Champlain’s Bluff

This house’s clients requested a place that was historically rooted, as if it “had always been there,” but that would also comfortably accommodate contemporary art and furnishings. They expressed their love of English country cottages as a starting point for the design, but requested a version compatible with a Cape Cod seaside setting and with their large property.

Our layout of this gracious house is half of a “butterfly plan,” where two wings project out at 45-degree angles from a rectangular body parallel to the waterfront. This plan type maximizes views from a site that has harbor views wrapping partly around it. The wings capture direct sunlight at ideal times of day for different spaces (eastern light for the kitchen, western light for the living room and nearby cocktail-party terrace). The front of the house acts as a formal wall to an expansive garden, through which winds a long drive. The back of the house and its wings reach out in a dynamic gesture scaled to the vast open seascape.

The interior and landscape spaces and their sequence are designed with large-scale entertaining in mind. One is welcomed by an elongated entry/stair hall. This large, bright space is intended as a display space for art work, a grand reception hall, and a circulation organizer. At the end of the entry hall, the house opens its arms to the ocean view, with living and formal dining spaces to one side and kitchen and informal dining spaces on the other. These expansive rooms are contrasted with a cozy library at the front of the house. The second floor offers an arrangement of bedrooms, studies, and lounges embracing water views. On the exterior, pools and terraces framed in natural stonework offer tranquil oases for conversation and relaxation, with the great expanse of the ocean beyond.