Morse Street Compound is an early 1800’s Greek Revival cottage located within the Edgartown Village Historic District and as such, the design had to go through a lengthy review. After owning the original cottage for a number of years, the client acquired the property next door and as such, a much larger program was developed for his family-all in maintaining the spirit of the original cottage.
Although three quarters of the house is new construction, we wanted it to feel like a restoration/renovation and feel appropriate in scale to the surrounding neighborhood. The goal was for the house to read as a cohesive whole as if it was designed as the larger program from the very beginning of the 1800’s. It was necessary that the new wing of the house emulate the character and scale of the old wing, yet the interior take a more modern approach with open and flowing spaces that are oriented to the indoor/outdoor living opportunities.
The overriding challenge was to relate the overall design to the original house and develop the companion pieces that reflect its small scale and character. As such, we lifted the original cottage and set floor joists into its new foundation in order to achieve a higher ceiling height without changing the exterior imagery of the house. We preserved what appears to be a lower floor height on the first floor from the exterior, but in effect has a 9-foot ceiling height. We matched the bookend of the new construction with the original perception of the house however, we set the new additions back from the original house to place emphasis on the original part of the home and to minimize the scale thus creating a balance to the corner lot that appeared natural and historically correct.
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Before and After Front Exterior - Morse Street Compound is a significant historical renovation. The original home was built in 1850 for a sea captain in Edgartown, MA. The left wing is the original home. The renovation began by tearing off of the 1930s additions and adding the right wing to the home but setting it back to place emphasis on the original part of the home.
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Back Exterior - Behind the home is a carriage house with a bluestone pathway to the second, informal entrance which is located at the rear of the house and opens to a mudroom. A fence and a significant amount of landscaping was incorporated to screen off the backyard from the public view.
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Back Exterior - The back exterior of the home reads symmetrically. All major living areas open up to a covered porch with an outdoor fireplace. Above the covered porch is a deck accessed from the reading room connecting both wings of the home. The rear bedrooms also have access to the deck along with a private balconies facing the carriage house, pool, and cabana.
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Kitchen - The kitchen conveys the spirit of the original 1860's house and opens up to the dining room through the butler's pantry and onto the living room in an elegant and classical way. Per the homeowner's request, the kitchen appliances are in stainless steel to offer a more industrial aesthetic. The pendant light fixtures over the island and the refrigerator finish further convey the industrial form. The objective was not to make the appliances disappear in the kitchen as clients most often want; but rather, the stove and the refrigerator were to express the inherent nature of their institutional, industrial forms. Further, all of the fixtures are polished chrome and match the historically appropriate pendant lights above.
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Living Room - In the right wing is a living room with a three season room to the left of it. To the right of the living room is the outdoor covered porch. There are french doors on either side of the living room that open up to create the epitome of summer living with cross breezes flowing through. The painting in the corner is the sea captain, the original owner of the home.
