. (A better one, some might say.)
This 2,200-square-foot, three-bedroom home on 1.84 private acres may appear as fanciful as a Tolkien novel. But it was created over the past three years in keeping with pragmatic principles outlined by David and Jenny Lee in their 2014 book “Creative Home Improvement”:
“ … The home should be built by the owner … (using) simple, natural, and durable basic building methods. Changes, repair and upkeep when needed should be within the capability of the owners. The house must disturb the immediate environment as little as possible. Heating, electric and plumbing systems should use minimal energy and be simple, yet highly efficient.”
In other words, the home embodies sustainability, from the thick oak shakes that “armor-plate” it and are intended to last more than 200 years, and the decorative asphalt roofing that “seals like a skin,” to its three heating sources (wood, oil, solar); and the ingenious gravity-based hydration system. What looks like a wizard-hatted guardhouse by the driveway is actually a well house and electric-power hookup).
Built-ins are everywhere. Versatility is a virtue. The three-level home and its companion three-level building are ideal for anyone who is dedicated to an art and treasures the Maine natural world. The workshop structure is connected by a second-story sun deck with a Jackson Pollock drip-technique floor. One large bedroom is bookended by a woodland-view balcony that could host several Juliets; and a “secret” windowed enclosure, with seats, that gives fresh meaning to “bringing the outdoors in.”
Built in the “storybook style,” the Boothbay home will soon begin a new chapter.
The home at 37 My Way, Boothbay, will be auctioned online from 1 p.m. Wednesday, July 31, to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 7. Visit: http://www.tranzon.com/AP19054.
Previews: 11 a.m.- 2 p.m., Saturday July 20 and Tuesday July 30.
For more information, please contact Ruth Lind, CAI, BAS, of Tranzon Auction Properties at 207-775-4300; 207-751-1430 or rlind@tranzon.com.
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