For many years, the Boston couple made it a practice to retreat to the resort town of Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, for the summer.
They and their four children loved the vacation spot so much that they decided to create a family compound for gathering. As a result, they purchased a large property overlooking Lake Winnipesaukee.
The one-acre lot had an existing house, but it didn’t work for their lifestyle. Its great size, however, proved a bonus because the town required a new structure to adhere to the exact (or smaller) footprint.
Looking for something unique, they commissioned California-based Brandon Architects. “They wanted something different from the local norm,” says Christopher Brandon, AIA, president and principal architect of the firm. “And they specifically wanted to work with a California architect. They asked us to create a house that is timeless but a little more transitional, more modern.”
Working with this mandate, Brandon Architects designed a new 13,000-square-foot house, garage, and casita. The firm also remodeled the boathouse.
To make the new estate fit in with neighboring properties, Brandon Architects selected traditional materials: wood siding, limestone, and a metal and slate roof. “We blended vernacular style with a modern aesthetic,” says Brandon, adding that the design prioritizes lake views from every angle.
The clients had one specific request: to see the backyard’s flagpole the minute they walked in the front door. “It’s a beautiful water view, an ‘aha’ moment,” says the architect.
With eight bedrooms and a dozen bathrooms, the layout easily accommodates large groups. It has different zones alternating between large-scale gathering spaces, such as the great room, and smaller living spaces where guests can break off on their own.
The façade has two levels while the waterside has three, with the walk-out basement outfitted as a recreational area that includes a kitchenette, game tables, fireplace, and flatscreen TV. Here, on the water side, plenty of glazing and glass panel railings (instead of wood or metal) create transparency between indoors and out.
Interiors by Brooke Wagner Design are just what the client ordered: crisp, clean, and California contemporary. The neutral color palette is designed to make the water the center of attention.
On one end of the house, two terraces, complete with screens and fireplaces, are stacked like blocks. Meanwhile, the newly transformed boathouse has garage-style roll-up doors. Rounding out the project, a casita—attached to the front of the main house by a glass breezeway—is one of Brandon’s favorite spaces.
The completed estate, which took a year to design and over two years to build, is everything the owners wished for. “This project and these clients will always have a special place in my heart,” says Brandon, adding that this was his firm’s first East Coast project. “They had a unique vision, and we fed off that to make their dream a reality.”