360 Views on Deep Cove

Louanne had always dreamed of retiring to a lakeside home with her husband Vic. Unfortunately, Vic passed away before they had a chance to live this dream. Louanne did not let up on the idea and searched for the perfect piece of land. This was not an easy task, it needed to have key components to satisfy her program: on a lake with views of the water, preferably a small beach and dock, land for her passion of gardening, southern exposure facing the water (possibly the hardest feature to satisfy), and orientation for solar panels (she wanted a Net-Zero home). To her own amazement, the search took her to Sebago Lake in Maine, where she found the ideal piece of property that satisfied every one of these goals! After finding the perfect piece of land, Louanne reached out to long time friend, architect Ben Nutter. Ben had already designed a modest, but ahead of its time energy efficient home for Louanne in the 1980s, followed by a horse barn and studio apartment to match it in the 1990s.  

Louanne had many features she wanted to incorporate into her new house but was not sure if she desired something more modern, or more traditional. One thing was apparent as the design team got started: the views are simply amazing and need to be experienced from as many rooms as possible! A floor plan was established that staggered the room arrangement offering more corners for windows and views to the water. Louanne had only thought of her main living spaces as having water views, but when she realized the potential of nearly every room in the house viewing the water, she couldn’t have been happier. But is it traditional or modern? The design team used a 3D model to show her two different aesthetics using the same floor plan. She instantly gravitated to the more modern design! The low extended rooflines worked well to keep the house below the strict maximum building height. The multiple corners in plan translated to a dynamic rhythm of shapes and windows along the south, water-facing, side. Local cedar shingles were chosen as a nod to cottages of the past while supporting local business. The home employs triple-pane, high-efficiency, European style windows crafted in Pennsylvania, a well-insulated framing assembly, passive solar gains, and PV to make the home Net Zero, satisfying one of Louanne’s top priorities.