Modern Mansard by the Sea

Village, Island, and Sea

Sharing a storybook pond, private woods and vast, birch-encircled, fire-pit equipped back green, this idyllic house down a village street from Manset’s harbor does triple duty as a country home, island retreat, and traditional village residence.

Dressed up by mature landscaping and color-infused local art, the historic structure is one of five family homes sharing a compound in the quiet village of Manset in Mountain Desert Island’s Southwest Harbor community. Cheery and homey, with furnishings tending toward the clean lined and contemporary, the spacious house and patios were created for gathering, a bright remake by the creator behind several of our favorite places including Schoolhouse and Garage, from Nathan Minett, founder of WAKE Design and Architecture. 

AROUND

Across the street from LL Bean’s shuttle that cruises Mount Desert Island, the home is set on a park-like acre with a pond, woods and grassy green, with easy access to the local waterfront and area hiking trails. The small village of Manset is located in the Southwest Harbor area of Maine’s Mount Desert Island (MDI), the “quieter” side of MDI, about a half hour from the better-known Bar Harbor. One of Southwest Harbor’s five principal villages (Southwest Harbor, Manset, Seawall, Wonderland and Pemetic Hills), the picturesque port opens up along Maine’s Route 102 and the waterfront Shore Road. Mount Desert Island is best known for Acadia National Park, which encompasses some 60 miles of the region’s Atlantic Coastline and offers 33 miles of scenic roads and hundreds of hiking trails. Maine’s largest offshore isle, MDI’s Southwest Harbor area is known as the part of the isle that’s less traveled. Cycling, hiking, kayaking and sailing opportunities are numerous in this area—check out sailing lessons at Mansell Boat Rentals, grab a free cruiser bike on Main Street in Southwest Harbor, board a vintage 1966 wooden lobster boat or take a ferry around Cranberry Cove. Villages in these parts are of the quintessentially New England small town variety, offering galleries, restaurants, and artisanal boutiques and markets as well as local fine dining in and on historic inns and piers. History tells us that the region of Southwest Harbor and Manset on the Somes Sound was visited by indigenous peoples since as far back as 4,000 BC, though the site’s name was given to the first settlement by a person of European descent, Abraham Somes, who fished and sailed the area in 1761. Bear Island Lighthouse marks the sound’s entrance.

LOCATION

Southwest Harbor, Maine, United States. Nearest airport: Bar Harbor, approximately 20-30 minutes; Bangor, approximately 1 1/4 hours

BEST TIME TO VISIT: April to October