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At HomeAt HomeO N C A P E CO D

Home Builders & Remodelers Association of Cape Cod

SPRING/SUMMER 2020

OutdoorLivingArchitect Profile:

Jill Neubauer

Familiar Comfort on a Hidden Hill

Flight of Fancy

BY LISA CAVANAUGH

PHOTOS BY

BRIAN VANDEN BRINK

In this Orleans home, the architects draw details from a range of design influences.

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Surrounded on three sides by a saltwater pond, and tucked onto a steep plot of land, this approximately

5,200-square-foot twin gabled home named “Summer Mooring” seamlessly merges architectural homage with nautically inspired whimsy.

With an environmentally sensitive site, height limitations, and the need to build within an existing footprint, combined with specific client requirements, it presented a unique challenge.

But for John R. DaSilva, FAIA, Design Principal and his wife Sharon M. DaSilva, Senior Designer, of Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders, an integrated architecture and construction firm based in Harwich, the design also offered a great opportunity for creativity.

“Sometimes constraints can be helpful,” says Sharon. “We found some really interesting ways to utilize all the space we could.”

The homeowners requested there be a view from the front entrance through to the water, so the DaSilvas designed a

decorative, abstracted classical front porch that is cut into the mass of the house, rather than added on. “We couldn’t have done it any other way, due to the limitations of the lot,” says John. “The buildable footprint was long and narrow.”

To create the eye-catching entry, they designed an abstracted fan light, and two pairs of what John refers to as “carpenter’s columns” to flank the doorway. “They are flat, not cylindrical, and don’t have to be molded. I consider the fan light and columns to be abstractions, rather than

recreations of historical elements,” he says.The outer one of each pair is incomplete and sheared off,

making a straight edge that is in line with the white cedar shingles. “There is a figure-ground relationship that reveals itself between day and night,” he adds. “During the day the column is the figure,

Architect & Builder: Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders

Interior Design: Susan Tuttle, Surroundings

Landscape Architect: TerraInk

(Left) Decorative anchors are cut into the shutters. The flat façade of the house (above) is punctuated with an eye-catching entry with an abstracted fan light and two pairs of flat carpenter’s columns (opposite page).

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while at night the space between the columns is perceived as the figure, and that was intentional.”

The clients were seeking a home that would reference the interior of a yacht, and also wanted the kitchen, living and dining areas to be one big open room at the center of house. The DaSilvas worked to devise intriguing ways to achieve these dual goals, and delineate the spaces from one another. Directly in front of the entry hall is the barrel vaulted dining space with ship’s lantern pendant lighting, while the kitchen and living areas each have differentiating coffered grid ceilings. To suggest a ship’s interior, the window bench behind the dining table is carved in an undulating shape, the ceiling features decorative mahogany beams that look like hull ribs, and there is an entrancing panel of cutout starfish shapes above the bench. “We took advantage of the little bit of attic space to carve upwards and give a sense of height there. We also put lights in behind the sunburst of starfish cutouts, which you can see glowing at night, especially from the back patio or dock,” says John.

“Our clients were very interested in fanciful details,” says Sharon, “which made the project a lot of fun to work on.” The foyer and stairwell features Greek Revival-esque details, such as decorative engraved borders and newel posts in ionic column shapes.

“We are not designing historic reproductions,” says John, “ but we are huge architectural history buffs and we draw inspiration from many eras. We are pluralists when it comes to design influences.”

(Above) A long bench runs along a bank of windows. (Inset) A curved ceiling delineates the dining area and the lighting fixture looks like it belongs in the galley of a boat.

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The mahogany-lined first floor study, which feels like a cozy captain’s cabin, is a great example of how the DaSilvas gave their clients the yacht-themed design they sought while also deriving inspiration from one of their most admired architects, Sir Edwin Lutyens. “Lutyens designed many archways and war monuments in early twentieth century Great Britain in which he created false perspectives with arched horizontal joints and slightly canted vertical lines,” says John.

DaSilva explains how, since the height restrictions limited their ability to build up, they instead conceived of a clever wall design in which each progressive band of horizontal wood paneling diminishes in height by a quarter of an inch from floor to ceiling, making the room seem taller than it really is. “It fools the eye,” he says. “Fortunately we had a client who got excited about this kind of thing.”

While the DaSilvas used every square inch available to them to provide functional living space, there was still plenty of room for their imaginations to flourish. One entire wing of the home is a two-level “bunk room” which overflows with


(Above) Beneath a cupola that provides natural light in the master suite is a structured wood ‘canopy’ which features abstracted acorn end points. (Left) A more Gothic Revival feel is evidenced in the curved hallway that spans from the master suite to the top level of the bunkroom.

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lighthearted maritime elements. With sleeping accommodations for nine, bathrooms on both floors and double ladders framing a spectacular tugboat and waves wall made of clear mahogany and painted wood. This space is an enchanting retreat for an entire family of guests.

“This nautical ‘mural’ is made up of flat planes, so none of it is sculpture, it is all still architectural work,” says John. “It is not every project that allows for this kind of detail. It was a real pleasure to design something like this,” Sharon adds. “We were able to really let our ideas flow. We had so much fun.”

The master suite is another area where architectural history meshes with contemporary design. Beneath a cupola that provides natural light is a structured wood ‘canopy’ which features abstracted acorn end points.

“Seventeenth century New England colonial homes used acorn details in the ends of their cantilevered second floors and those elements would have come from more elaborate architecture in Europe going back to Elizabethan times,” says John. “We treated the perfectly symmetrical grooves as if they were paneling or wallpaper. They run right off the ends, with no

trim or closure. The effect is that it feels like it is ‘of today’ but still has the character and pleasures of traditional architecture.”

A more Gothic Revival feel is evidenced in the curved hallway that spans from the master suite to the top level of the bunkroom. “There were a lot of challenges here as well,” says John, “such as getting enough roof pitch to allow head room, but not creating so much height as to make this connector piece feel too large on the exterior.” The DaSilvas solved the puzzle by incorporating Gothic arches over the doorways which harken back to certain kinds of homes typical on Cape Cod.

“When you drive along 6A you can see Greek temple shaped houses with Gothic Revival windows or louvers up in the gable end. It is wonderful to see those eras occurring in the same structure and also to be able to use all these influences in our designs.”

Two additional water-facing bedrooms that are used by the homeowners’ children complete the second floor, and include built-in dressers and cabinets similar to others that are employed throughout the home. A hidden closet under the stair, televisions tucked behind cupboards—all of these elements were carefully thought out to utilize every nook and cranny in the home.

(Left) Like the two-level “bunk room,” other rooms utilize the wave design, including this bunk bed. (Right) Ceilings feature decorative mahogany beams that look like ribs on the hull of a boat. SEAMLESS DESIGN.

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“It is interesting that a yacht interior was one of the inspirations, and that proved to be true in more ways than one,” says Sharon. “ Not only do the design details look nautical, but we also replicate the need that a boat has to try to use all the space you can in clever ways.”

While the clients clearly wanted to suggest a sea-going vessel structurally, they definitely veered away from typical ‘beachy’ interior decor. Susan Tuttle, owner of Surroundings in Orleans, had worked with the homeowners before, and she recognized that they were fans of rich colors. “I knew the owner loves reds and golds and oranges,” says Tuttle “I married those with bright blues, which work really well to create a nautical flair. “The granite countertops in the kitchen are in tones of brown with red and turquoise veining, and those colors are reflected in all the soft furnishings in the living and dining area, such as throw pillows and the handmade living room rug.”

Both the first floor and master baths feature full slabs of deeply colored stone, and the living room fireplace surround is made of granite, with a black granite whale’s tail mantle piece, designed by the DaSilvas.

“We don’t usually get to do this much interior work, “ says Sharon, “but here we were able to create some really intensive and cool features.” The entire design and construction process took around two years, and the team at Polhemus Savery DaSilva included many talented professionals. “To produce something like this home takes a great deal of creativity and skill on the part of a lot of people,” says John. “We are an integrated architecture firm.

An entertainment-friendly outdoor kitchen features similar granite to the

interior hearth, but in a different rubble-type cut. The outdoor kitchen

counter includes a set-in stainless steel grill and refrigerator.



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We design these special details and draw on an extensive network of craftspeople to execute them. All of this detailed woodwork was created off site in very sophisticated shops. Our team really did spectacular work here.”

The property’s lush landscape architecture was handled by TerraInk. An entertainment-friendly outdoor kitchen features similar granite to the interior hearth, but in a different rubble-type cut. The outdoor kitchen counter includes a set-in stainless steel grill and refrigerator that can be removed during the winter months. A wooden cabinet hides another television and wrapping around the edges of its doors is a carved anchor design that echoes the anchor cut-outs on the front window shutters.

The home is full of these kinds of intricate and thoughtful details, and John and Sharon are proud of the fact that they always take their time considering every element of their projects. “Nothing goes unstudied. We take everything into account in our designs,” says John.

Sharon still found it to be one of most playful projects they have undertaken. “It really was great fun from start to finish, she says.” John agrees. “It is playful and whimsical, but it’s not outrageous,” he says. “One of our architectural mentors, César Pelli used to say that it is OK to make architecture that is fun, but not funny, and I think this house exemplifies that.”

Home Builders & RemodelersAssociation of Cape Cod

A great view of the harbor is seen from the gas firepit, which is surrounded by comfortable outdoor chairs.

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