St Mary’s by the Sea: Artful Living
This direct waterfront property is located in southwestern Bridgeport CT in the community known as St-Mary’s-by-the-Sea in the Black Rock neighborhood. A remodel and addition completely transformed this 1970’s raised ranch both inside and outside into a seaside cottage with a fresh and open feeling: The perfect backdrop for the many decorative items and objets d’art our clients had collected over the years.
The specific goals of the project were to convert the exterior aesthetic of the house to resemble more of a beach cottage and also to improve the flow and functionality of the main living space and kitchen.
In terms of the living space, the goals for this project were accomplished by a total re-design of the main living space floor, which included vaulting the ceiling to completely transform the look and feel of the home. Additional design elements included a new fireplace with custom-built mantle, custom built-ins, all new windows, and a kitchen makeover using existing cabinetry integrated with newly-built additional cabinets.
To transform the exterior, extensive work was done to re-side the entire home in classic New England cedar shake. And because we could not resist creating a design embellishment for the chimney, we had fun working with extra shake shingles to create a distinctive form. The new entryway incorporated a custom arch with columns over the front doorway and custom lattice installed on the front and side completed the cottage look. In addition to being a design element, the latticework also does double-duty as a valuable under-storage area. Finally, a handsome 3-season porch/sunroom was added onto the back of the house.
