Beach Cottage

This new beachfront home is located in a popular summer retreat along the Delaware coast. The house is to be used year-round by a couple with grown children – a house that would provide views of the beach and ocean, yet give shelter from the intense summer sun and the winter winds. The husband has a unique fondness for Shingle Style houses, having grown up in a Massachusetts town renowned for its collection of H. H. Richardson buildings.

The goal of the owners and architect was to create an architectural statement amongst the nondescript cottages thrown up by developers and owners since the 1940’s. Situated on a corner facing the ocean and the street, the house presides over both. The architects used this duality to create two quite different facades. A broad gable with a screened porch addresses the beach and ocean to the east, while a more energized vertical tower/gable composition addresses the street on the north side. Trim bands and variations in coursing enliven the shingled facades. Multi-paned windows frame views and give a sense of enclosure. Nautical motifs decorate panels and inform the details, beginning with the newel at the sidewalk which is inspired by a lighthouse.