PROJECT NAME:  The Oxbow Cottage

PROJECT TYPE: Major Renovation, Single-Family Detached

PROJECT CONTEXT:  The house sits within a dense lakeside community of small cottages which are quickly becoming winterized into four season homes.  The original house had been equipped to facilitate a simple lifestyle which celebrated summer living.  The lot is narrow, deep, and slopes steeply toward a beach which runs the width of the site.   With the evolution of zoning requirements, the existing lot and house became nonconforming and a special permit was required to address all exterior changes.  The small scale and detail of the summer cottage community called for careful design to have the larger new home feel in keeping with the neighborhood.

PROJECT LOCATION: Sterling, MA

PROJECT COMPLETION:  Fall 2003

PROJECT PROGRAM:  The existing house was a charming lakefront retreat which had been hastily patched and expanded to accommodate year round use. The Owners wished to expand the home to accommodate a growing family and make upgrades to the heating and insulation to achieve a comfortable four season home. The goal was an open and efficient plan which celebrates the wonderful views and light from the lake.  Our additions had to be well scaled, low maintenance, and have a bit of the whimsical character of a summer home.

CLIENT:  An outdoorsy, professional couple who love lakeside living, and the connection to the environment the views and light foster.

DESIGN SOLUTION:  Due to the zoning constraints, it was clear we needed to work within the existing footprint, looking to modestly increase the living area by filling in an existing courtyard and occupying the attic spaces through dormers. We united the disjointed volumes of the house with a single hipped roof, which created enough headroom to tuck children’s bedrooms and a bath within dormers, while maintaining a strong one story eave so important to the cottage feel.  Inside, the new roof made for dramatic ceiling lines and playful bedroom eaves. We organized the new design around the natural movement toward the lake.  A tiled strip of floor stretches from the main entrance to the rear of the house, welcoming family and guests toward the lake.  Large windows along the kitchen, dining and living room spaces create a constant visual connection to the site.  The screened stair allows movement to the lower level and out to the lake level patio below.  Storage built-ins became features within the home, customized around the clients needs.

MATERIALS:  We turned to bold and playful details reminiscent of the inland summer cottages of the Berkshires.  White cedar shingles with bleaching oil wraps the exterior, flaring to meet a strong water table capped in copper.  Below the water table on the lake side we changed the shingle coursing and opened the wall with sliding doors, defining a basement level on the two story lakeside elevation. The hip roof is pronounced by large overhangs with douglas fir ceilings working to protect the painted accent trim below.  Inside, we turned to Craftsman details and materials with fir joists, unique built-ins, a stair screen, wide recycled pine flooring floors, and a variety of earth tone tiles.

PROJECT COST:  The project cost was approximately $210 per square foot for main living spaces and $90 for secondary spaces.