9 Cottage Lane, Stonington, ME 04681

This red-shingled cottage sits on a small knoll above Stonington Harbor, just steps from the village shops, restaurants, and the Opera House. In summer you catch glimpses of the harbor through the trees, and once the leaves drop the view opens up. It is a small house, well proportioned, and it has kept its period detail: a granite foundation, original window and door trim with carved rosette corner blocks, and old wavy glass in many of the windows. The owners have put three years into restoring it. A few small items are left to finish, but the major work is done. You come in through the kitchen, updated with a gas rangetop and vented hood, butcher block counters, a quartz peninsula, and a vintage drainboard sink. A pass-through with a stained glass panel opens to the dining room, so the cook is never cut off from the table. The dining room holds a long table with room to spare, and the built-in window seat is the kind of spot where you sit down with a book and lose an hour. A door leads out to the covered porch. The living room is right off the dining room, with a bay of tall south-facing windows. The sun works its way across the floor through the afternoon. The cat will find it before you do. Upstairs are three bedrooms with painted wood floors and good ceiling height. The largest faces south and has ample closet space. The second has a sleeping loft under the eaves beside the old brick chimney, reached by a library ladder, good for a reading nook or a nap. The third is a comfortable room for family or guests. A full bath at the top of the stairs serves all three, with a glass shower, penny tile floor, and a vessel sink set on an antique dresser. Outside, a granite retaining wall and stone path frame a yard that is easy to keep up, with room for gardens. A well-loved house in the village, ready for its next owner.