Construction Diary: She Built Her Maine Home From Scratch as a Novice General Contractor

Maine had long called to acupuncturist Emily Boschert Cooper, even though she had never been there. In March 2023, as a single business owner living in Washington, D.C., she grew tired of waiting for the "right time" and decided to take the plunge.

She bought land in Bass Harbor, a village on the southeastern tip of Mount Desert Island, and set out to build an energy-efficient home. At the time, she had prior experience in renovating homes and program management, and she had spent a couple years studying high-performance construction, although she didn’t anticipate acting as her own general contractor. Then three local builders rejected her bid due to lack of interest in (and knowledge of) passive house design, and the one who was willing to work on the job only had enough time to provide carpentry labor. Undeterred, Emily took the lead on the project and brought it to completion.

"One of the most important things I learned from my first home build in Maine, which definitely changed the way I navigated my second build, is that it will all be okay," she says. "It can be repaired; it can be redone; it can be ripped out and put back together again."

After realizing the upkeep on this first house was a bit more expensive than she could comfortably handle, she began looking for a new plot to create a more affordable house where she could collocate her practice.

An ugly duckling listing just up the road didn’t catch her eye at first, but when she finally visited in August 2024, its harbor views, conifer-scented air, osprey and bald eagles overhead, and quiet peace awed her. She sold her previous home and again took on the role of general contractor to build a high-performance house and studio that would be more thoughtful, more efficient, and more affordable than her last. Here, she shares how she created the perfect live/work residence—with a team that empowered her—over a single, snowy winter.