Little Harbor
Woods Hole, MA 2009
“Everyone is totally thrilled with the house!” — Owner
“In my whole career, it is one of the nicest, happiest, most successful projects I can remember.” — Oliver Bouchier, Payne Bouchier, Inc.
Over a hundred years ago, three Woods Hole buildings, from three different centuries, were combined to make one house, and moved to this location overlooking Little Harbor. Working within the Historic District regulations, the exterior envelope underwent significant rehabilitation that maintained its historical integrity. We then completely renovated the interior, to address the needs of the new owner, and her extended family.
In the front portion of the house, we opened up the existing small rooms, to create one, larger family-gathering space that includes the kitchen, dining, and living room. The rear of the first floor also has a side entrance and mudroom, bedroom and sitting room, off a private terrace.
The second floor holds the master bedroom suite, with views of Little Harbor, and a guest bedroom with western light, and views of the Martha’s Vineyard ferries coming and going. Several additional bedrooms, and secondary living spaces in the house, provide plenty of room for more family.
As the daughter of a pioneering climate change scientist, the owner was, from the very beginning of the project, deeply committed to building green. The house employs numerous systems to support this goal, including PV solar roof panels, a shallow closed-loop geothermal heating and cooling system, a high efficiency boiler, and a tankless on-demand hot water system.
All interior paints and finishes are low-VOC. The porch decking is FSC mahogany, and the flooring is reclaimed antique heart pine. The owner repurposed light fixtures, ceramic tile, and countertops from her previous homes, not only helping to fulfill sustainability goals, but adding her own history and memories to this historic house.
The house earned LEED Gold Certification.
Builder: Payne Bouchier, Inc.
Photographer: Eric Roth
