Him: a bachelor-entrepreneur of discerning taste who bought a plot of land in Charlestown with visions of a coastal-meets-contemporary home capable of capturing the far-off ocean views and comfortably able to host his four adult children for respites by the sea. Her: a visionary architect with an enviable international portfolio, a finely tuned eye for detail, contemporary aesthetic, and passion for sustainable design. Together, they created a sleek four-bedroom, four-bathroom home with cool vibes, a sense of place, and the embodiment of casual, seaside living through an entirely contemporary lens.
When the client first approached Sarah Jefferys Architecture + Interiors, a New York City-based boutique design firm with projects in Rhode Island and beyond, the challenge was clear. The two-acre property he bought was on a low plot of land, and while there were ocean views, they were distant and camouflaged in the wooded expanse – hardly ideal. But Jefferys, principal of the namesake design firm she founded in 2001, was unbothered by these hurdles. Instead, she identified the highest point of the acreage and creatively designed a spacious, efficient home perched well above ground level, positioned with a tilt to capture the best angle for embracing ocean vistas.
Jefferys designed the 3,800-square-foot home’s exterior to appear as though it’s floating above the land, mimicking a ship sailing on the sea. Anchored by light concrete walls on the exterior of the bottom level, the base is slightly tapered to reinforce the gravity-defying nature of the facade. Deep gray siding cradles the exterior of the second and third floors, creating depth and dimension amid the backdrop of surrounding nature, with the gray hue a nod to classic New England salt boxes that typically pepper its shorelines. The crowning piece is a private roof deck off the main bedroom, purposefully situated to have an unobstructed sightline to Block Island.
Inside, the open-plan ground floor holds the living room, dining area, and kitchen, married by white oak flooring throughout and seamlessly continuing to the kitchen cabinets. Light is reflected from every angle, amplified by white walls, a high-gloss white kitchen island, and minimalist furnishings in neutral tones. Windows and glass doors on every floor frame the bucolic surroundings, bringing the outdoors in while providing extra insulation for energy efficiency. “[The] large glass openings blur the boundaries between the interior and exterior while elegant clean lines and open, light-drenched spaces set the perfect stage to highlight the nature beyond,” explains Jefferys.
A floor-to-ceiling poured concrete fireplace is a nod to the captivating rocks that surround the home, forming a focal point in the living room, where a low sectional and lounge chair by Italian furniture designer Giorgio Soressi is sleek but not a museum piece – it’s meant to be lived in, to welcome all who enter. Altogether, the atmosphere is muted but modern, calming but contemporary, elegant but airy – a summation of upscale living but with a clear invitation to take off your shoes and get comfortable.
“This was an exciting project where we had the fun opportunity to introduce a modern, sculptural home in a coastal context,” reflects Jefferys. “ It’s quite unlike a traditional beach home yet still speaks to its surroundings.”
Ideas and resources for making the most of living in the Ocean State.
Jefferys took cues from beachy, traditional designs throughout the Rhode Island shore, and reimagined the home with an entirely contemporary lens. Learn more at SJDNY.com
To create the illusion that the top two floors of the home are floating above the ground, Jefferys used deep gray modern fiber cement siding by James Hardie on the exterior of the second and third floors. Engineered to resist water and humidity and to withstand worst-case weather (from hurricanes and rain storms to extreme heat and hail), the siding is forecast-friendly.
Jefferys says the facade of the home forgoes traditional New England notions with a softened, brutalist approach and nautical elements, calling it an innovative approach to coastal home design in New England. She sourced lumber, decking, railings, and more materials locally from Riverhead Building Supply in Westerly.
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