Houzz Tour: Craft Modern
This Nantucket courtyard home has a modern surprise inside
Like all houses on Nantucket Island, this shingle-style exterior follows strict design rules for every dormer, chimney, roofline and door. With the whole island on a historic registry, architectural creativity comes from what you do with approved materials, patterns and palette. At least on the outside. Inside — that’s another matter. Read on to see how Andrew Kotchen, Matthew Berman and the team at Workshop/apd created a breathtaking modern home that deftly fits its historic setting.
20 Spectacular Beach Houses | Browse beach-house photos
20 Spectacular Beach Houses | Browse beach-house photos
… welcome to modern Nantucket. This is the heart of the home, designed for cooking, gathering and entertaining. A central courtyard floods the place with light. A 12-inch beam wrapped in drywall adds to the feeling of entry and emphasizes the room’s layers. And amid the clean, monochromatic setting come rustic touches from the family’s playful collection of bowls (in the middle island and clear shelving) and antique weather vanes in the loft.
Three parallel island-like areas form an integrated kitchen-dining area, but clever built-ins hide everything that shouts "kitchen." Oven, micro, coffee maker, toaster, etc. hide away in the column at the end of the open shelving. "You don't really feel like you're in the kitchen," Kotchen says. "You just feel like you're in the space."
Three fiberglass mesh Non Random Lights float bubble-like above a custom walnut table. The lights add to the home's open transparent feel and create a welcoming space at the table.
Go through that door straight ahead into the family/media room. Hang a left and you're in a sunroom. The neat unit tucked into the kitchen wall holds a home desk work area. Cove lighting fills in where the windows leave off.
Go through that door straight ahead into the family/media room. Hang a left and you're in a sunroom. The neat unit tucked into the kitchen wall holds a home desk work area. Cove lighting fills in where the windows leave off.
The far island is outfitted with two sinks for indoor-outdoor entertaining. Upper shelves allow light to come in from the central courtyard.
The 1.25" countertops are Marron Cohiba granite, the faucets stainless steel from Dornbracht.
The 1.25" countertops are Marron Cohiba granite, the faucets stainless steel from Dornbracht.
On this east face of the home, two doors open from the central dining space onto 1.5 acres of rolling landscape that starts with a manicured lawn and ends in native brush and trees.
Product team: Andrew Kotchen, Matthew Berman, James Krapp, Brook Quach, Darci Hether and Matt Hilyard. Landscape by Wingworks. Photography: T.G. Olcott.
More home tours:
A Little Cottage Grows Up
A Design in Harmony with the Land
A Modern Renovation in Seattle
20 Spectacular Beach Houses
Product team: Andrew Kotchen, Matthew Berman, James Krapp, Brook Quach, Darci Hether and Matt Hilyard. Landscape by Wingworks. Photography: T.G. Olcott.
More home tours:
A Little Cottage Grows Up
A Design in Harmony with the Land
A Modern Renovation in Seattle
20 Spectacular Beach Houses