Maximalist Approach
Decor Maine, Issue No. 06
A home on the southern coast pushes the limits of scale.
There’s a line somewhere about “best-laid plans” that is apt for this Kennebunkport titan. What started as an 8000 squarefoot design grew to over 14,000 squarefoot by the time construction wrapped. “A lot was added along the way,” says builder Kevin Lord. These additions included a golf simulator, a wine cellar, theater, and butler’s quarters—to name a few. “These ended up fifilling the basement, which meant we needed room for the mechanicals, the components that actually run the home,” Kevin says. “We ended up adding a lot of structure to the living space below ground, under the patios, under the stairs. We couldn’t make the home any larger, but anywhere there was existing coverage, we were allowed to build below. A lot of the home we extended sub-grade.”
Creative problem-solving with regard to space limitations is further exemplified by the home’s unique and—for its size—notably shallow roofline. Height caps set by the town didn’t allow for steep pitches, “but the client was adamant about full height, second-floor walls to maximize the rooms and space up there,” says Kevin. “That’s why you see these somewhat flattened roof pitches.” (They are still plenty steep enough to slough snow in winter.)
More bluntly: They couldn’t build up, so they built down.
And the subterranean amenities are enviable. We especially admire the indoor pool and spa, complete with horizontal shower (that’s a thing?!), adjacent steam room, a seated section with multiple jets, and a central RainMoon shower by European manufacturer Dornbracht. The head (which looks like a giant eye in the ceiling) functions differently than a traditional rain-effect showerhead. Rather than individual streams, the RainMoon actsas more of a waterfall, dropping whole funneled sheets of cascading water onto the user.
Originally from India, the client imported full slab marble from the country for use in the spa and throughout the home. “The slabs were delivered in 40 by 120-inch spans,” says Kevin, also an owner of Maine Marble and Granite, a local stone fabrication shop. Again, the scale of the work was profound. “We put those slabs, one after another, on our CNC equipment, and they would cut tile for weeks on end,” says Kevin.
To be sure, both inside and out, the home is a study in maximalism. From the turrets, verandas, and expansive Marvin windows that characterize the exterior, to the divinely ornate ceiling ornamentation that touches almost every room. “The complexity of the interior ceiling details is significant— all those radial and curved beams,” Kevin says. “It was a lot to figure out the scale and dimension to bring that stuff to life.” The effort was certainly worth it. We know less is more has become somewhat of a design mantra these days, but here, decidedly, more is more.
