A Screened Porch Slices Through a Design Duo’s New England Cottage

A good friend is someone who can keep a secret. Brad Horn and Maria Berman, partners of Berman Horn Studio, discovered they had very good friends indeed when they chanced upon the island of Vinalhaven, Maine. At the time, they were searching for a suitable location to build a house that would serve as a year-round retreat and a second office for their Manhattan-based practice. "We thought nobody had heard about this place," says Maria. "Turns out, lots of our friends were keeping it a secret."