Two Cedar-Clad Sheds Make Up This Summer Retreat on Martha’s Vineyard

Remixing the gabled shed, this relaxed and refined summer home opens up to shoreline views.

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Just south of Cape Cod on the island of Martha’s Vineyard, a Boston–based family wanted to build a summer retreat next to the shoreline. They turned to Anmahian Winton Architects for a cedar-clad retreat whose two shed buildings tip their hat to the setting’s agrarian roots.

An aerial view of Martha’s Vineyard Retreat shows its idyllic location adjacent to the beach; the manicured lawn gives way to a forested area that leads to sandy paths down to the shoreline.

Approached from the driveway, the home is accessed along a stone path that turns into a series of wide, wooden steps. The home's angular roofline is a dramatic form against the natural backdrop, but the wood cladding connects it to the site.

The two gabled sheds comprising the home are separated by a glazed entryway, creating distinct areas: a sleeping "shed" that houses three guest bedrooms and a master suite, and the living spaces and large covered porch in the other volume.

While the view from the driveway presents the home as mostly solid with a central glazed void connecting the two volumes, when approached from the beach, the home appears much more open, with an outdoor covered porch and glazed walls.

In addition to the 4,000-square-foot home, there is also a new guest house and garage with a shared porch that continues the material palette and design language established at the main house.

At the ground level, all of the rooms stay connected to the landscape beyond through floor-to-ceiling windows that create transitions between interior and exterior. The roof of the home, however, is angled to create an asymmetrical gable that is expressed in the interior spaces, where ceiling heights vary and open up to the wood-covered ceiling.

The deck has space for grilling and lounging alongside a lap pool that extends outward to the ocean.

Accessed directly off the main living space, the covered outdoor porch acts as a second living room for the family, with a sculptural roof shape and wood furniture.

The roof lines, in concert with the organization of the windows, create spaces that are sculptural and dynamic, giving a sense of space and airiness even in some of the smaller rooms.

An oversized piece of artwork greets visitors once they step into the glazed entry vestibule, with the living room and deck beyond. The wide opening and lack of doors between the vestibule and the "living" volume of the two shed-like structures allows not only for ease of movement and sightlines, but for light and air to travel through the spaces.

The wood of the kitchen cabinetry is detailed simply, with a minimalist touch and an accent of black, geometric hardware that is picked up in the black track lighting and furniture.

Furnishings, cabinetry, and other materials and textiles throughout maintain the summery, neutral palette that gives this home a distinctly relaxed, calm, and restorative demeanor.