Natural Modern Lakehouse

Our clients asked us to replace an existing cabin on the edge of Bare Hill Pond with an environmentally sensitive house that takes advantage of the site’s natural beauty. We envisioned the design as two cubic volumes, clad in grey stained cedar boards and separated by a hallway. The house is entered at that center hallway, lined with sliding wood screens and leading to a screen porch, a common feature in many of our house designs. The volume closer to the pond is a single story, with ‘public’ kitchen, living, and dining spaces and a wall of glass facing the water. In the kitchen, bar seating provides a spot for morning coffee, conversation, and views to the pond filtered through trees.

The ‘private’ volume to the rear contains four bedrooms and stands two stories high. The primary bedroom and study, on the second floor, overlook a wall of glazing that opens to a green roof deck. Planted with native grasses, it provides a meadow-like perch with commanding sightlines to the water.

Flavin houses tread lightly, conserving energy, water, and natural systems while respecting the integrity of their surroundings. This site was initially heavily paved-over, to provide marking for a number of cars. During the construction process, the asphalt was removed, returning much of the site to its natural ecology.