Rosserne

As the most distinguished house of widely acclaimed Northeast Harbor architect Fred L. Savage, Rosserne epitomizes Mount Desert Island’s long tradition as a prosperous coastal haven and celebrates the island’s legacy of patronage.

Our curatorial approach to this historically significant property employs a discreet hand, emphasizing careful editing and testing as much as quiet intervention across a 25-year relationship. The character of the six-acre site derives from a limited palette—gently shaped landform, landmark trees, native spruce forest, and an emphasis on the surrounding water and sky. Precise grading brings forward the land’s great strength and the house’s proud westerly aspect.

Stewarding a Spirit of Outdoor Living

Orchards, cutting gardens, rescued outbuildings, and walking trails have been added as the site program has evolved. This included the addition of a natural clay tennis court set beneath the shade of the iconic canopy and framed by a tidy beech hedge. The great expanse of lawn overlooking the sound—which requires significant maintenance—is a point of local pride and is thus considered an essential part of the owner’s fidelity to Rosserne’s storied past. In 2020, we fortified the landholding and increased its resiliency by implementing a comprehensive shoreline stabilization project designed to protect the site from rising tides and increasingly significant storm surges.