Favorites

Now, an eight-foot sliding door brings light into the kitchen and enables fluid movement between inside and out. The wider steps can serve as seats during a party, and they make for a graceful transition to the yard.

wanted the house to be a thoughtful contribution to Fire Island's distinctly modern aesthetic. The geometric shape and expansive windows call to mind the vernacular of Sea Ranch while the cedar-clad exterior fits right in with the neighbors. An overhang on the deck adds architectural flare while also helping to reflect light back into the home.

The simple wood deck features innovative cutouts that allow full-grown Yucca trees to peek through.

Danny envisioned the space between the ADU and the house as an informal place to gather. "It creates a sort of courtyard sensibility, which works for our intergenerational family dynamics."

The house was designed to minimally interfere with the hilltop vegetation, which is what attracted the family to the site.

The 1969 summer house needed a gut remodel—so Carisa Salerno and Aaron Levin rebuilt it piece by piece: “In the end, we feel like we built a sculpture, not a house.”

Solar panels provide power for the two cabins.

Michael D'Angelo Landscape Architecture provided a new master plan that includes grassy areas for lawn games, a fire pit, and new plantings.

Siberian larch is the primary facade material. It's finished with a silicon-based protective treatment to allow the wood to weather more evenly.

“It’s only an hour and a half from the north edge of Toronto,” says Knezic. “But, because it’s water access only, it feels like you’re far away from everything—and you have a real sense of isolation.”

The CEO of Getaway and his partner navigated Covid delays, building codes, shipping logistics, and 10-foot-tall reeds to make a home in Fire Island’s historic LGBTQ community.

One of the building challenges was transportation through the steep and windy roads to the isolated site, which is 0.5km away from Cornwall, one of Connecticut's smallest towns.