A Seaside Home Clad in Copper and Cedar
An architect designs his dream getaway home in Massachusetts, making it modern, resilient and energy-efficient
After their kids were grown, architect William Ruhl of Ruhl Studio Architects and his wife downsized from a single-family home in Wellesley, Massachusetts, to a more practical condo. They also began searching for a coastal property to build a weekend home on, looking casually for a couple of years along the coast of Massachusetts and their beloved Maine. They were open to either a piece of land or a property with a tear-down home.
Before: The ranch home had sea-worn cedar shingles and a red roof, allowing it to fit in well with the surrounding architecture. The Ruhls lived in it part-time for three years and enjoyed the home, though they found its small footprint “pretty claustrophobic,” Ruhl says, when both their daughters and their grandson were in the home.
Ruhl decided to design a new home using the foundation and partial framing of the previous structure, so that technically it became a remodel rather than a tear-down and build. “Because it was so close to the water, I was concerned that if we tore the house down we wouldn’t be able to build in the same location,” Ruhl says.
This photo shows the old ranch home elevated 8 feet on piers of railroad ties. While Ruhl was designing, new FEMA regulations came out in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy that required a home on his land to be raised 4 feet off the ground to protect from storm surges. “If we had just followed FEMA regulations we would have had 4 to 6 feet of useless space,” he says. Instead, he designed the new resilient house to be elevated 8 feet, allowing for usable space beneath the piers.
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Ruhl decided to design a new home using the foundation and partial framing of the previous structure, so that technically it became a remodel rather than a tear-down and build. “Because it was so close to the water, I was concerned that if we tore the house down we wouldn’t be able to build in the same location,” Ruhl says.
This photo shows the old ranch home elevated 8 feet on piers of railroad ties. While Ruhl was designing, new FEMA regulations came out in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy that required a home on his land to be raised 4 feet off the ground to protect from storm surges. “If we had just followed FEMA regulations we would have had 4 to 6 feet of useless space,” he says. Instead, he designed the new resilient house to be elevated 8 feet, allowing for usable space beneath the piers.
Read more about this home’s resilient design
After: Ruhl thinks of the water-facing side of the new home, which has cedar and copper siding and concrete piers, as the main facade. Eventually, the copper will patina to green “to match the lichen on the rocks,” Ruhl says. “It’s designed to disappear into the landscape over time.”
Copper cladding was also a low-maintenance choice. Here in coastal New England, the popular cedar shingles are battered and blown by storms, and every winter Ruhl finds shingles from his neighbors’ houses in his yard. “The main reason for picking copper was trying to get as close to a maintenance-free house as possible,” Ruhl says.
The two sides of the home that face winter storms are clad in copper and should require little to no maintenance. The two sides that face away from storms have cedar planking, which needs a power wash and protective sealant from time to time for maintenance.
The roof holds 22 solar panels; the side of the house has another eight. This is enough that during the spring, summer and fall the Ruhls actually get paid by the electric company for the power they contribute to the grid. In the winter they have electric bills. “This house is close to net zero,” Ruhl says, meaning that it is designed to produce as much energy as it uses each year. “We haven’t hit that yet. It’s designed to be net zero if we use less air conditioning.”
Copper cladding was also a low-maintenance choice. Here in coastal New England, the popular cedar shingles are battered and blown by storms, and every winter Ruhl finds shingles from his neighbors’ houses in his yard. “The main reason for picking copper was trying to get as close to a maintenance-free house as possible,” Ruhl says.
The two sides of the home that face winter storms are clad in copper and should require little to no maintenance. The two sides that face away from storms have cedar planking, which needs a power wash and protective sealant from time to time for maintenance.
The roof holds 22 solar panels; the side of the house has another eight. This is enough that during the spring, summer and fall the Ruhls actually get paid by the electric company for the power they contribute to the grid. In the winter they have electric bills. “This house is close to net zero,” Ruhl says, meaning that it is designed to produce as much energy as it uses each year. “We haven’t hit that yet. It’s designed to be net zero if we use less air conditioning.”
Here’s a close-up look at the copper cladding on the left side of the house, which faces the neighboring property to the northeast. When the copper was first installed, it was shiny and extremely unpopular with Ruhl’s next-door neighbor. But the material has already begun to dull and change.
Photo by Michael Graydon and Nikole Herriott
The home’s cedar sides are designed with a rain screen, which is a gap that allows air to circulate, prolonging the life of the wood. This feature also helps cool the house in summer by shading the house and keeping hot air off it.
The cedar cladding also helps the home fit in better with the neighborhood’s many other homes that have cedar shingles or cedar clapboard.
The home’s cedar sides are designed with a rain screen, which is a gap that allows air to circulate, prolonging the life of the wood. This feature also helps cool the house in summer by shading the house and keeping hot air off it.
The cedar cladding also helps the home fit in better with the neighborhood’s many other homes that have cedar shingles or cedar clapboard.
Ruhl designed the entryway at a flat grade — granite cobbles yielding to an ipe wood deck — to accommodate his grandson, who used a wheelchair. In fact, Ruhl designed the home to be accessible for the little boy. The architect made the window sills “nice and deep” so his grandson could use them as a platform for his beloved toy cars and trucks. The features that Ruhl included to accommodate his grandson also made the home appropriate for aging in place.
Sadly, the little boy died at age 6, before the home was finished, of the terminal genetic condition that caused him to be in the wheelchair. “We feel [our grandson’s] spirit in our house all the time, can almost hear him laugh,” Ruhl says. “He had a wonderful sense of humor.”
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Sadly, the little boy died at age 6, before the home was finished, of the terminal genetic condition that caused him to be in the wheelchair. “We feel [our grandson’s] spirit in our house all the time, can almost hear him laugh,” Ruhl says. “He had a wonderful sense of humor.”
Read more about accessible homes
The vestibule leads to a stairway up to the main floor as well as to an elevator built for Ruhl’s grandson.
The staircase opens to the loft-like main living space, which is 13 feet wide and 40 feet long. “At Thanksgiving it’s full of people. The rest of the year it’s not,” Ruhl says. Most weekends, the Ruhls, their younger daughter and her daughter congregate at the seaside home.
Ruhl exposed the previous home’s roof structure as part of the new design. “The ceiling material is the original attic roof: pine and painted,” he says. “We actually built a new roof on top of that because that [original] roof was undersized and couldn’t meet current code and hold up solar panels.”
A frosted glass table and polycarbonate chairs form a dining zone and keep the feel visually light, so the focus remains on the amazing seaside view. The light fixture is custom blown glass, made by two artists in Providence, Rhode Island. The floor is bleached white oak.
Ruhl exposed the previous home’s roof structure as part of the new design. “The ceiling material is the original attic roof: pine and painted,” he says. “We actually built a new roof on top of that because that [original] roof was undersized and couldn’t meet current code and hold up solar panels.”
A frosted glass table and polycarbonate chairs form a dining zone and keep the feel visually light, so the focus remains on the amazing seaside view. The light fixture is custom blown glass, made by two artists in Providence, Rhode Island. The floor is bleached white oak.
The room gets bright light in the mornings but not in the afternoons, so Ruhl designed a modern shoji screen of maple and polycarbonate panels to let in light from the skylights on the street-facing west facade. “That allows some warm afternoon light to come in,” he says. The gray portion of the wall is painted wood.
“Everything in the room is something I love,” Ruhl says. The art over the sofa is photographs by Victor Schrager, a New York artist. The sofa is made by a Dutch company and has fabric that looks to Ruhl “like Grandma’s quilt.” With the green felt armchair with wings, “when you’re leaning back against it it’s kind of like a soundproof chamber,” Ruhl says. “It’s amazing how quiet everything becomes.”
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“Everything in the room is something I love,” Ruhl says. The art over the sofa is photographs by Victor Schrager, a New York artist. The sofa is made by a Dutch company and has fabric that looks to Ruhl “like Grandma’s quilt.” With the green felt armchair with wings, “when you’re leaning back against it it’s kind of like a soundproof chamber,” Ruhl says. “It’s amazing how quiet everything becomes.”
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A kitchen of wood veneer and stainless steel is on the other side of the room. Instead of a tile backsplash, Ruhl created a window backsplash behind the sink, allowing for outdoor views even from the sink.
The kitchen island houses the cooktop and seats five, plus a baby seat. The stone on the sides and top island is serpentine from a quarry in Vermont, and Ruhl says it doesn’t stain or ding. “I picked it because it kind of reminded me of the seaweed-y water outside,” he says.
The black panel along the window wall is a shear wall, or structural wall.
The kitchen island houses the cooktop and seats five, plus a baby seat. The stone on the sides and top island is serpentine from a quarry in Vermont, and Ruhl says it doesn’t stain or ding. “I picked it because it kind of reminded me of the seaweed-y water outside,” he says.
The black panel along the window wall is a shear wall, or structural wall.
Instead of wood veneer, Ruhl used stainless steel for most of the cabinets on the refrigerator wall. “I wanted to hide the big stainless steel fridge and oven by putting stainless steel cabinets around them to help them disappear,” Ruhl says.
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This floor plan shows the layout of the front living space relative to the other rooms on the elevated main floor.
The master bedroom and en suite bathroom are located behind the living area on the home’s main floor. Ruhl wanted the suite to feel hotel-like. The cabinetry wall serves as the couple’s closets, and the sink stands outside of the bathroom.
The quilt was made by Connecticut artist Denyse Schmidt. The art is a moonlit seascape by photographer Chris Becker, who also shot the house.
The quilt was made by Connecticut artist Denyse Schmidt. The art is a moonlit seascape by photographer Chris Becker, who also shot the house.
The bathroom contains a toilet and a curbless shower. The translucent glass door leads out to the bedroom where the sink and closets are.
A bifold door leads from the shower to an enclosed outdoor space open to the sky. “It converts the shower to a quasi-outdoor shower,” Ruhl says. “In winter you see the snow falling. It’s actually quite beautiful.”
In addition to the master bedroom, there are two guest rooms (not pictured) and a TV room on the home’s elevated main floor, as well as a full bathroom and a half bathroom.
This staircase from the home’s elevated main level features the same bleached white oak as the floorboards. The railing is custom-made perforated steel that is powder-coated white. The stairs lead to a top level that Ruhl wanted to feel like an outdoor deck.
This staircase from the home’s elevated main level features the same bleached white oak as the floorboards. The railing is custom-made perforated steel that is powder-coated white. The stairs lead to a top level that Ruhl wanted to feel like an outdoor deck.
Just to the left of the top landing is a small bedroom with a full bathroom and a small adjacent sitting room. This is where Ruhl goes to work when the family is around and he needs to focus.
Ruhl placed a window covered in the polycarbonate used in the living room’s shoji screen here. It faces the light well off the master shower and brings light into the house in the middle of the day.
Ruhl placed a window covered in the polycarbonate used in the living room’s shoji screen here. It faces the light well off the master shower and brings light into the house in the middle of the day.
Under the 8-foot-tall piers, Ruhl created an outdoor living space that looks out onto the sea.
Photo by Michael Graydon and Nikole Herriott
He created several different seating areas in this space, which stays cool even as summer heat rises. “It could be 100 outside and it will be 65 in the space because we get nice breezes,” he says. “It’s actually kind of cold on some days.”
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He created several different seating areas in this space, which stays cool even as summer heat rises. “It could be 100 outside and it will be 65 in the space because we get nice breezes,” he says. “It’s actually kind of cold on some days.”
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Photo by Michael Graydon and Nikole Herriott
One end of the outdoor space houses a 16-foot-long custom built-in picnic table, made of wood and steel by the same artisans who crafted the stair railings for the house. The ceiling is clad with cedar.
The interiors counterbalance the dark, rugged copper and red cedar exterior.
One end of the outdoor space houses a 16-foot-long custom built-in picnic table, made of wood and steel by the same artisans who crafted the stair railings for the house. The ceiling is clad with cedar.
The interiors counterbalance the dark, rugged copper and red cedar exterior.
Photo by Michael Graydon and Nikole Herriott
This is Will Ruhl with one of his grandchildren.
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This is Will Ruhl with one of his grandchildren.
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House at a Glance
Who lives here: Architect Will Ruhl, his wife and their labradoodle live here part-time
Size: 2,180 square feet (203 square meters)
Location: Rockport, Massachusetts
Architect: Ruhl Studio Architects
In the end, the couple chose a waterfront property with a small ranch home on Cape Ann in Rockport, Massachusetts, near their two daughters and grandchildren. Cape Ann “looks like Maine but is only 45 minutes to an hour from Boston,” Ruhl says. Their plan was to tear down the ranch home and build their dream coastal residence in its place. This photo shows the view of the home that faces the street.
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