envisioning a coastal sanctuary for generations to cherish
—project description—
Designed as a family summer retreat, this Arts and Crafts cottage-style home offers dramatic panoramic views of Thatcher Island’s twin lights. The home’s interior flows from decks to outdoor stone terraces for grilling, gaming, and gathering. Local weathered boulders, reclaimed Cape granite steps and sloped curbing add genuine antiquity and provide a physical link to the native environment. Irregular-shaped bluestone flagging and the natural character of boulders blur opposing geometries of house and accessory structures. This materiality, combined with a rich coastal plant palette, creates a casual atmosphere well suited to an oceanside sanctuary.
A garden arbor marks the entry into a network of pathways connecting use areas, entries and numerous outdoor amenities. Outdoor shower stalls complement beach and sea kayaking adventures, trellises double as towel drying racks, and a serpentine grass path steps down gradually to provide direct ocean access.
Landscape details are informed by the architecture, where custom mill work and fieldstone masonry serve to strengthen the connection of living spaces to the surrounding landscape. A vehicular roundabout celebrates the natural character of this parcel with its bulging rock outcrops and diverse plant and wildlife communities. Its interior rock gardens and a subtle night lighting program showcase weathered rock faces and drifts of juniper, beach rose, sedums, grasses, low bush blueberry, hydrangea, ferns, dogwood and crab apples.
LOCATION: Rockport, MA | ARCHITECT: Treehouse Design, Inc.