Collection by Jacqueline Leahy

How to Build A Modern Beach House

Eight modern homes that incorporate sustainable building practices into their oceanfront locations.

The screen porch serves as an auxiliary dining area and extends past the house to capture views and cross breezes.
The screen porch serves as an auxiliary dining area and extends past the house to capture views and cross breezes.
On New Zealand’s Great Barrier Island, two architects designed a petite holiday home that takes care of its own water, electricity, and sewage needs.
On New Zealand’s Great Barrier Island, two architects designed a petite holiday home that takes care of its own water, electricity, and sewage needs.
High ceilings and generous expanses of glass more than compensate for the lack of a second floor.
High ceilings and generous expanses of glass more than compensate for the lack of a second floor.
Corrugated steel panels and steel beams were created offsite and trucked in.
Corrugated steel panels and steel beams were created offsite and trucked in.
Matthew Peek and Renata Ancona built an elevated modern structure near Stinson Beach, California, with mesmerizing views of both the coast and nearby Mount Tamalpais. Photo by: Mathew Scott
Matthew Peek and Renata Ancona built an elevated modern structure near Stinson Beach, California, with mesmerizing views of both the coast and nearby Mount Tamalpais. Photo by: Mathew Scott
Architect Mary Ann Schicketanz created a 1,900-square-foot home in Big Sur, California, that hugs its hillside site. Read more about this  Californian central coast wonder here.
Architect Mary Ann Schicketanz created a 1,900-square-foot home in Big Sur, California, that hugs its hillside site. Read more about this Californian central coast wonder here.
The house is perched in the midst of an astonishing landscape. The rocky islands here were violently scraped clean by glaciers more than ten thousand years ago.
The house is perched in the midst of an astonishing landscape. The rocky islands here were violently scraped clean by glaciers more than ten thousand years ago.