“I think, for us, what this house is, is a place that not only fills our soul, but it’s a place that captures our soul.”
Some stories in real estate deserve to be told, especially the ones about what happens after the sale. This short film, captured beautifully by Leif Smith, follows Melany and Drew, who saw possibility in a home everyone else called a teardown.
When they purchased 2 Salt Spray in Cape Elizabeth, every contractor urged them to start over. Instead, they chose to honor what was already there, later discovering the home was a Royal Barry Wills original. With grit, vision, and trust, they restored it room by room and created a place that now holds their family’s story in a way new construction never could.
“Really, what made this work was that Alexa Oestreicher and Heather Shields were both Sotheby’s Realtors. I’m not sure that, without that, we would have been able to make this transaction happen. Alexa, the listing agent, was one day looking through paperwork in the basement for some original deeds when she found the original house plans. She opened them up, and lo and behold, they were the original plans from the architect Royal Barry Wills.”
Their journey is a reminder that a home is not a transaction. It is a container for our lives.
“When I wake up in this house, which is often before the sun, gratitude is what I feel first and foremost. Gratitude that we live in Maine. Gratitude that Heather was able to get us this house. Gratitude that we have a home full of warmth and love. I sit in this room and watch the sun come up over the water, repeating the same thought again and again: I can’t believe we live here.”
Watch their film to see the beauty of what comes after the sale, and how a restored home can shape a lasting legacy.
