Set upon a site on East Point, this 3,200-square-foot home is designed to frame seasonal views of the ocean while providing efficient, year-round living. The design emphasizes places for extended family to gather, as well as it’s connection to its surroundings—balancing openness and warmth throughout the entire home. 

Inside, the main living space is defined by a vaulted ceiling that captures light throughout the day. A catwalk bridges the upper level, offering subtle visual connections between spaces and maintaining an open feel. Windows, large sliding doors and thoughtful orientation support natural ventilation, while high-performance insulation and mechanical systems ensure energy efficiency across the seasons.

Looking to enjoy their retirement years in the Kittery area, where they had lived many years previously, our clients found a unique double-lot property in the Kittery Foreside with an existing house on one half, with the intention of building a compact, energy-efficient house for themselves on the vacant half. They were seeking to downsize and were excited about moving into a walkable community with the vibrant Kittery Foreside and downtown Portsmouth both close-by. 

The design brief was slightly atypical with all living spaces to be on the second (top) floor, and more private functions on the first floor. This approach managed to take full advantage of elevated views over a neighborhood park across the street and toward the Piscataqua River and downtown Portsmouth beyond. The house contains only one dedicated bedroom, but a multi-purpose room located at the front of the house serves as a gym, office, and guest bedroom, and a residential elevator was included to allow for our clients to “age-in-place”.

A character zoning overlay dictated the form of the house to some extent, but by keeping detail and the material palette pared back to a minimum, the house feels modern and fresh while still sitting comfortably in its neighborhood. Pre-fabricated wall panels were utilized given the tight site constraints, while also contributing to some impressive blower-door test numbers conducted early on in the construction process. A full solar panel array along the south-facing roof elevation is anticipated to ensure the house is net-zero.

Between the two houses, their son who is a landscape installer (and new next-door neighbor!) created a beautiful shared outdoor patio area for both families to enjoy, as well as a characterful driveway using reclaimed bricks from a nearby demolition.

Millstone Manor, named for the more than 60 antique millstones that were scattered across the property, is a spectacular ocean-front residence loaded with history. Built around 1890, the original shingle and stone cottage was extensively renovated and expanded by the architect-owner in the 1930s, and when the new owners bought it in 2020, it was still largely untouched from this period.

After spending some time in the house, the new owners quickly realized the potential to turn the dark and inward-looking house and overgrown property into a unique extended family compound. The original brief for a new screened-in porch and some cosmetic changes, was expanded to include a complete rebuild of the existing house and construction of a new Pool House and Carriage House Apartment to complement the other existing outbuildings and cottages on the property.

A new entry wing was built where the original cottage stood, with much of the original wood beams, posts and paneling reused throughout the house. This helped to establish a clear entry sequence into the house, eliminating the quaint but confusing labyrinth of tight spaces and low ceilings.

Many of the unique features of the house have been retained, including stained-glass interior panels, decorative windows and the tight and winding staircase up to the nautical-themed tower lookout with its own ship’s wheel!

Windows and doors were enlarged and walls were opened up to bring light into every corner of the house, and to capitalize on the ever-changing scenes over the Atlantic. High-efficiency heat-pump and ventilation systems were introduced and the entire house was skinned with rigid insulation to help create a much-improved thermal envelope.  

This project for The Housing Partnership (THP) will include 40 townhomes with 20% allocated for workforce housing across a 10-acre site.
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THP is a non-profit organization whose mission is to strengthen communities by creating diverse housing opportunities in NH and ME.