Inside: Designer Dreaming

how do you ground a house with its head in the clouds? D.c. architect Leon chatelain’s dash of rusticity, paired with his restoration of its classical grace, lend Damarin, a Greek revival show-stopper on the Sheepscot river, that human touch.

What makes a house stately and elegant at the same time it feels casual and comfortable? How can these seemingly opposing qualities co-exist happily in the same house? The answer lies in and around Damarin, a fine Greek Revival home overlooking the Sheepscot River near the heart of Wiscasset village.

Named for an Abenaki chieftain, the house was built in 1850, probably as a simple farmhouse. Over the years, and through multiple

designer dreaming

by brad Favreau

additions and renovations, it has become a good example of the type of homestead that Thomas Hubka used as title for his classic 1984 book examining archetypal rural New England architecture, Big House, Little House, Back House, Barn. In this work, Hubka explains how New England farm houses grew and expanded over time as family needs changed. Damarin’s history and its likeness to Hubka’s connected farm buildings help explain the two sides of its personality–gracious but comfortable in a roll-up-

your-sleeves way.

Leon Chatelain and his wife Nancy have been visiting Maine for years, whenever they’re able to break away from his busy Washington, D.C., architectural practice. Already familiar with Wiscasset and Lincoln County, they’d long admired Damarin. In spite of the house’s long decline into disrepair–like a moldering ‘Tara’–the Chatelains snapped up the 36-acre estate in 2001. After a starry restoration, Damarin is now listed through Drum & Drum Real Estate for $3.15 million.

Significantly, Chatelain had Hubka’s book in mind as renovations began. The additions that had taken place over the years had become a “wonderful assemblage,” Chatelain explains. But sadly, the existing ell behind the main house, containing a kitchen, small bedroom, and the laundry room, was beyond redemption, and Chatelain was forced to replace it. “Each family who lived here placed their imprint on the house,” he says. “We’ve done the same thing, but with deep respect to what was already there. The trick is to define a new story.”

The newly completed ell, a wonderful assemblage in its own right, houses the large kitchen, warmly finished with cherry millwork, slate countertops, pantry, laundry, a capacious great room at the rear (which is a reassembled barn salvaged from western Maine), and a stairwell leading to the master suite above. Together, these interior spaces express a thoughtful, relaxed statement of contemporary living, creatively invoking all the informal qualities of traditional connected farm buildings. There’s a marvelous sense that the ell, while new, has evolved over time and is not a careless afterthought. A Maine farmer from the 19th century would find it familiar and reassuring.

Out front, the Greek Revival main house stands tall and confident against the river winds, protecting the ell like a mother duck leading her trail of ducklings to the water. Inside the grand entrance, the more formal side of the house includes the living room, a dining room so large that it could easily double as a ballroom, and a library. Three bedrooms make up the second floor with two additional bedrooms and a playroom are found on the top floor.

Every room here, all the way to the smallest powder room, is a revelation. “The flow of the house across three floors creates areas of discovery,” Chatelain says. “Each room has its own unique character through the architecture as well as the furnishings and the artwork. Sometimes you walk into a room and have an ‘ahh’ moment.”

While the mansion maintains a dignified presence throughout, bold colors add life and charm in just the right places. “Color adds fun,” Chatelain says. “My wife and I are not afraid to use it. We need color to get through a Maine winter.”

Just like the Katherine Hepburn character in The Philadelphia Story, it’s great to see a goddess like Damarin become more beautiful for its newly realized warmth. n

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