Northshore Home magazine highlights the best in architectural design, new construction and renovations, interiors, and landscape design.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1289039
95 and timeless materials. For this two-story home with a modern appendage housing a screened porch, exterior materials include natural cedar shingles, a gunmetal gray roof and windows clad in a lighter gray. Together, the shades create an earthy, subdued palette that is inspired by and harmonious with nature. In order to do justice to the views, and in keeping with the hallmarks of a Flavin-designed home, the use of glass on the water-facing side of the house is extensive. Huge double-hung windows reach nearly from floor to ceiling. Yet, explains the homeowner, the look remains "coastal, Yankee-modern, not full- bore contemporary." The distinction was crucial to the homeowner and his wife, both of whom are used to living in much older homes (in her case, 17th-century). Between the two paradigms of modern and traditional New England was a sweet spot, says Raley, "which was the site plus being respectful to the context of the land the husband grew up on." The windows provide the same indoor-outdoor connection as retractable glass doors while still allowing capacious window seats built right up against the glass. "For me, being in a cozy home was important, but I also loved the idea of modern amenities," says the wife, whose fondness for soapstone kitchen counter- tops is one indication of the timeless aesthetic she favors. "I found that the way I could make this house feel homey was with the materials inside." On the first floor, heavy exposed beams sourced from Vermont Timber Works cross a tongue-and- groove ceiling except over the dining area, which is double-height. With its knots and imperfections, distressed oak floorboards from Jewett Farms exemplify, says Raley, "a modern-farmhouse contrast of traditional sets of materials used in new applications." But, the homeowners and the architects agree, it's the wood-burning fireplace with a reclaimed oak mantel and a hearth extension of local stone with a quarried live edge that stands out as the home's crowning interior ornament. Sourced from New England Granite in Wakefield, the stone is the same material used historically, and still seen, throughout The stone for the fireplace was sourced from New England Granite in Wakefied. The beams are from Vermont Timber Works—both evoke the essense of New England's built past.