Walter Gropius, Hagerty House

Early on, the house's simplicity had great appeal to Jan Sasseen, the current owner. From walls to rugs to furniture, "pretty much everything is white," she says. "When I was decorating, I picked the most basic things I could find. Nothing had details or frills."

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In the living room, there's a black leather Le Corbusier lounge and a Minotti sofa set.

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The kitchen is perfect both for eating and for doing projects.

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The main staircase consists of simple oak treads that cantilever out from side walls sheathed in natural vertical board and are supported on the other side by a continuous grill-like railing truss.

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In the dining room, Mies van der Rohe chairs surround a custom-made cherry table. Black-and-white photographs of Sasseen's children and grandchildren are arranged systematically on the back wall.

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Upstairs, the bedrooms are arranged in a uniform line of five cubicles. Initially, each bedroom had a vividly colored western wall—red, blue, yellow, or green—with the remaining three walls painted white.

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Until Sasseen took ownership, the ground at the back of the house was sheathed in concrete. She created a softer environment when she replaced it with bluestone and planted beach grass that rustles in the ocean breeze.

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