Set along Nova Scotia’s South Shore, this house draws inspiration from the region’s iconic boat sheds and waterfront vernacular while reinterpreting these familiar forms through a contemporary lens. Built for weekend vacationing and time with friends, the home focuses on entertaining spaces that are well-appointed but also comfortable and casual.
The site presented several challenges that ultimately shaped the design. Facing northeast towards a shallow cove, the property looks directly toward an processing plant, while its steep topography complicated access and building placement. In response, the project deliberately shifts its focus away from the direct waterfront view, orienting primary living spaces and outdoor areas toward the southeast. This strategy captures better natural light throughout the day while framing views toward the idyllic view out the mouth of the cove.
Privacy was equally important. A long, curving driveway descends through the landscape, concealing the house entirely from the public road and creating a gradual sequence of arrival. Visitors first encounter a parking court and detached garage before crossing a footbridge to slide into the upper floor of the home. More than a functional connection, the bridge establishes a ceremonial threshold between the landscape and the architecture, heightening the experience of arrival.
The bridge leads to a sheltered entryway. Carefully concealed from the surrounding views, the mudroom acts as a moment of transition before revealing the home's primary living areas. Beyond, the kitchen and dining spaces open to expansive views, natural light, and the large sectional volume of the home. A second bridge sequence repeats the exterior bridging element over a central atrium that visually connects the upper and lower levels of the house.
The steeply sloping site offered an opportunity to challenge the conventional walk-out basement condition. By shifting the house away from the hillside and introducing the central atrium, the lower level receives natural light and connection within the house from multiple directions and functions as an equally important level of the home, avoiding any sentiment of basement. The lower level living room opens directly onto the pool and sauna terrace through a large sliding door, activating the lower floor with the connection to the lower level landscape. Guest bedrooms and an office complete the lower level.
The home's compact footprint—approximately 1,150 square feet per floor—encourages a deliberate organization of space. Locating the kitchen and dining areas above and the living room below reduces the building's overall size while creating distinct experiences on each level. A steeply pitched roof further enriches the interior, generating dramatic volumes.
A niche make-up/dressing loft is the result of utilization of this volume over the master bathroom where the high ceiling was not required. A custom stair in the tall vertical stair element exaggerates the experience of this space.
Projecting from the upper level on the cove side elevation, a folded slat facade reinforces the building's subtle rotation toward the southern light and views with its dynamic three-dimensional shape. Facing a far-away highway, the dramatic two-and-a-half-storey cedar clad north wall creates a subtle but memorable landmark within the forested landscape. Together, these gestures produce a home that is simultaneously grounded in the architectural traditions of Nova Scotia's coast and confidently contemporary in its response to site, climate, and habitation.
