Waterfront properties have long been desirable real estate, but homes located along rivers tend to offer more secluded, nature-oriented experiences—compared to beachside or urban, waterfront properties. These seven riverside homes combine modern design with a fluidity between inside and outside to create meaningful connections with the nearby rivers and surrounding environments. With floor-to-ceiling glass, outdoor decks and patios, and tons of natural light, these dwellings will have you dreaming about finding your own riverside property.
1) Poised Above Virginia's Rappahannock River
Ziger/Snead Architects constructed this ode to rowing in rural Virginia for a Baltimore couple who have a love of sculling. "Everywhere in the house, you can see the moment where land meets water," says Douglas Bothner, an associate at the firm.
Floor-to-ceiling glass and sliding glass doors create a fluidity between indoors and outdoors, and frame views to the river beyond. The stone-and-brick fireplace acts as a nature-inspired anchor to the otherwise glazed living room.
Purchasing a lot off the Delaware River in Pennsylvania, Martha Moseley and Bill Mathesius adapted an unused concrete foundation—remnants of its previous owner’s abandoned plans—to create a home that’s uniquely their own. "We were inspired by the site, and our desire to have something cool and different," says Moseley.
The staggering of the shipping containers created a series of decks in the rear of the home, which overlooks the Delaware River. A mix of vintage finds and pieces designed by Mathesius, including a Cor-Ten steel fire pit on the second-floor deck, furnish a majority of the home.
Designed by GriD architects, this weekend retreat perched on a ridge overlooking the Potomac River optimizes both east-west exposure and views of the river. Its exterior cladding of wood and green-painted metal siding allude to the home's connection to its surroundings.
More public spaces in the house, like this open porch, were carefully sited to frame impressive views of the river and capture both sunlight and shade.
PLaN Architecture designed this home to create connections and separations from the outlying prairie of South Dakota. The plan was to craft spaces that would be open and inviting, and others that would be secluded and private, despite the flat landscape.
Although the front of the house has a neatly manicured lawn, the rear of the house looks out to views of the untamed prairie. The kitchen and its floor-to-ceiling glass doors were specifically designed to allow for views from the kitchen island out to the Missouri River.
At this riverside home designed by Sellars Lathrop Architects, the gabled roofs of the original 1950s structure were maintained. They provided a foil on which to create a stark contrast between old and new. The addition is distinct in both its white facade with rectangular windows and its flat rather than angled roofs.
The new extension opens out dramatically onto the rear yard, which faces the river. The living space expands beyond indoors and flows outside to an outdoor deck with a large dining table.
When designing his own home, architect Allen Shope and his wife carefully designed an eco-friendly landscape that was inspired by river views and reclaimed elements, including granite slabs on the exterior and walnut flooring on the interior.
The sustainable home features handmade furniture and an undulating floor, all crafted from the site’s felled black walnut trees. They lend a craft-oriented feel to the home that's otherwise strictly modern in design and detailing. The waves of the Hudson River are mimicked in the organic, wavy pattern of the walnut flooring.
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