11) PSD provides a highly collaborative process that is as special as the buildings they create.
10) The single-source approach at PSD ensures seamless communication among the project team—and with clients—to meet deadlines, stay on budget, and deliver quality workmanship that realizes the client’s vision.
9) Two classic shingle style gambrel roofs run perpendicular to the main body of the house and flank an entry porch with two robust columns.
8) Timeless appeal (both classical and contemporary), functional but flexible spaces, simple but well-proportioned forms, and beautiful but durable materials were all on the agenda at this “social barn” designed and built by PSD.
7) A large flying eagle weathervane announces the home at the scale of the harbor.
6) Spectacular, panoramic views are possible from the site, although the bend in the shoreline creates a triangular lot with planning challenges. Turning challenges into design opportunities, a robust home was created that acts as a knuckle, maximizing frontage to the wrap-around view and taking full advantage of the high plateau above the beach, dunes, marsh, and ocean.
5) Its high visibility location and a grand transformation back in the 1930’s made “Riptide” a Cape Cod icon. Through subsequent additions and alterations, including a recent renovation by PSD, it has remained iconic ever since.
4) The curving staircase in a dramatic new open entry nods to Beacon Hill style. As you move toward the ocean the spaces get more informal and playful.
3) A large arch-topped window opens up a grand playroom to the backyard.
2) A laid-back, friendly, and fun home well-suited for its seaside neighborhood.
1) The layout of this gracious house is half of a “butterfly plan,” where two wings project out at 45-degree angles parallel to the waterfront. This plan maximizes the harbor views wrapping partly around the site.
A couch and pillows are ready to take home or to serve as inspiration for custom orders.
Halstead and Collins strive to showcase a fresh mix of seasonal products, and in the summer it’s all about easy entertaining, whether at home or at the beach.
Sea salt candles by Kalastyle are paired with cocktail napkins and bottle openers with an anchor motif.
Cheese knives by Laguiole mix with other gift items in the shop’s favored blue-and-white palette.
The shop is constantly refreshing its entertaining essentials, making it a must-visit destination before hosting a soiree.
Sandra Halstead and Lesley Collins became partners in 2018 when the Beehive reopened in its new, expanded location.
Along the road, Sanni designed a low stone wall hemming the lawn and the post-and-rail-fenced vegetable garden behind the Feake-Ferris House.
For the gravel parking court, Sanni installed a smart fieldstone inlay echoing the stone borders for the foundation beds.
Raised beds hold edibles and marigolds in the vegetable garden.
For a shaded stroll garden, Sanni went with modern-but-serene hydrangeas, hostas, daylilies, and astilbe accompanying the informal stone path.
Landscape designer Rosalia Sanni chose herbs such as yarrow, salvia, and catmint to front the original house while a smart yew hedge accents the new construction.
Grayish-blue walnut cabinets frame a Wolf range and a Vent-A-Hood.
The kitchen now offers unobstructed views of the backyard; the Blanco faucet provides even more visual interest.
A wall of windows above the sink brings light to a space formerly dominated by cabinetry.
A pantry provides a fourth sink and additional storage.
Black quartzite with blue veining tops the island at the kitchen’s center, offering both casual seating and a sink for meal preparation.
In addition to white-painted cabinetry, which replaced a set of dark mahogany cabinets, a glass backsplash under the kitchen’s lone window enhances the natural light.
The new kitchen island boasts seating for five at Palecek bar stools perched beneath pendants from Hudson Valley Lighting.
The kitchen’s array of cooking stations
In addition to the main sink and seating, the Giotto quartzite-topped center island shelters an extra Wolf oven at the far end.
Homeowner and interior designer Emily Fuhrman approaches the cooking counter, which is clad in gray- and green-veined marble.
A twelve-foot skylight illuminates an island topped with porous concrete, while a painting by Colombian-born artist Alexis Duque accents the gas fireplace.
Rows of lockers by SchoolLockers.com offer plenty of storage for the family and their guests to stow everything from flip-flops to sunscreen.
Landscaping by Jennifer Anderson Design & Development adds the right touches of green to a backdrop of blues and whites in order to complete the bucolic scene.
A custom teak shower surround allows for a luxurious—and private—outdoor bath.
A Holly Hunt sectional surrounds a firepit from Restoration Hardware.
After a dip in the pool—or lake—swimmers can freshen up at one of the cabana’s blue Whyte & Co. sink basins, which sit atop custom floating vanities.
The porch runs along the front of the house and wraps around one side.
Handler balanced masculine and feminine sensibilities in the main bedroom. The painting by Cameron Schmitz was purchased at The Drawing Room in Cos Cob.
The brass-capped acrylic stools around the kitchen island are by Interlude Home, and the roman shade fabric is from Thibaut.
Drapery in a dotted stripe pattern from Schumacher adds a graphic burst of green to the guest room. The chest and chair are from local antique shops.
The Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams velvet sectional in the family room is comfortable, durable, and perfect for lounging; the horizontal muntins on the doors to the patio echo the sidelights in the front entry.
The scheme for the entry started with the stair runner by Prestige Mills, which inspired the color choice for the chest, Benjamin Moore Champion Cobalt. The Urban Electric Company lantern ties the black door to the handrail. “If it were up to me, every room would have some black,” Handler says. “It’s classic and dramatic.” The photograph over the mantel in the lounge is by Fairfield County-based artist Allyson Monson.
A mixed-media diptych by pop artist Jenn Lewis takes centerstage in the dining room, painted Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter, in this modern farmhouse. Interior designer Kimberly Handler says, “The piece includes newsprint, duct tape, a little bit of everything. The longer you look, the more things you find.”
The bar, which connects the lounge to the family room, has a mosaic marble-and-metal backsplash by Akdo.
The blue cushion on the antique stool in the main bathroom inspired the choice for the spotted Schumacher fabric used for the roman shade.
A terraced ledge planted with Tardiva hydrangeas, which Parker lovingly describes as “shaggy dogs,” overlooks the pool house and infinity pool. Natural variation in the ledge-filled landscape and multiple buildings allowed Parker to design a variety of outdoor spaces for the active family, but also required solid discipline and organization to align her design along the axial lines of the main house.
A porch corner drifts into the woodland landscape; switch grass and a hawthorn tree ease the transition between the residence’s redesigned and existing natural landscapes
Lush fountain grass and a weeping Japanese maple soften a pathway through the garden. “There’s never a wrong moment for a Japanese maple. They are gentle, agreeable souls,” says Parker.
For a wall that supports a ledge, the designer chose rough natural fieldstone for its visual interest.
The spa was sited away from the pool area for privacy and quietude, designating it as a space for adults.
Lounges and pavers mimic the shape of the infinity pool, adding to a sense of calm and orderliness, while liriope and hydrangeas soften the space. Parker also planted various trees of differing heights throughout the property to blur the border between the domesticated landscape and woodlands beyond.
Bluestone pavers and pleached linden trees in neat quadrants create a structured entrance to the pool area. Beneath the trees, liriope blurs the gridded space; impatiens planted en masse add a pop of color. The reflection of the lindens in the pool at night was a delightful consideration.
Espaliered apple trees grow in the fenced-in cutting and vegetable garden.
At a property in Redding, Janice Parker Landscape Architects created a living space defined by a fieldstone wall and little lime hydrangeas; their organic shapes and textures balance more structured elements of the house and landscape. Raised beds with Corten steel frames are planted with sedum and salvia.
Nancy Monahan enjoys a glass of wine with Boca, her Havanese, in the backyard, where a fire table expands the seasons and ceramic stools allow seating for several guests.
On the table, in lieu of a centerpiece, mercury glass containers from Monahan’s daughter’s wedding cradle sedums.
Convenient to the kitchen (the house is L-shaped), alfresco dining is as easy as setting the table with mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil.
After dinner, the Monahans retire to an informal upstairs sitting room with comfy faux sheepskin chairs lit by a unique layered lighting fixture found in Soho.
An urn from Terrain was given its own pocket garden in the front courtyard where a dining table waits to entertain company.
Deux Femmes Decorative Art custom applied a textural linen-like finish to the wall and molded ceiling in the main bedroom. For art, Monahan framed a favorite Tiffany scarf.
In the living room, Monahan cleverly crafted the windows to appear larger without changing their exterior dimensions by adding a bank of mirrors above the panes. To make a sisal rug pop, she layered a cowhide rug beneath overlapping glass sectional coffee tables. The wall displays the ethereal lines in a pair of works by up-and-coming Connecticut artist Tracie Cheng, while furniture is comfy but sleek.
The kitchen needed a complete revamp with the exception of the numerous casement windows, which make the homeowners “feel like we’re eating outdoors.” Monahan went for a seven-foot island with stools sitting on a vinyl floor mat by Beija Flor.
To reflect the curved gates to the entry courtyard that doubles as a dining area, homeowner and designer Nancy Monahan installed a bluestone pathway. The weathered brick pillars exemplify her respect for the past.
Monahan increased light by using large glass panes in the entry foyer. An idiosyncratic collector, she displays finds such as carved pillars originally from a Boston bank beside a wooden horse torso on a metal table.
A series of molding-framed murals by Susan Harter could easily steal the scene in the dining room. Instead, Monahan selected the calming earth tones of grisaille, letting her mahogany dining table and antique chairs stand out. A chandelier from Arteriors accents a custom-finish ceiling painted by Deux Femmes Decorative Art.
A Saarinen table below a pendant lamp by Arteriors can accommodate many for breakfast thanks to the banquette seating.
A milky-blue coffered beadboard ceiling lends warmth to a breakfast nook, while dotted chair cushions play off the hallway’s lattice wallpaper for punch.
Multiple dining options include an island with generous storage and pendant lighting. A milky-blue coffered beadboard ceiling lends warmth to a breakfast nook, while dotted chair cushions play o
Clean and serene, the first floor’s open floorplan drinks in the light of ample windows and French doors that lead to the back porch.
Twice a year, meadows are mowed; the bales serve as fitting testimony to a family’s dedication to eco-stewardship.
To dovetail with the muted shoreline palette, the low-slung house was given white cedar shingle siding and an Alaskan yellow cedar roof plus banks of windows and doors peering out in all directions.
Since all eyes are really trained on the adjacent brackish marsh, architect Neil Hauck sensitively framed the unique cruciform-shaped pool in Phoenicia Buff granite. As a further nod to its surroundings, landscape architect Martha Moore lined the fence with ornamental grasses and rugosa roses that love being tussled by the wind.
Untitled (2020), 72″H x 90″W, mixed media on canvas and found door
Untitled (2020), 24″H x 24″W, mixed media on paper
Untitled (2020), 20″H x 30″W, mixed media on panel
Untitled (2020), 40″H x 26″W, mixed media on paper
Untitled (2020), 40″H x 30″W, mixed media on panel
Untitled (2020), 72″H x 48″W, mixed media on canvas.
The house is designed so that all main living spaces, including the master bedroom with its private French doors, look back through the narrow lot to nearby Cotuit Bay.
Varied rooflines and dormers help scale down what is essentially a tall, skinny house; the three-season porch and master balcony are stacked above an inground pool with water views.
The custom O. Henry House sofa fits the undersized living room while still providing comfortable seating for watching TV or relaxing in front of the fireplace; likewise, the lacquered coffee table has leaves that fold in when guests depart.
A coffered ceiling helps define the dining room, and a narrow candelabra provides additional lighting without impeding views.
Views through the house to Cotuit Bay greet visitors thanks to the open floor plan on the main level of the home.
Nickel-gap paneling helps “bring the outdoors in,” according to the owners’ wishes, while stained walnut hardwoods provide contrast with the otherwise light-and-bright interior.
This informal dining area just off the kitchen also serves as a comfortable reading nook thanks to a built-in couch.
A giant pegboard, fabricated by Premier Builders, allows flexibility in the small mudroom as the homeowners can move the pegs to accommodate life vests, towels, and jackets.
Crestin painted the lower kitchen cabinets Benjamin Moore’s Polo Blue, a favorite hue she also used on the pegboard in the mudroom. “Repetition is your friend in a small space,” she says.
The designer smartly positioned the Serena & Lily hanging chair so that the shortest legs in the family could still rest on the windowsill.
A deck off the main entrance is a popular spot to take in the water view. Designer Kristina Crestin chose a thirty-inch glass sconce to provide soft evening light.
Crestin designed the custom table, built by Grace Woodworking, to seat a crowd; outdoor chairs from West Elm keep the vibe casual and give the dining nook a hit of color.
“I love bunkrooms,” admits Crestin. “I go a little bit nuts about them.” For this one, she placed two queen mattresses toe to toe on the bottom bunk and two extra-long twins, accessible via a rope ladder, above.
A contrasting black-tile accent wall lends the bathroom a modern feel; clever design concept: an exterior door in the shower leads to an outdoor shower.
Strategically placed glass-fronted cabinets spotlight these higher priced cabinet components.
The layout of this kitchen minimized the use of upper cabinets bringing the cost down while giving the kitchen a light and airy look.
Wrapping the island in hardwood gave the design an upscale look and feel.
These cabinets have melamine boxes instead of solid wood. This is a construction element that you can’t see so it doesn’t effect the aesthetics of the kitchen.
Full overlay doors have the look of inset doors but at a much lower price point.
A mix of drawers and door fronted cabinets help to keep costs down since doors are less expensive than drawers.
Simple cabinets look expensive thanks to a well-considered cabinet layout that focuses on simple lines. Adjustable shelving inside makes the most of the storage.
Glamorous lighting adds to the luxurious look of white laquered cabinets.
The cabinets in this luxurious kitchen have a melamine box and metal drawers to keep the price down.
“This is the one room where we went with the more typical blue-and-white nautical feel, although with a more youthful, contemporary touch,” says Boothby of the three-season screened porch.
The husband’s office reflects his passion for midcentury furniture. Another painting by Janis H. Sanders hangs above the fireplace.
Horizontal flush board on the ceiling adds a cozy feel to the master bedroom, while fabrics in the palest seafoam hue give the space its serene feel.
A walk-through shower with a marble anchor wall and glass on three sides sits between matching vanities in the master bath.
Designer Chauncey Boothby uses New England-based products, like this wool rug from Boston designer Meredith Thayer, whenever she can. Likewise, artwork is by regional artists through Maine Art Hill gallery. The living room paintings are by Craig Mooney, while the piece near the stairs is by Janis H. Sanders.
