OLD COUNTRY

Everything in the cabin reflects Norwegian design: the carvings, the fireplace, ceiling beams, and furniture that dates from the 13th century to the mid-20th century.

The log cabin, called Norminde by the families who own it, did indeed begin its life in Norway, commissioned in 1955 by ancestors of its current owners.

“Our grandfather was the American ambassador to Norway, and, during World War II, our grandmother and mother fled Oslo, which was under threat of bombings daily, to take refuge in their family’s mountain cabin,” says Berit, one of the homeowners. She and her sister, Ingrid, inherited the Maine cabin, which serves as a summer getaway for their families.

“My grandmother was so taken by that mountain cabin that, when the war was over, she hired the architect who’d designed it; she wanted a replica that she could bring back to the United States.”

The sisters love to tell the story: “The architect was Odd Nansen, son of the famous explorer Fridtjof Nansen. He was a resistance worker when the Nazis occupied Norway, and wound up in a concentration camp. There, he saved the life of a 12-year-old Jewish boy who had lost his parents. The boy went on to live in England, where he became a prominent judge. While he was incarcerated, Nansen kept a diary and managed to spirit pages out to his wife. They became a book, with the title From Day To Day.”

Nansen’s design is based on his 1938 cabin in Norway, but it’s not a replica.

The log building is pegged and notched. After it was constructed in Norway, it was dismantled and each piece carefully labeled. It crossed the Atlantic Ocean in pieces and, in 1957, was re-assembled in a field that overlooks the water.

“For some of the old-timers who do construction work on the island, this

was their first job,” Ingrid explains. “My grandmother bought them a backhoe and, basically, it started their business. The foundation is like a series of concrete bunkers, with all these separate rooms. The wiring runs along the sills. The floors are two-inch thick Norwegian pine. All the carving was done in Norway, including that of the stone fireplace.”

The single-storey house, which measures about 2,000 square feet, has several levels plus two sleeping lofts. A brickfloored entry foyer leads into the soaring living room; adjoining it is a kitchen organized around a corner fireplace with a carved soapstone lintel. “The placement in a corner of the house is very Norwegian,” Ingrid says.

On the other side of the living room, two steps lead down to bedrooms. A patio, built on an elevated spot off the master bedroom, overlooks the cove. “Its wrought-iron railing tells an old Norwegian story,” Ingrid says. “There’s a king and a queen, plus a rabbit and a squirrel.”

Built-in box beds are another historic Scandinavian element. “The beds in the master and guest bedrooms still have the original grey and green paint applied in Norway.” Doors, built-ins, and window and door casings, too, wear old coats of red, green, and blue paint.

The log cabin’s seaside location makes for constant maintenance. It was built with second-growth logs that don’t have the resilience and strength of old-growth

At the kitchen end of the living room, a fireplace is fitted into the corner, a characteristic Norwegian feature. The lintel, of carved soapstone, was fashioned in Norway.

BOTTOM One of the living room’s arch-topped, painted cupboards holds a collection of books and toys from and about Norway.

RIGHT The living room, its space defined by massive carved posts, soars to the ceiling rafters. Furnishings include vernacular, carved-wood tables and chairs and, built into the far wall, a medieval painted cupboard.

ABOVE In a view toward the living room from the entry, fanciful wood carving reveals the house’s genuine Norwegian origins.

BELOW Traditional Norwegian cupboards with arched, carved tops are built into the living room, and still wear their original paint. The carved, wooden rocking cradle is an old family piece.

BOTTOM Off the master bedroom, an elevated bit of land provides space for a small patio with an enormous view.