Nested Neighbor

Tucked into a wooded lot that partially obscures its visibility from the surrounding residents, this recently-constructed home can be glimpsed at the end of a long gravel driveway, nested among a stand of existing trees. Nicknamed the “Nested Neighbor”, this project was designed to fit unassumingly into an established neighborhood in Camden, Maine.

Complementing the local vernacular, this home integrates characteristics of a mill house, a common residential style found in midcoast Maine that typically features a story-and-a-half of living space hidden under a steeply-pitched roof.  The Nested Neighbor’s contemporary iteration of a classic architectural vocabulary results in a modest exterior massing that opens up to almost 2800 square feet of sunlit interior.

The impetus of the Nested Neighbor’s design was an expecting first-time mother and her unborn child. Thus, the spaces within needed to provide an environment of safety, education and experience.  To that effect, the design challenge became one of building a new contemporary house with the character and comfort found in a seasoned home.

Adorned by a vivid color palette, vaulted ceilings and generous expanses of glass, the house embodies life and energy.  In the more public spaces, blurred spatial boundaries allow for a fluid continuation from one room to the next.  Complemented by natural light filtering in and bathing its contents, the house provides an ever-changing canvas for life events.

In subtle contrast to the vitality of the house is the sense of comfort necessary to create a home.  It was important to provide the client with a level of security and sense of sanctuary one would expect within a home’s more private spaces.  As is the character of the mill house style, sloping ceilings on the second floor and smaller, more physically-defined rooms provide charm and a sense of protection without sacrificing the quality of space.

The sheltering comforts found inside the home extend outward through covered entries and open porches. In addition to their inherent passive solar benefits, these integrated roof elements provide a seamless transition from interior to exterior, further extending the boundaries of the house, the yard and the neighborhood as a whole.