Tucked into tall, wild woods on the shores of Mooselookmeguntic Lake in Maine’s Rangeley Lakes region is an unusual series of cabins—one cabin, really, made up of many small rooms. The first is what one might expect to find there: an old, classic one-room log house set under the pines. But to one side is a streamlined, even Scandinavian-esque extension with two peaks and sided with Eastern white cedar, the work of Maine-based architect Jocelyn Dickson.
As it happens, this place—called Rock Camp—is Jocelyn’s family’s retreat. “This home belongs to my parents and someday in the future will hopefully belong to myself and my four siblings,” Jocelyn says. Her parents bought the property next door about 30 years ago, but with the family expanding (“I have a two-year-old, my brother’s son is nine months, one of my sisters is pregnant”), they jumped at the chance to purchase Rock Camp when the owners decided to sell. At the time, Jocelyn says, “it was a historic one-room log cabin, with a lofted sleeping area over the living room and a basic kitchen and bath off the back. My parents’ goal was to create an addition so that a family, or two families, could have privacy and their own space while also remaining in proximity to the main house next door.” Jocelyn—who, coincidentally, had just moved home to Maine from New York City with her husband and young son—stepped in to design the addition for the family. “I quickly decided that I wanted to keep the new space somewhat separate and individual from the original cabin,” she says, “which allowed the log cabin to retain its historic quality, while the addition could be more contemporary.”
The lines are contemporary, yes, but even the clean-lined extension is a nod to old Maine. The architecture references both the old log cabin “and the local vernacular of fishing camps in the area,” Jocelyn says, which traditionally have pitched roofs and a line of small cabins looking out at the lake. The original log cabin serves as the compound’s mess hall and gathering space, with a dark-wood living area and an old-school kitchen redone by Jocelyn.
The result is just what a Maine cabin should be: pared-back and simple, set into the landscape, with glass looking out at the lake from every bedroom. Join us for a look.
Photography by Greta Rybus exclusively for Remodelista.*
*Photos may not be displayed or reproduced without express written permission by Remodelista.
Take a look inside a few more cabins, redone:
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