Checkerboard House

Only when you arrive directly in front of the new house do you discover the surprise of a domed rotunda. Its open porch half projects out from and half scoops into the main volume of the house.

Anchored to the land on a craggy stone foundation, Rocksyde sits perpendicular to the seacoast, addressing the waves below like a ship’s prow. A black and white floating staircase inside is inspired by the horizontal stripes seen in the layers of rock found in a canyon. Southern sunlight filters through the stairway to all three levels of the house.

Down a sweep of lawn and pasture, this big house looks like a collection of small houses. Greek Revival-inspired pavilions are connected by a Shingle Style link, uniting various regional traditions. The elliptical ceiling of the kitchen eating area looks like a shallow, tented canopy.

An addition and renovation breathes new life into an 18th c. house we call Eight Gables.  The project is sited on an extraordinary salt-water marsh on the north coast of Massachusetts.  It consists of a colonial era house, a barn…