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The existing structure was a dark and depressing brick-veneered
house built in the 1960’s on a wooded lot a quarter mile from the
ocean. The gambrel roofed main volume had been previously added on
to with various small appendages and rear dormers. An existing
screened porch and pool in the rear overlooked a public pedestrian
path that leads to the ocean.
The design intention was to transform this little house into an
airy, light-filled beach cottage in the tradition of the shingle
styled beach houses up and down the Eastern Seaboard. A further goal
was to achieve all this with only a few simple changes and added design
features.
The street appearance was completely changed by adding a new porch
with French doors and cladding the walls and the roof with cedar
shingles. In the rear, a new covered porch and the reorganization of
a
screened porch with the new pool deck transform the space. We organized the flow of the first floor by opening up the
small entry stair hall. We widened all the existing small openings
between the entry, family room, dining room, and living room and
completely removed the separation between the kitchen and family
room. Upstairs, bedrooms and bathrooms were reorganized and
renovated while a new shed dormer expanded a small low ceiling
corridor. Finally, the addition of a pergola behind the pool against
the rear lot line completes the rear outdoor room and screens foot
traffic on the rear public path.
This project was honored an award from
Builder Magazine in October, 2006.
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