covered ledges to ground the house on one side, allowing the views of
Penobscot Bay to open on the other.
Next, Mohr and Todd proposed a cottage design to celebrate Cas-
tine’s coastal heritage and complement the site’s natural surround-
ings. Their horizontal Shingle Style plan features a gambrel roofline
and broad, exaggerated peaks in the front and rear, reminiscent of
architect Charles McKim’s iconic 1887 W.G. Low House in Bristol,
Rhode Island. For the exterior finishes, they selected white cedar shin-
gles, Buckland Blue trim paint by Benjamin Moore, granite foundation
stones, and Marvin windows trimmed in cobalt blue. They finished the
design with several stunning architectural details, such as an eyebrow
hood above the front door, a three-story turret on the seaside corner,
and double-stacked bay windows offering waterfront views from the
main living areas.
The next challenge came in restoring the natural landscape on the
stripped construction site. “Bruce designed a series of spaces dancing
down the hill that’s quite effective,” says Mohr of Riddell’s solution.
To begin, Riddell strategically placed boulders and stone steps
to hold soil and create planting pockets deep enough for trees and
shrubs. These cascading terraced spaces begin at the top of the hill
