House on Buzzards Bay

This house stands at the tip of a peninsula that extends two-and-a-half miles into Buzzards Bay, with incomparable views in all directions—in fact the bunker of a World War II U.S. Navy surveillance station remains buried on the site. A staggered pair of haystack gables presents a bold yet picturesque profile. The entry is framed by a single-story service wing to the east; a lighthouse-like tower anchors the composition to the west. Broad covered porches atop rustic stone walls wrap the three exposed facades.

Inside, a center hall connects the major rooms: the long broad living room, the octagonal dining room, the cubic stair hall. The kitchen, breakfast room, and family room occupy the east end of the house; to the west, the round library in the tower features a floor-to-ceiling beachstone and driftwood chimney breast under a beamed and vaulted ceiling. The tower has its own dedicated mahogany staircase—with a native fieldstone wall by local mason-artist Lew French—that connects the library to the lighthouse-lookout study above and the octagonal wine cellar below.

The lower level of the house is designed for entertaining, with a bowling alley, games room, and a boat bar connected to the wine cellar by a "hall of fishes." To the east the pool area is sheltered from summer's prevailing winds; a pergola and a screened porch offer shaded seating near the pool deck. On the second floor, the master suite occupies the west gable and guest bedrooms face south and east. A guest house to the east of the entry court echos the main house with a gambrel roof and covered porches.