Here we looked to the humble yet sophisticated mid-century cottages that Marcel Breuer and Paul Weidlinger designed for themselves on Cape Cod, in effect creating one of America’s earliest test beds of Bauhaus expression. This version of modernism, marked by simplicity and honesty, informed our conversations with the clients and ultimately led to a home of comfort and ease that the owners filled with their twentieth-century furnishings, eclectic artwork, and other travel discoveries.
Our first move was to position the structure on the property’s highest point to maximize the water views as well as tuck the garage into the 12-foot rise. We positioned a trio of low-slung volumes on the hillock’s crest. Together they form a U shape and total 3,000 square feet. Guest rooms occupy the easternmost volume of the house, atop the garage, while the primary bedroom suite resides within a second volume, removed from the street and facing the guest wing across a courtyard. The front door opens to a 12-foot high interior, where the kitchen, dining area, and living room all meld and a den partially hides behind the fireplace wall.
The common areas share a 60-foot-long expanse of windows overlooking the native fescue and the narrows off in the distance.
Detailing distinguishes one volume from another and adds an intimate layer of character to the exterior composition. A steady rhythm of beams crowning the public rooms punctuates the building envelope and cradles the roof. The floors are white-washed oak, the ceiling unfinished walnut. The kitchen floats in the space and is finished in walnut, marble and a mirrored backsplash that inserts landscape reflections into the airy room.
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