Wood

On a rocky bank, Hebra Arquitectos builds a breezy home that opens wide to nature.

Floor plan of Accabonac Harbor House Renovation by Berg Design Architecture

In addition to extending the deck, Berg’s team redesigned the pergola to have a slender steel frame to improve views of the harbor.

Formerly one room, the studio was split in two—a multipurpose room underneath a primary bedroom.

A new deck made of garapa, a sustainable, rot-resistant tropical wood, has a woodburning hot tub from Goodland.

Inside the waffle front door, a common feature of Deck Houses, are an Artek Tea Trolley 900 by Alvar Aalto with a ceramic vase by Femme Sole and Home Union.

The stovetop burners are from PITT.

The home has a mansard roof with shakes and real hardwood tongue and groove siding. “I liked the idea of making this ugly duckling into something with character versus landing a modern spaceship house in an old neighborhood dominated by vinyl homes,” architect/homeowner Caleb Johnson says.

“Sometimes you go with emotions rather than logic,” says Woodhull founder Caleb Johnson. “I just wanted to renovate the little Pizza Hut look-alike my son told me looked like a blowfish.”

The insides of the carcass are as beautiful as the exposed faces. “You can’t capture a piece of solid wood in a frame or it will expand, contract, and crack, so we re-assembled our leftover walnut strips to infill the framework,” Stuart says.

“I like the darkness of walnut. Other woods tend to yellow if you don’t stain it, while walnut stays true to itself,” Caleb says. The white glass tile backsplash melds with the wall.

Stuart crafted the banquette base using ambrosia maple that he had been saving for a worthy project.

Sheila and Steve looked into selling their home, but financially it made more sense (at the time) to renovate instead.