CAPE ELIZABETH, Maine — Located steps from the ocean and adjacent to Fort Williams Park, the long and narrow former horse stable was skirting dilapidation.
“It was a hot mess,” confirms Beth Herriman, who bought the mess in Delano Park and turned it around.
Built in 1885 by John Calvin Stevens, Maine’s celebrated architect, to house horses and a carriage for a grand shingle-style home in this historic summer community, the space was a catalyst for an imaginative leap. Now it’s a family home for an empty nest couple on the go.
A redesign in the ’70s turned the stable into a home. But with scores of rotating tenants, including a stint as a surfer flophouse, the interior had suffered. Though ramshackle and abused, something spoke to the urban transplant through the mishmash of unfortunate design choices.
“When I saw it I said, ‘That’s the kind of house I would love to buy,’” said Herriman, a former fashion designer with an eye for harmonious interiors. “It was a rotted battleship gray. I knew I could make it better.”
Herriman and her husband, Jeff, an international business developer, bought the house two years ago. The renovation, which included bringing the house down to the studs, took half a year. “We put in all new systems, all new walls. Everything.”
By punching in windows everywhere, she’s turned the dark horse home into a temple of light.
As bright sun flooded through the tighter-than-a-doublewide space, Herriman padded barefoot on pristine white oak floors, pointing out the upgrades in her stylish home.
“This is where the horse stalls were,” she said showing off a new laundry room, bathroom and cozy guest quarters off an open and airy kitchen. “Everyone sleeps well in this room.”
In her deluxe kitchen, with marble countertops, glass-blown drop lights and a wooden island, it’s hard to imagine dirt floors and carriages stored here. But there are telltale signs. The original tongue and groove cathedral ceiling shelters the hearth, which Herriman brightened with white paint. A glittering chandelier brings the warm wood to life.
Above, a gangplank conveys one across a mezzanine-like open space (a remnant of the hayloft) to the master bedroom. You can almost smell the hay. Her daughter’s bedroom, occupied when she’s home from college, is crowned with the stable’s original cupola.
Everything inside, from floors to windows to reconfigured bathrooms, is new and “idiot proof” said Herriman.
“We have built a new structure while retaining the old frame, the soul of the house,” she said. Like so many creations of a bygone era, a complete tear down would’ve been easier.
Herriman, who once lived in a hayloft in Switzerland, wanted to “honor its spirit.”
To do that she worked closely with a contractor, got inspiration from Pinterest and designed a modern home that feels as good as it looks. From the sunny entrance, originally a barn door, considerable feng shui, jazz music and the smell of lilacs greets you warmly.
“I wanted it to be a worry-free cottage,” said Herriman, who did what she could to maximize the million-dollar ocean views. Situated on the entrance to Portland Harbor, she can see sailboats and large cruisers from her bedroom.
“My daughter said, ‘Mom, you built a fishbowl,’ and I said, ‘Yes, you can thank me later.’”
