A Flexible Home

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Kimberly Sampson and Adam Maltese were dedicated to living in harmony with nature, and cleared as few trees as possible for their small home and schoolhouse. The buildings are clustered at the far end of the property, creating a sense of seclusion.
Kimberly Sampson and Adam Maltese were dedicated to living in harmony with nature, and cleared as few trees as possible for their small home and schoolhouse. The buildings are clustered at the far end of the property, creating a sense of seclusion.
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A clean, minimalist design ensures both building and maintenance remained efficient and affordable.
A clean, minimalist design ensures both building and maintenance remained efficient and affordable.
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The family goats, Forest and Leaf, are tended by many, including Kimberly and Adam’s children and Kimberly’s students.
The family goats, Forest and Leaf, are tended by many, including Kimberly and Adam’s children and Kimberly’s students.
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Before moving, Kimberly helped run a two-acre community farm. Now she calls her expansive kitchen garden “small.”
Before moving, Kimberly helped run a two-acre community farm. Now she calls her expansive kitchen garden “small.”
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The Sampson-Maltese home has had to be flexible as the kids have grown from children to teens.
The Sampson-Maltese home has had to be flexible as the kids have grown from children to teens.
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Enabling their children to grow up amid nature was the driving factor behind building this home.
Enabling their children to grow up amid nature was the driving factor behind building this home.
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Open, flowing spaces, lots of light and exposed ceiling beams help the small space feel expansive.
Open, flowing spaces, lots of light and exposed ceiling beams help the small space feel expansive.
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Though it’s not large, the kitchen was designed to maximize storage and efficiency.
Though it’s not large, the kitchen was designed to maximize storage and efficiency.
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A built-in dining nook saves space and enables conversations with the cook in the adjoining kitchen.
A built-in dining nook saves space and enables conversations with the cook in the adjoining kitchen.
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Kimberly says the functional kitchen allows her family to take on elaborate meal preparation or food preservation projects.
Kimberly says the functional kitchen allows her family to take on elaborate meal preparation or food preservation projects.
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An outdoor dining table on the covered porch helps the family live more daily life outdoors.
An outdoor dining table on the covered porch helps the family live more daily life outdoors.
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The large, open loft structure of the children’s bedrooms has allowed them to rework the space numerous times to suit evolving needs for privacy and togetherness.
The large, open loft structure of the children’s bedrooms has allowed them to rework the space numerous times to suit evolving needs for privacy and togetherness.
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In Kimberly’s nature-based school, work from Montessori and Waldorf traditions combine with real-life outdoor skills.
In Kimberly’s nature-based school, work from Montessori and Waldorf traditions combine with real-life outdoor skills.
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The home, buildings and garden are nestled in amid the forest for total immersion in nature.
The home, buildings and garden are nestled in amid the forest for total immersion in nature.
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Kimberly and Adam’s two 12-year-old daughters enjoy relaxing on the house’s large porch.
Kimberly and Adam’s two 12-year-old daughters enjoy relaxing on the house’s large porch.
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Kimberly’s students model masks made with fall leaves.
Kimberly’s students model masks made with fall leaves.
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Kimberly and her students sometimes play with a horse cart her family found for free from an area farm.
Kimberly and her students sometimes play with a horse cart her family found for free from an area farm.

Educator Kimberly Sampson and architectural designer Adam Maltese were driven to design their small, efficient and hyperfunctional dream home on a wooded lot in Maine by a common parental desire — to do the best they could for their children. Having grown up in upstate New York, Kimberly says she took a childhood spent in nature for granted. But as her children grew up in a coastal Maine town and she saw the emphasis on busy schedules and technology in so many modern lives, she realized she wanted to give her kids the opportunity for something more.

Kimberly and Adam’s desire to create a home in nature led them to a neglected, off-the-beaten-path tract of land a few miles from the Maine coast that had been something of a dump site for area residences, as well as a nearby sawmill. It had housed gravel pits and was completely overgrown after having been clear-cut in the 1950s. But Kimberly and Adam liked its size, manageable at four acres; its diverse ecosystems, which include pine forest, wetlands, ponds and bogs; and its seclusion, a few miles outside the small town of Damariscotta. 

Jumping In

  • Published on Feb 16, 2017
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