Occupying a point of land once the site of a children’s summer camp, this vacation house was built for a family with multigenerational ties to the lake and its still-active summer programs. Eventually to be a retirement home, this new lake house evokes the local character of early 20th century camp buildings with its textured siding, natural color palette, deep porches and exposed rafter tails.

A priority for the owners was preservation of the wooded shoreline. Careful siting and configuration of the house allowed us to keep many of the existing hemlocks, while still allowing views of the lake from every room. Tucked among the trees and painted a dark green, the house is nearly invisible from the water and from the opposite shore, lending it privacy and minimizing its visual impact. Arrays of windows bring sunlight into the home throughout the day, in spite of its wooded setting, thanks to careful design attention to solar orientation.

A warm, varied interior color palette offsets the snow and long nights of winter in Vermont. First floor living spaces flow into each other for a sociable floor plan appropriate for modern-day life and entertaining. A remote master suite features its own screened porch, while guest rooms on the second floor provide plenty of space for company. The house was designed to exceed Energy Star standards for insulation, air-tightness, lighting, and overall energy usage.