A whimsical custom cottage nestled in the woods on a peninsula in Boothbay is for sale for $529,000.
The home on River View Drive in Boothbay is one of four that local artist and builder David Lee created in coastal Maine in his lifetime, said Kim Hodgdon of Tindal & Callahan Real Estate, the listing agent for the property.
While the cottages vary in shape and size, all of them were built in the same storybook style, with chunky wooden shakes and steep, curved roofs. Lee’s wife still lives in one of the cottages he built for them, Hodgdon said.
The two-bedroom, two-bathroom home sits on more than 3 acres and offers roughly 1,200 square feet of living space.
Lee made the home in 2011 for his friend, Lori Murray, who’s now selling the house after using it as a seasonal property. However, the cottage can be a year-round home.
The home is full of unique artistic details that Murray selected when the home was being built. For example, the hinges on the doors are carved to look like the wings of a dragon, Hodgdon said, and the handles on kitchen cabinets were carved by hand.
“This man was an artist and went to great lengths to build these homes,” Hodgdon said. “The attention to detail — even the hinges on every door — he made them, he touched them with his hands.”
The home also has stained glass features created by local artist Richard MacDonald and hand-painted murals in the bedroom in the second floor loft.
The most striking details in the cottage, however, are likely the intricate dioramas on either side of the fireplace in the living room, which are lit from within, Hodgdon said.
“It’s such a magical little place,” Murray said. “It’s one of a kind, but it’s in the eye of the beholder, like any art is.”
Murray said her ideal buyer for the home is “someone who will love it like I do and appreciate it for what it is.”
The property sits on the Blue Hill Peninsula in Boothbay and has access to a shared deepwater dock that juts into the Damariscotta River.
The site also has a miniature detached shed built in the same style of the home, which offers more storage.
Hodgdon said she has shown the property to several interested buyers and begun receiving offers already. She expects more offers soon.
“It blends in so well with the woods, but it’s unconventional,” Hodgdon said. ”It’s in a league of its own.”
