House

The transitional “bridge” connects the public social spaces to the more private sleeping quarters. One side of the bridge features cedar-clad walls, flush with the cedar siding on the barn, while the opposing side features the same local stone seen on the cottage.

Homeowners Jamie and Kathy were initially drawn to the vistas and views at the Coastal New Brunswick land that would eventually become the site for their future home. “At any particular time of the day, there are different colors on the water as it changes with the sun,” says Jamie.

A custom wood-veneer paneled wall surrounds the wood-burning fireplace.

In back, the swimming pool abuts a steep drop-off.

The communal area enjoys a close connection to the outdoors through a Duratherm lift-roll door. Beneath artworks by Christopher Flach, Cherner armchairs are paired with a Tulip table from Knoll.

The house sits on a wooded three-acre site encircled by state-owned land.

When Marlene and E. Dale Adkins’s home of 22 years, a 1960s ranch house in Greenspring Valley, Maryland, was lost in a fire in 2013, the couple vowed to rebuild. Finished last year, their new home is covered in dark slate shingles for the sides and roof, Cor-Ten steel accents, and charred cedar for the gable fronts.

Benches with hidden storage were built into the walls to provide cozy reading or contemplation nooks where each resident can enjoy some private time.

The ribbed texture of the facade echoes the whitewashed walls of the area’s rural barns.

A spectacular southeast-facing view greets guests in the great room. Full-height Fleetwood glazed doors pivot open to connect the living spaces with nature outside.

Trout Lake | Olson Kundig

The new lounge space connects to the living room via a sliding steel-and-glass door, and hosts the homeowner's gardening hobby via the striking green wall.

In the living room, the team raised the firebox, cladded the hearth in a tactile plaster finish, and installed a floating limestone bench that wraps the column. On the left (unseen) is integrated firewood storage, and a cozy reading nook sits on the right. "The bench was designed to be used as a social space/lounge, and is well-used," says Coffey. The wood beams and red brick were scraped and stripped many times to remove the silver paint and reclaim a natural state.

The master suite is on the ground floor and accessed via a home office. The pendant light over the bed is a commissioned custom fabrication by Stephen White made from dowels and rice paper. "We didn’t know exactly what we were going to get until it arrived," explained Haines, "but it is spectacular."

On the rooftop deck is an outdoor fireplace clad in cement board panels, plus a custom wych elm table by Arnold d’Epagnier and Charles Outdoor sofas by B&B Italia.

A second green roof is planted with sedum and plays host to one of the family’s favorite spots: a hammock. Bentheim suggested adding a trellis overhead to soften and balance the appearance of the facade.

Landscape architects Reed Hilderbrand helped fill out the completed prefab by planting sedge grass on one of the house’s two green roofs to reflect the texture of the surrounding meadow.

Michael Silber’s beach bungalow on New York’s Fire Island was built in 1939 by master carpenter Mike Coffey. When Silber added an upper level to the house in 2015, he sought tradespeople who could match Coffey’s skill, choosing RJS Custom Carpentry.