There’s a slice of middle-earth in East Boothbay. It's a favorite of onlookers who wander down King Philips Trail, stopping their cars to take pictures of the armor-plated home rising from the greenery.  

"The Millennium Lodge” is the work of the late artist-builder David Lee, who, along with wife Jenny, built the house in 1994. David was an avid J.R.R. Tolkien fan, constantly revisiting his ragged “Lord of the Rings” paperbacks and dutifully recording the completion date of each reread in the back; he pulled the feeling of Tolkien’s world into ours, and implemented it in about 30 homes over his career, Jenny explained.  

His work has been featured in HGTV’s “Offbeat America” and “Dream Builders,” Fine Homebuilding magazine, Backwoods Home Magazine, and other publications.  

“He was always looking forward to the next project. He always had new ideas that he wanted to put into reality,” she said.  

First published in 2014 and widely available this year, “Creative Home Improvement” is both a how-to guide and behind-the-scenes look into David’s unique storybook building style. Written by David and edited by Jenny, the book shares how to plate a home with shakes that keep it warm in the winter, cool in the summer, quiet and bullet-proof (an owner-tested claim, according to Lee).  

There’s also a section on how to use the magic of light spectrums to offset SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), amid the depressing winters common in New England. David’s penchant for colored glass in his windows makes each one in the lodge a feast for the eyes; some contain cascades of shards, while others are mosaics of flat marbles (or “elf money,” as David often called them).  

They also speak to David’s deeper design philosophy: practicality. Adding a tower to your home may seem like a purely aesthetic decision, but, as the book describes, that extra space can become anything from a staircase to a walk-in closet. The top of the tower is an ideal spot for antennas, satellite dishes and lightning rods as well.  

Smart design decisions can also be implemented in mundane ways. For instance, the home’s connecting greenhouse has a hatch that can be opened to heat up the lodge in the winter.  

“Form follows function. It's a basic law of the way people should do things,” said Lee.  

Unfortunately, the book does not delve into one of the lodge’s most interesting features: the inset dioramas scattered throughout, where dragons protect their hoards under castle grounds and fires roar behind tiny window panes. But just as these intricate vignettes were inspired by Tolkien, readers can use their own passions to customize their project.

The book can be found regionally at Sherman’s, East Boothbay General Store, Southport General Store, Fiction Bookshop in Wiscasset and Lee’s home.