With views to popular Craigville Beach and Nantucket Sound, this property reunites extended family and guests throughout the summer season. The rear pool area was renovated to accommodate a growing family with a 60’ long therapeutic salt-water pool and 12-person infinity edge spa. The existing uneven brick pool terrace was replaced with large light-colored granite, a more barefoot friendly material, cooler to the touch with less joints to catch tender toes. The site design creates an asymmetrical ocean-oriented layout that maintains visual balance by placing a site wall and raised spa opposite the existing pool house to bookend the swimming pool and frames the Atlantic Ocean backdrop. The pool design incorporates steps into the deep end to aide less mobile users entering and exiting the pool and a swim lane was incorporated to accommodate the active owners. The spa was raised to allow for ease of access and oversized to provide outdoor entertainment even when the outdoor temperatures are less than ideal.

The site was re-graded to depress the pool to focus on the horizon views. One of the client’s biggest concerns was the fencing to be placed around the pool area. A ha-ha wall along the edge of the coastal bank creates a depression to minimize the height of the required pool fence to accommodate uninhibited views. The paving pattern further reinforces the gesture to the open view by using a subtle paving pattern that leads across the pool and out to the ocean. In order to step back and admire the 180-degree view, a sunken pavilion was added against the home for dining and additional seating for any event. We added energy efficient LED lighting around the patio, pool and front entertaining area for safety as well as to showcase the renovated elements in the evening.

Nestled in an area more protected by wind, a screened in porch was added off of the family room toward the front of the home to further extend the summer season. Full-length monolithic stone steps strengthen the connection to the outdoor patio and provide impromptu seating. An outdoor fire feature draws guests out of the screened porch into an outdoor terrace for evening entertaining. The custom 15-foot linear gas fire feature is sized to provide seating opportunities to streamline the need for furnishings while still being able to accommodate larger family gatherings. The terrace was composed of site reclaimed brick pavers to blend with existing walkways onsite.

As a team we took careful measures to plan out the means and methods to build the clients dream landscape while protecting sentimental landscape elements and plantings to maintain the client’s familiarity to the site. The existing exposed aggregate drive was fully protected with reclaimed plywood and heavy-duty steel plates to minimize damage by construction activities. Revered shrubs where salvaged for reuse, and large trees were protected. The existing cut flower and vegetable garden were protected, and construction access was worked around these elements despite the challenges they presented in the winter months.

architect: Patrick Ahern

contractor: EJ Jaxtimer

photographer: Dan Cutrona Photography