Coastal Cottage Interior Updated 5/3/10

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Coastal Cottage Living Room

Zinc Counters, Custom Cabinets

Coastal Cottage

Tansu drawers with cast twig knobs

We worked with Bruce Decker to design the stairs - Bruce also hiked into the forest to chop down the silver birch newel post. The stairs which are centrally located and visible from most of the rooms in the house. The drawers go under the stairs and are inspired by Tansu chests. The knobs are cast from small branches.

Silver Birch Newel Post

Glass Bathroom Door and Brushed Nickel Doorknob
Glass panel doors on the bathroom and walk-in closet allow the light to pass through and reflect changing patterns throughout the day. The doorknobs are brushed nickel.

Coastal Cottage Upstairs

Below morning sun on a Panama hat.

Panama Hat

Coastal Cottage Toto Sink

The sinks and most of the faucets are made by Toto - Lori Wycall of Ardente Plumbing was a wonderful resource and helped us select our fixtures, faucets, and accessories. The tile comes from Ceramic Design via our friend Karen Berkeymeyer and was installed by Dave Beauregard. Vincent Germana of Greenville Glass installed the frameless shower door. An African horseman keeps watch in the sculpture niche.

Following are some pictures of the interior of the recently completed Coastal Cottage. We are especially thankful to many of the fine craftsmen who contributed theirs ideas, inspiration, and expertise!

Kitchen Nooks

Stephen and John Demetrick worked closely with us to design and build the cabinets. We used drawers for many of the pots and pans and open shelving facing the stove for the really large pots. The countertop is made out of zinc, a traditional choice for Parisian cafes and oyster bars. Below is the triangle drawer that swings out of the end of the peninsula.

Coastal Cottage Triangle Drawer

Dining Area and Pond, Luce Plan lights

Tansu Drawers & Birch Newel

Twig Candalabra & Stairs

The candelabra is made entirely of hickory twigs - the light through the branches casts lovely shadows on the adjacent walls.

Brenda's Flowers

The house can appear a bit spartan, but keep in mind that the owners are still moving in and that we wanted the emphasize the structural forms and abundant natural light.

Beamed Ceiling

We did not use a lot of wood, other than the timberframe, the stairs, and the upstairs bathroom countertop, which are all Douglas Fir. We felt that, especially in a small house, too much wood can be oppressive and we wanted to create a house that was fun and had a modern edge. The whole house is roughly 1100 square feet and we used the same flooring (with the exception of the bathroom which is slate) and wall color throughout to allow the rooms to flow together. Upstairs we cut back the corner of the bathroom so that the staircase and candelabra would be visible from the second floor sitting area.

Bedroom with Sleeping Alcove

For a look at the outside see Coastal Cottage Exterior.

Luce Plan Constanzina