Photos: Tom and Kathleen Cote
Tom and Kathleen Cote, originally from Massachusetts, moved to this North Berwick, Maine, log home to be closer to their kids and grandkids. Initially, Kathleen thought the home had too much wood, but she was eventually outnumbered by the boys who insisted the Timberhaven kit had good bones and the land was too good to pass up. They compromised by modernizing the interior with a granite backsplash and fireplace. “It’s not as rustic now,” says Kathleen.
As for the exterior, the Cotes envisioned a yard hardscaped with sturdy walls and snaked with stone pathways. Tom (with occasional help from the younger generations) spent hours, every single day, piecing together 1,200 feet of freestanding stone walls. “I had them deliver four 10-wheel truckloads at a time for four years,” admits Tom. From the impressive rock-lined private driveway to the “secret paths,” the Cotes laid 300 tons of stone in all.
Visit their home today and you can find the adults warming up by the firepit or tending the flower garden while the grandkids play in the back yard or splash in the pool, which sits behind the home and is (not surprisingly) protected by a ring of stone.