Maine Home and Design Magazine                              By: Katy Kelleher | Photography: Jeff Roberts | Styling: Janice Dunwoody      There are houses around the world that become famous with local residents for their unique and stunning architecture. The type you might see in an HGTV special counting down a list of America’s most amazing homes. The Patton House, designed by Frank Klepitsch, and built by RP Morrison, is one of those very homes.   This lodge-inspired Maine home sits close to Mount Washington and was designed to emulate the beauty and majesty of the mountain itself. The stunning home’s exterior features copper flashing, ornate corbels, and perhaps the most distinct feature: a spectacular curved roof, intended to mirror the stunning views of Mount Washington. The interior boasts two retracting floor-to-ceiling glass doors, a long copper-topped bar, and four bedrooms each designed to reflect one of Maine’s changing seasons. This extraordinary home truly took a village to build, a village that included Terrapin’s very own Mike Corsie. Terrapin’s part in the home came early in the design phase of the project, in fact, before the original home was even demolished. “We helped design and install everything...

Anyone that lives in the vicinity of Kennebunkport, Maine knows that the annual Christmas Prelude is one of the highlights of the entire year. The week and a half long celebration is filled with different events, activities, crafting, and perhaps the most exciting event of all–the Dock Square tree lighting and following fireworks show. Each year hundreds of people gather in the center of town to watch as the enormous tree is set aglow and topped with their signature red lobster. This year’s tree, and perhaps Kennebunkport’s grandest yet, was donated by Terrapin Landscapes’ own founder, Mike Corsie. The tree was plucked from the Corsie’s backyard after receiving a request from the Prelude organization. Mike wrote in a social media post alongside a photo of his smiling family There is no greater example of community spirit than that displayed by the organizers, and volunteers of [the Christmas Prelude]. For that reason, it was extremely exciting for me and my family to be asked to play such an important role in the event this year. In fact, this year may be one of the most imperative in maintaining Kennebunkport’s sense of community spirit, with the annual tree-lighting happening virtually to...

With a long-overlooked, falling-down historic property in Kennebunkport, one couple took a renovation leap of faith. Standing at one of the highest points in Kennebunkport, where Cape Arundel juts into the sea, Lori Ray knew she had found something special. There, tucked into the woods—a stone’s throw from Ocean Avenue and a five-minute drive from the bustle of town—was a rambling 1905 structure laid with original heart-pine flooring and flooded in natural light. Marvin designed a new beveled window to bring natural light to the staircase. Note also the original commissioned painting in the style of Fernando Botero. Not that the place looked particularly special right then. “The property was in shambles,” Lori says. Except for a few tweaks to the kitchen, “the home had not received any remodeling since it was built, and it had suffered from its use as a tenement house for workers at The Colony Hotel,” just around the bend. “The home had been divided into several apartments, and it had two outdoor staircases to the second floor along with many makeshift add-ons,” she adds. In other words, the house had the bones of an elegant historic property, done over as a dorm. But Lori...

Like so many of our friends and neighbors in Maine, members of the Terrapin Landscapes team are navigating brand-new terrain during the unfolding COVID19 global crisis. Whether we are continuing to perform essential tasks or sheltering with family, we are all discovering a renewed appreciation of home—and awakening interest in sustainable landscape designs that let us grow our overall self-sufficiency. While requests for edible landscaping elements were on the rise before coronavirus, we are now being asked about new or expanded gardens and irrigation systems, apiaries and bee gardens, chicken coops— even paddocks for goats and sheep! For great ideas on how you can make your backyard both beautiful and bountiful, read on. The all-natural beauty and bounty of a backyard garden Many of our clients are surprised to hear that productive home gardens do not need to look like traditional farms, with rectangular fields and parallel rows of plantings. In fact, the Terrapin Landscapes team specializes in designing smart and sophisticated gardens that blend seamlessly into the landscape during all phases of the growing season. Our experienced designers use fluid, organic shapes and soft edges, plants grouped in pleasing clusters, natural stone hardscaping accents, water features, and more...

Maintenance-free landscaping is a goal for many of our customers living busy lifestyles, and the solutions we share at Terrapin Landscapes go way beyond planting perennials instead of annuals. To see how we turn our deep knowledge of the Maine ecosystem and timeless landscape design trends into easy-care outdoor planting and landscaping plans, read on! Less lawn, more meadow Here is a hard truth: there are few things on your property that take as much time and effort to maintain as a uniform, green grass lawn. For all its popularity, plush and inviting turf is awfully time-consuming and resource-intensive to keep up. Regular watering in the warmer months. Weekly mowing and trimming. Pulling out dandelions, seeding patchy spots, keeping the kids or your pets from burning spots in the grass or digging divots … if you are looking for a plant-it-and-leave-it landscaping solution, a lawn just isn’t it. Terrapin Landscapes knows how much Mainers love their lawns. (We love playing catch and croquet and running barefoot through sprinklers in the summer, too!) And most of our clients want some kind of lawn expanse on their property. If you have the available space and enough sun, however,  we often recommend...

The Terrapin Landscapes team are true dog lovers and nothing makes us happier than clients who come to us hoping to make more dog-friendly landscape decisions. Hardscaping and landscaping for dogs means thinking about safety, usability, and aesthetics from your pup’s perspective—and no one turns landscapes and hardscapes into dogscapes quite like Terrapin.   #1: PATHWAYS The best dog-friendly backyard designs create opportunities for dogs to do what they do best— protect their people—while making sure that dogs are contained and protected while they play outdoors. For that reason, most dog-friendly landscapes incorporate some form of fencing around all or part of the yard.  Traditional fences can frustrate dogs by keeping them from monitoring what they see as potential threats. No matter what their breed, dogs are, to some degree, territorial. They naturally want to keep a watchful eye on your property and your family. Our designers can show you attractive fencing options that offer privacy while providing ways for your dogs to see passersby and keep a wary eye on the wider world. We’ve even helped clients create “portholes” in fencing their pups can peek through! Terrapin Landscapes designers know that planting near fence lines will also frustrate...

There may be snow and ice all around us, but the residential landscaping professionals at Terrapin Landscapes are already meeting with residential and commercial clients to plan projects and improvements to start this spring. Front yard landscaping ideas, pool landscaping ideas, driveway entrance ideas, walkway ideas—our offices are overflowing with sketches, swatches, and samples. Looking for inspiration for your garden design or residential landscaping project? Our landscape planners are seeing some clear (and exciting) trends for 2020—and we’re sharing them below! #1: MINIMIZING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT Terrapin Landscapes would never tackle a project without considering its environmental impact. From minimizing water and energy usage to avoiding invasive plantings to prioritizing sustainable, renewable materials and solutions, green thinking is a given at Terrapin. So where are low-impact landscaping trends going in 2020?  While water supply is not as much of a concern in Maine as water purity, we are seeing a growing number of clients and customers asking great questions about water retention, water recycling, and water runoff during the design process. An overall concern for water quality is driving more residential landscaping decisions in the coming year and our backyard designers are being asked to design architectural water features like...

The Travis Mills Foundation supports recalibrated veterans and their families through long-term programs that help these heroic men and women overcome physical obstacles, strengthen their families, and provide well-deserved rest and relaxation. Travis Mills, who lost his arms and legs in an explosion while serving in Afghanistan in 2012 and had started a foundation to help combat-injured veterans in 2013, wanted to open a retreat. The Travis Mills Foundation bought the 11,000-square-foot house on 17 acres from the Elizabeth Arden Estate and Spa in 2015. The renovation took the building down to the studs and everything had to be redone to accommodate veterans who may be in wheelchairs or have mobility issues. The retreat had its grand opening in June of 2017, creating a beautiful environment for veterans to spend quality time with their families. The ambiance is non-clinical on purpose. It’s a place for veterans and their families to relax, not a hospital. The foundation’s goal for those who come to the retreat is that they increase their confidence and relax, creating a space for visitors to spend time with their families surrounded by the beautiful and tranquil Maine scenery. With that purpose in mind, a group of...

The Team at Swenson Granite spoke to Mike Corsie, Founder of Terrapin Landscapes in Kennebunkport, Maine. What’s Cooking Outdoors: Trends in Outdoor Kitchen Design for 2019 Whether grilling by the pool at a bustling family barbecue or savoring a quick meal on the patio on a quiet evening, the simple joy of eating outside is a pleasure in and of itself. However, cooking outdoors with all the amenities of a fully-furnished kitchen can transform outdoor dining into an experience that will delight recreational cooks and professional chefs alike. From granite countertops to natural stone veneer, your local Swenson Granite Works’ store can provide you with a range of products to create a timeless outdoor kitchen that makes a bold statement of unmatched durability. This year’s outdoor kitchen trends offer exciting ways to create an inspiring culinary space in your own backyard. Year-Round Livability The backyard has always been a popular hangout spot for warmer days, but today’s homeowners are looking for ways to make their outdoor kitchens a more livable extension of the indoor living area. Mike Corsie, Founder of Terrapin Landscapes in Kennebunkport, Maine, names livability as a major trend in recent years. “Homeowners are using their outdoor spaces more...

The 15-year old landscape design, installation and masonry company was chosen by the more than 35 million monthly unique users that comprise the Houzz community from among more than one million active home building, remodeling and design industry professionals. Terrapin Landscapes of Kennebunkport, Maine has won “Best Of Customer Service,” on Houzz®, the leading platform for home remodeling and design. The Best Of Houzz is awarded annually in three categories: Design, Customer Service and Photography. Design award winners’ work was the most popular among the more than 35 million monthly users on Houzz. Customer Service honors are based on several factors, including the number and quality of client reviews a professional received in 2015. A “Best Of Houzz 2016” badge will appear on winners’ profiles, as a sign of their commitment to excellence. These badges help homeowners identify popular and top-rated home professionals in every metro area on Houzz. Houzz is the easiest way for people to find inspiration, get advice, buy products and hire the professionals they need to help turn their ideas into reality. Headquartered in Palo Alto, CA, Houzz also has international offices in London, Berlin, Sydney, Moscow and Tokyo. Houzz and the Houzz logo are...