View from Sleeping Loft

Great Room

Great Room Fireplace

Squam Lake Cottage, New Hampshire, 2002
The surrounding mountains, windy bays and rock-lined shores of this region call for an architecture of elemental forms built from sturdy materials evidently well anchored to the land. This small, beautifully built cottage for a retiring couple is characterized by its strong triangular roof and its many porches that mediate between indoors and out. A central space, designed in the “great room” tradition, is framed by hammer-beam trusses that focus ones views down to the lake and up to the white pines surrounding it. The master bedroom, with its bath and dressing room, is right off the living room behind the large stone fireplace. The guest bedroom at the other end of the house doubles as a study. A room for the children is set under the roof with dormers, with a sleeping loft for the grandchildren. To provide additional flexible space for summer renters, another bedroom was found out over the connected garage.