Shingle Style Synergy

A smooth blend of styles leads to a coastal Connecticut success story

Imagine a young couple with three teenagers and a passion for modern architecture deciding to build a house in coastal Connecticut. Sensitive to the local vernacular—and their future neighbors—they did what any savvy homebuilder would do.
They compromised. “We both really like shingles, and we thought the site could pull off a dark shingle,” says the wife. “The mass of it would be fine. Inside, we wanted to bring it along in a more transitional way.”

The couple turned to the prestigious firm of Shope Reno Wharton to carry out their vision. “The main strategy was to explore a contemporary and modern feel in the interior while maintaining a contextual and traditional shell,” says Michael McClung, the lead architect on the project, which was built by SBP Homes.

“WE DIDN’T WANT AN ABRUPT TRANSITION FROM TRADITIONAL TO MODERN, INSTEAD, WE TOOK THE MODERN PIECES AND INSERTED THEM WITHIN TRADITIONAL ELEMENTS”

Back outside, color and modernity take center stage in the pool house—essentially a mahogany box with glass doors. The homeowners commissioned spray-paint artist JB Snyder to create a work for the interior wall; the changing room features a backdrop of cobalt blue glass tiles. “The pool house is this wonderful surprise—an unbelievable sensation of color and texture in a minimal form,” says Hirsch. “All the doors and walls retract and disappear into this pocket. It’s magic.”

BY JAMIE MARSHALL
PHOTOGRAPHS BY ROBERT BENSON PHOTOGRAPHY