Would you like to live on a 31 acre private island in a home with a black exterior and exquisite architecture? I sure would!
Set on a 31-acre private island off the coast of Maine, this house perches on a bluff once occupied consecutively by two mansions, both of which burned. The client wanted the house to evoke the atmosphere of the original Shingle-style house on the site and to be a welcoming setting for family and house guests. While its architectural character is relatively simple, in keeping with the legacy of the Maine coast, elements suggest its design was influenced by buildings seen on the Grand Tour, such as the elaborate bracketed entrance with its diamante-patterned doors, sgraffito panels above the front door and the fluted Doric columns on the kitchen porch. Peter Pennoyer Architects wrapped the various forms in the massing in dark shingle and oriented all the principal rooms toward the water. The relatively narrow plan allows light to span the rooms from sea side to land side. Meanwhile, the interiors are brimming with architectural inspirations that seem to have come from the classical world, including a long, vaulted guest bedroom hall with apsidal spaces framed into the dormers. A sweeping stair has treads of wood imitating stone in its chiseled profile. Modern conveniences — air conditioning, built-in lighting and audio/visual systems — were intentionally left out. The interiors, including all of the finishes, were specified by our client who was the interior designer.

CREDITS:
Partner-in-Charge: James Taylor
Design Director: Gregory Gilmartin
Associates: John Gibbons, Matthew Cummings, Nebojsa Savic, Lucas Hafeli, F. Patrick Mohan, Timothy P. Kelly, Cecilia Rodgers, Cleary Shea, Jennifer Gerakaris
Landscape Architect: Fernando Caruncho
Interior Design: Alexia Leuschen
Photography: Eric Piasecki