Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/380056
196 When architect Rob MacNeille of the firm Carpenter & MacNeille in Essex first laid eyes on the vacation home, he was most struck by the heart-pounding vistas. The challenge would be to open up the 1960s-style structure—a drab, worn version of its original self—to the world outside without increasing its size. "I was amazed at what a beautiful location it was and the views it had," says MacNeille, the firm's design principal and president. When MacNeille first got involved in the yearlong project, the owners saw it as a simple refurbishing to prepare the mod- est cottage as a potential summer rental. "It was tired, and needed some fresh new finishes," MacNeille says. "That was the original goal." After several conversations with Mac- High on a beachside bluff in Gloucester is a snug little bungalow with a lofty primary resident: Mother Nature. Located a stone's throw from the foamy lip of the Atlantic, the home's airy elevation yields spectacular views of Castle Hil l, Cape Ann, Halibut Point, and open ocean, al l of it enwrapped by beautiful Wingaersheek Beach. Fresh Perspective The 1960s-era cottage has a notched-up new look.