On the Market: A Blissful Island Escape off the Coast of Maine
For those trying to put six feet between them and their nearest neighbor—how about an ocean?
Photo by Marc Bartholomew
82 Common Lane, Southwest Harbor, ME
Price: $5,950,000
Size: 7,100 square feet
Bedrooms: 7
Baths: 7
In a land far, far away…lives this epic island oasis, appropriately named “Faraway.” Stationed on the Eastern Point of Southwest Harbor, the property comes with 1,500 feet of shoreline and four acres of butterfly bushes, a tree swing, guest cabin, deepwater dock, vistas of the mountains at Acadia National Park to the north, and a clear view out to all of the sailboats coasting into the harbor, and the wide open ocean beyond. Blissful, indeed.
Inside the stone and shingle house, original 1905 features create a distinctive charm that you just don’t see in new builds: Cypress floors and many-beamed ceilings set the stage for a wealth of locally-sourced fieldstone fireplaces, no fewer than eleven windows seats, and in one sitting room, a mural of ships at sea above a fireplace surrounded by built-in seating.
A century after its construction, some modern updates added a fresh gleam to the home, too. The kitchen was broadened and modernized with a Sub-Zero fridge, an elegant French Lacanche range, and rainforest green serpentinite on top of the island (the kitchen island, that is). In the dining room, fine arts painter Dean Barger painted the walls with scenes of Great Harbor, where Greening Island floats, in 2005.
With its handsome wood interior and water-encircled situation, it’s only fitting that, like any respectable ship, this sprawling cottage has a carved wooden figurehead. It does, of course, and the name of the statue, dressed in a flowy green dress and clasping a bouquet of pink flowers, is “Flora Dora.” Reportedly recovered from a wreck off the coast of Morocco, she lived a second life on the front of the Faraway (check out the old photo below), then had a scholarly stint while on loan to the Penobscot Marine Museum, and now stands proudly at the foot of the stairs in the foyer of the home.
Oh, and with 42 solar panels generating most of the power for the estate, and two diesel generators serving as backup, you can live completely off the grid if you so choose. It’s just a five-minute boat ride over to the Southwest Harbor mainland when you need to replenish your vittles.
For information, contact David Banks, davidbanksteam.com.
Photo by Marc Bartholomew
Photo by Marc Bartholomew
Photo by Marc Bartholomew
Photo by Marc Bartholomew
Photo by Marc Bartholomew
Photo by Marc Bartholomew
Photo by Marc Bartholomew
Photo by Marc Bartholomew
Photo provided
Photo by Marc Bartholomew
Photo by Marc Bartholomew
Photo by Marc Bartholomew
Photo by Marc Bartholomew
Photo by Marc Bartholomew
Photo by Marc Bartholomew
Photo by Marc Bartholomew
Photo by Marc Bartholomew
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