Harbor View
Harbor View is at the end of a winding picturesque lane on the east side of a peninsula. The house site is a bluff between a low-lying yard and a harbor-front coastal bank. When the clients bought the property, a poor quality Cape sat on the bluff and took little advantage of the spectacular site. The existing house established a footprint that could only be minimally expanded because of the wetlands in front and the harbor beyond. The existing footprint was a rectangle and the regulatory limits allowed an addition to the front at one end only. The result is a compact L-shaped footprint. While this restriction had to be the starting point for the design, it was not, in the end, a limit on the expressive or functional success of the house.
| Project Category | Harborfront |
|---|---|
| Scope of Work | Architecture, Construction |
| Finished Space Above Grade | 4,593 |
| Photography | Brian Vanden Brink |
The L-shaped plan is common in Greek Revival houses where the roof eave of the long leg (“bar”) and the gable end of the short leg (“gable”) face the front.
Historically, this bar and gable type was often embellished as time went on and stylistic inclinations changed. A tower at the intersection of the bar and gable, a porch or multiple porches, and detailed trim could be added to give an up-to-date Italianate feeling to the more stark Greek originals. At Harbor View, the basic type was transformed by site restrictions, programmatic requirements, and an attitude of playfulness critical to a family seeking an informal home that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The underlying presence of the bar and gable, however, provides the basis for a design that feels comfortable in the historic context but also fresh and of our time—a suitable synthesis for the retreat of a dynamic family and their friends.
The site constraints made devising a clear entry sequence a challenge.
The lower level is half buried in the bluff creating a basement where walk-out potential is to the front of the house rather than the more typical rear. This grade-change accommodates a garage, windows for a playroom, and a portal in the entry sequence that leads to the front door, one full level up. Stone cladding defines the basement level and creates a horizontal
zone that anchors the house to the ground and helps bring down its scale. The portal is cut into the base and leads to an open stair that brings visitors up to a porch and the front door.
The interior layout is a combination of dynamic spaces and cozy ones.
A carved stone mantel and stone piers define the dramatic living room fireplace. A television is hidden in a cabinet behind the whimsical David Witbeck painting. The harbor, outer beach, and ocean beyond are visible just over the edge of the bluff. Kitchen and family spaces are suited to socializing; open to one another, but defined by cased openings and ceiling shapes and textures. The kitchen island is treated as a piece of furniture at the center of the action (or repose).
French doors open the back of the house to a small bluff-top yard area that includes a built-in grill, a fire pit, and stairs down to the beach.
Eclectic and playful details are a corner sofft that peels up into a sinuous curve over the sunroom door, a wave shaped bracket under the roof overhang on the north side, a weather vane depicting an exaggerated reclining mermaid holding a looking glass, and horn-shaped flat cut-out balusters on the front porch and entry gate that trumpet welcome.
