Camden contemporary checks all the boxes

By June Donenfeld
Photos: Sara Szwajkos Photography

THIS IS A STORY OF SERENDIPITY, two scholars, how they built their forever home in Maine—and the unexpected friendships they formed in the process.

Eighteenth century literature professors Baerbel Czennia and Kevin Cope spent many years teaching at universities in Louisiana, but as the prospect of retirement neared, they knew they wanted a change of geography and a comfortable, high-performance home where they could happily age in place.

Maine was at the top of their list. “Baerbel and I had both had wonderful past experiences in Maine when we were younger,” Cope says. As they weighed different options, their thoughts kept returning to the Pine Tree State, with, as Cope notes, “Its thriving cultural life and proximity to a range of East Coast attractions, whether the great northeastern cities or the open spaces of nature.”

When COVID-19 struck, they put in-person house hunting on hold and devoted their time to online scouting. Czennia’s background helped inform the search. “I’d already had some favorable experiences with energy-efficient housing standards in Germany shortly before I met Kevin and moved to the U.S.,” she says. “Unfortunately, our experiences with spec house builders in Louisiana, where we’d twice built homes, had been quite disillusioning, and we knew we didn’t want to repeat those errors after retirement.”

In the neighborhoods where they’d lived, they found that more sustainable building technologies, such as solar power, were actively discouraged in favor of oil and gas. Quality of construction was also a big issue. “We were dismayed by the high energy costs of those poorly insulated homes, whether heating during winters or cooling during summers,” Czennia says.

Once they decided on Maine, the couple initially had their hearts set on city life in Portland, Cope says. But there were disappointingly few properties available within their budget, a scarcity driven both by a tsunami of buyers fleeing the pandemic and area residents newly working at home.

They also found themselves rethinking their image of an ideal home. “Traditional Maine houses, as picturesque as they are, often have bedrooms on a second floor,” says Czennia, “linked to the ground floor by narrow, steep staircases—not ideal when you hope to ‘age in place.’”

They were determined to keep a watchful eye on their bottom line, too. “We were aware of the potential financial risk related to a full-fledged renovation of an older home,” says Czennia. “You never know what you may find once you open the walls or check an old foundation.”

Their clear conclusion? Between the price of preexisting homes and the cost and time required to renovate them, they’d be better off building their own.

Once they’d crossed the Portland area off their list, they cast their net far and wide. “We sought to stay within range of accessible cultural and recreational activities, shopping and resources, medical care and larger cities like Portland, Boston and New York,” Cope says.

In the end, it was the Midcoast that won their hearts. Czennia got a flash of déjà-vu when they visited Camden. “The Camden Hills strongly reminded me of the hilly and wooded countryside in Germany,” she says. “But Midcoast Maine has even more character and offers the unbeatable bonus of proximity to the Atlantic Ocean.” Another plus? Czennia is an avid hiker, and the area is tailor-made for someone who loves to get on the trail.

Even as they combed the area for a good building lot, they were also on the hunt for an architect well-versed in the ins and outs of high-performance building. When Czennia’s internet sleuthing brought them to Emily Mottram in 2020, they knew she was the one who could help bring their dream home to life. “We had an instant good rapport with Emily,” Cope says. “We both liked her personally, as well as her ‘team’ approach and her enthusiasm for modern styles and high-efficiency building.”

Mottram likens this team approach, a cornerstone of her practice, to a three-legged stool. “A successful project includes all three legs: the client, the builder and the design team. This helps keep projects on budget, goals at the forefront and communication open.”

That third leg was Tamarack Builders. Cal Egan, cofounder of Tamarack with Andrew Marchetti, was project manager for the build, which he saw as a golden opportunity to expand their building science knowledge and skill sets. “Learning and improving is a big part of what makes this profession exciting for us,” he says. “Building science is a dynamic, engaging field. There’s the age-old motivation to build durable, comfortable structures, and there’s the immediate imperative to be less harmful to our environment in doing so. That’s what drives us, and we’re lucky to be part of a large community in Maine that feels the same way.”

With clear lines of communication and a set of shared goals, the project was able to move forward without the owners being in Maine full-time at the outset. Czennia still marvels at how well the process worked. “It’s amazing that this project was able to happen, although at first we still lived 1,800 miles away and had to bridge the gap with Zoom meetings, phone calls, weekly visual updates and only occasional site trips.”

Fast forward to 2024. The couple have been contentedly living with Pepper the cat in their beautiful, book-filled home for a couple of years now. Cope continues to periodically travel to Louisiana to teach, and Czennia, who retired from her university position, now works with children at the local elementary school. Tucked into the rural landscape just a short distance from Camden’s vibrant town center, their stunning, cedar-clad house is an oasis of tranquility.

The single-level layout achieves a fine balance of conviviality and privacy and can meet any mobility challenges as the owners get older. As you enter the house from the flagstone walk, the ample entryway opens directly into the light-filled main living space, where the kitchen, dining and living areas flow seamlessly together. Across from the entryway lies the primary bedroom with ensuite bath and walk-in closet; there are two more bedrooms at opposite sides of the house that double as studies for the owners. There are also design details that will make it easier to age in place, such as a walk-in shower, easily accessible light switches, and doors with levers instead of hard-to-turn knobs.

The home is also a winner on the aesthetic front. The golden wood floors and white walls form a perfect backdrop for the modern European furniture and pops of color that enliven the space, from the red sofa with cheery patterned cushions to yellow lamps in the blue and white kitchen. Shaker-simple custom cabinets in the kitchen and bath, with clean lines and visible woodgrain, are as warm as they are timeless. Both Cope and Czennia have high praise for the craftsmanship of this and all the other woodwork, especially in the cozy sunroom, which Egan exquisitely timber-framed.

High-performance features abound, like thick insulation, electric heat pumps, a continuous ventilation system, all-LED lighting, a rooftop solar array and the siting of the house itself, which takes full advantage of the sun’s warmth and light.

Indoor air quality and environmental concerns were also top of mind for the couple, so low- or no-VOC (volatile organic compounds) paints, coatings and sealants were used throughout, from the walls to the floorboards. And Mottram designed the kitchen so the gas range won’t sully the indoor air. The hood eliminates the indoor pollutants emitted from burning propane, along with moisture and VOCs produced during cooking. It’s connected to an outdoor air source that heats the fresh air coming in, so it won’t cool the house in winter.

The building process didn’t always go smoothly because of COVID-related supply chain hiccups and eyewatering spikes in the cost of some materials, but everyone took things in stride. “We followed Pretty Good House* principles when our original selections couldn’t be acquired or became too expensive,” Mottram says. “Making improvements until it didn’t make sense financially was a big part of the build, and there were some things that the homeowners had to compromise on, including waiting to do the landscaping for a year due to the higher costs of construction.” But the flooring was one thing that couldn’t wait, so when the price of the maple or oak boards they originally wanted soared, the couple opted for 7-inch-wide white pine flooring from the Wood Mill of Maine. Milled and kiln-dried in-house in Mercer and finished with low-sheen, water-based Bona Traffic Naturale®, the floors are stunning to look at, a pleasure to walk on and a far cry from what the homeowners first thought pine flooring would look like: knot filled and rustic.

Czennia encourages people embarking on similar projects to cultivate an open mind and embrace the unplanned. Heated bathroom floors were not part of the couple’s original vision either, but now they are delighted that they were persuaded when Mottram told them it would be a small cost for a very high reward. “We were initially skeptical, thinking this would be an over-the-top luxury,” Cope says, “but Emily pointed out that (a) the system used very little energy, and, in any case, we would be generating a surplus of power and (b) we would be grateful for the heating during the winter. She was right on both counts!”

The east-facing window in Czennia’s study is another example of how even a carefully planned home can be improved by the unexpected. When the sunroom’s glass door failed to arrive in the original shipment from Europe, this otherwise unfortunate delay presented an opportunity to redesign her study, adding a new, east-facing window to the large ones that faced south. Now the morning light that pours through that small-but-mighty opening brings Czennia great joy.

She also recommends homeowners take part in the building process itself if they can. For her, an experienced DIYer and licensed pilot who clearly doesn’t mind heights, this meant joining the solar array installers up on the roof to lend a hand.

When Cope and Czennia speak about what they like best about their home, they almost don’t know where to begin.

“Generally speaking, the most wonderful aspect of the house is that it’s incredibly pleasant simply to be and dwell here,” Cope says. “It’s fresh, environmentally efficient far beyond expectation and splendidly situated, like Camden itself, ‘where the mountains meet the sea.’ But if I were to choose one feature of the house that gives me special delight, it’s the marvelously ergonomic kitchen, where it’s easy and fun to produce magnificent food, whether a hearty goulash or delicious Linzer torte!”

For her part, Czennia loves the sustainability of the construction and the many windows “that make the house light, airy, and remarkably quiet year-round.”

She also appreciates how it reflects a strong sense of place. “Although the building style is modern, the house is connected in various ways to the region where it stands,” she says. “Our beautiful pine floorboards come from an old wood mill in Mercer; our cabinetry was built in nearby Union by Henry Marchetti, Andrew Marchetti’s enormously talented brother; and the house is covered in Eastern white cedar shingles, linking it visually to Maine’s beautiful traditional houses and barns.”

There’s another aspect of their home that makes it extraordinarily special to Czennia and Cope. When they embarked on the project, they never expected that wonderful friendships would be built, too—but they were. “Whenever we look at a door frame or cabinet or sunroom wall, we remember exactly who worked on it. The entire project was such an unexpectedly positive experience that we are still in touch with many of the people who took part,” Czennia says.

Mottram herself is delighted with the way things turned out. “Building a home, even with a great team, is full of challenges and decisions,” she says.

“When the whole team wants to sit together for coffee or dinner long after the project is complete, you know you have fulfilled the goal.”

If my own visit to Czennia and Cope’s Camden home is any indicator, they’ve done just that. After spending an overcast winter afternoon at this peaceful, welcoming house in the fine company of the owners, architect and builder, drinking tea and eating far too many slices of Cope’s delectable chocolate cake, I announce to the room at large: “I want to live here, too.”

“Everyone who visits says that,” Mottram replies.

And well they should.

*Pretty Good House is a framework and set of guidelines for building or renovating a high-performance home with a focus on the occupants and the environment, while also being mindful that few people have enough money to achieve a “perfect” solution. All aspects of this approach are detailed in the 2022 book Pretty Good House by Chris Briley, Dan Kolbert, Michael Maines and Emily Mottram.

About this project

Architect
Mottram Architecture

Builder
Tamarack Builders

Landscape Design
Asa Peats

• Three-bedroom, two-bath 2,260-squarefoot single-level home with attached two-car garage. Modified version of Mottram’s predesigned “Swallow” plan set.

• Standing-seam metal roof, natural cedar shingle cladding

• Solar roof array

• Double-stud walls with dense-packed cellulose at R-40 insulation level

• Blown-in cellulose in the flat and vaulted ceilings at R-60 insulation level

• Ducted energy recovery ventilator (ERV) system for continual fresh-air ventilation

• Triple-pane windows

• Heat pumps for heating and cooling

• Backup propane generator

• Heat pump water heater

• LED lighting

This article appeared in the Spring 2024 edition of Green & Healthy Maine HOMES. Subscribe today!

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