Tucked away in Owls Head at 89 Makers Cove Road is Tom Higbee’s house and his business, Blue Spruce Joinery. Blue Spruce Joinery just completed bookcases, cabinetry and desks for the new library in Tenants Harbor.
 
“We will gladly work with your designer, architect or builder on any project,” said Higbee. “We can be as involved as you want in the design process creating drawings when appropriate. We build custom woodwork, cabinets, kitchens, and furniture for designers, architects, builders and individuals.
 
Tom has been doing fine woodworking for 26 years, but not always in Maine. He began with a degree in art design from Alfred University in New York. From there it was to Boston, where he did renovations on Victorian style houses, with emphasis on cabinetry and finish work.
 
From Boston he moved his family to Boulder, Col., where his company did fine-finish work on houses valued from $1 to $1 million. In 2004, he brought his family to Maine.
 
“My wife, Dorrie, is from Maine,” said Higbee. “My mother lives in St. George, so it was logical we came back here. My son, Mazline, is 16 and he attends Oceanside High School and plays JV baseball. We came back and bought this property and both my wife and I built the house.”
 
In Maine, he also designs and builds fine furniture.
 
“Any size, any shape, any wood, any color or finish,” he said. “I see a lot of Shaker style and painted cabinets. That’s pretty much the style I’m seeing right now, but that’s the beauty of it, you don’t have to pick it out of a book, just think it.”
 
Blue Spruce Joinery has built entertainment centers, walk-in closets and under-stair work centers.
 
“Any kind of door." he said. “The sky is the limit. I work closely with the client. How will it be used? What type of appliances they will need and want? It’s value engineered and not just custom and high quality.”
 
Higbee said he gets a lot of referrals from his previous clients. He values himself on customer service, quality and integrity.
 
“It’s true you get what you pay for, but I’m not exorbitant," he said. "I put a little bit of everything into everything I build.”
 
I ask Tom what he felt was the major flaw with people who try to remodel themselves?
 
“It’s not that their heart isn’t in the right place," he said. “Poor planning is probably the biggest flaw. Not realizing the extent of the work they want to do. A lot of people just don’t have the follow-through.”
 
Well, that explains why my kitchen still isn’t finished six months later. I should have called Blue Spruce Joinery.