8 Coastal Homes With Awesome Ocean Views
Take in the glittering blue vistas from these classic coastal cottages and contemporary seaside escapes
For design lovers, summertime is all about seaside getaways with great architecture and stylish interiors. Take an armchair summer vacation by perusing this diverse collection of beach houses and cottages recently profiled on Houzz, each designed to take advantage of water views while boasting its own version of coastal style. Click the links after each project to get a full tour of the home.
This is the interior of Papa Bear, which looks out across Penobscot Bay toward the mainland. It has a wood stove and a radiant floor heating system. The post-and-beam structure was made off the island using reclaimed oak beams, then brought in by barge and erected on site. The wall paneling is made of inexpensive whitewashed pine boards.
McBride Architects furnished the space with a mix of the clients’ own furnishings and found pieces, creating a collected, colorful look that’s synonymous with New England coastal cottage style.
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McBride Architects furnished the space with a mix of the clients’ own furnishings and found pieces, creating a collected, colorful look that’s synonymous with New England coastal cottage style.
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Photographs by Joe Fletcher
2. Surfer’s Handcrafted Paradise
Built for a young family, this contemporary beach house in Santa Cruz, California, is set back from a bluff overlooking one of the state’s best surf breaks. Designed by Feldman Architecture in collaboration with interiors firm Commune Design, the four-bedroom, 4½-bathroom home has a casual but carefully considered style with a bit of beach-bohemian flair. The design team calls the aesthetic “Professor Who Surfs.”
Reclaimed Monterey cypress that will silver over time was used for the board-and-batten siding and fencing. Glass doors on the beach-facing side, pictured here, slide open to create uninterrupted flow between the indoor and outdoor living spaces.
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2. Surfer’s Handcrafted Paradise
Built for a young family, this contemporary beach house in Santa Cruz, California, is set back from a bluff overlooking one of the state’s best surf breaks. Designed by Feldman Architecture in collaboration with interiors firm Commune Design, the four-bedroom, 4½-bathroom home has a casual but carefully considered style with a bit of beach-bohemian flair. The design team calls the aesthetic “Professor Who Surfs.”
Reclaimed Monterey cypress that will silver over time was used for the board-and-batten siding and fencing. Glass doors on the beach-facing side, pictured here, slide open to create uninterrupted flow between the indoor and outdoor living spaces.
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Reclaimed Monterey cypress also was used extensively throughout the home’s interior, which helps to visually connect the indoors and out. The furnishings are an impressive collection of custom, found and classic midcentury pieces, plus striking works by contemporary artists, artisans and designers, many of them from California.
The kitchen, dining room and living room occupy one large, open space. From the home’s entryway, one can see clear through the dining room, over the deck and across Monterey Bay.
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The kitchen, dining room and living room occupy one large, open space. From the home’s entryway, one can see clear through the dining room, over the deck and across Monterey Bay.
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Photos by Peter Vanderwarker
3. Classic Cottage With a Porch
A couple who are local hoteliers replaced a small condo building with this three-bedroom, 2½-bathroom waterfront home in Provincetown, Massachusett’s historic East End. Navigating a complicated approval process, Hammer Architects designed the red-cedar-shingled home to blend in with the local architecture, but the home is bigger and more contemporary than it looks from the street. The lot’s grade change and a main floor elevated 6 feet above street level allowed for a walk-out lower level and decks at the back of the house, facing the water.
The clever design of the porch pictured here deemphasizes the raised height of the main level and creates a sense of separation between the house and the busy sidewalk and street. At the same time, it’s a pleasant place for the couple to sit and chat with passersby.
3. Classic Cottage With a Porch
A couple who are local hoteliers replaced a small condo building with this three-bedroom, 2½-bathroom waterfront home in Provincetown, Massachusett’s historic East End. Navigating a complicated approval process, Hammer Architects designed the red-cedar-shingled home to blend in with the local architecture, but the home is bigger and more contemporary than it looks from the street. The lot’s grade change and a main floor elevated 6 feet above street level allowed for a walk-out lower level and decks at the back of the house, facing the water.
The clever design of the porch pictured here deemphasizes the raised height of the main level and creates a sense of separation between the house and the busy sidewalk and street. At the same time, it’s a pleasant place for the couple to sit and chat with passersby.
Inside, the year-round home has an open and contemporary floor plan, with exposed floor joists that eke out a few more inches of ceiling height. The architects sandwiched sound-absorbing material between the ceiling and the wood floors above.
The lift-and-slide French doors can withstand fierce winter storms, but they stack on one side to create a wide opening between the living area and deck in good weather. Clerestory windows let in even more natural light.
The homeowners completed much of the interior design themselves, choosing a blend of contemporary and midcentury-modern-style furnishings, such as the Eames stools pulled up to the kitchen island.
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The lift-and-slide French doors can withstand fierce winter storms, but they stack on one side to create a wide opening between the living area and deck in good weather. Clerestory windows let in even more natural light.
The homeowners completed much of the interior design themselves, choosing a blend of contemporary and midcentury-modern-style furnishings, such as the Eames stools pulled up to the kitchen island.
Read more about this home
Photos by Scott Amundson
4. Vintage-Meets-Modern Masterpiece
A Minnesota couple with three children worked with Rehkamp Larson Architects to create this three-bedroom, 2½-bathroom getaway in Manzanita, Oregon. Set on a steep lot, the design includes a separate garage that sits at the top of the site and this main home built into the hillside below it. The home’s shed roofline follows the downward slope of the land, protecting the home against the strong ocean winds. Along the opposite side, clerestory windows allow natural sunlight to fill the house and lower energy bills.
The home is barely visible from the street. Its cedar-shingled roof and siding will turn gray over time, further camouflaging it in the landscape.
4. Vintage-Meets-Modern Masterpiece
A Minnesota couple with three children worked with Rehkamp Larson Architects to create this three-bedroom, 2½-bathroom getaway in Manzanita, Oregon. Set on a steep lot, the design includes a separate garage that sits at the top of the site and this main home built into the hillside below it. The home’s shed roofline follows the downward slope of the land, protecting the home against the strong ocean winds. Along the opposite side, clerestory windows allow natural sunlight to fill the house and lower energy bills.
The home is barely visible from the street. Its cedar-shingled roof and siding will turn gray over time, further camouflaging it in the landscape.
This lounge area is part of an open kitchen, dining and living room that all have whitecap views. The windows throughout were selected to stand up to the harsh coastal climate, with fiberglass on the outside and wood on the inside.
The few furnishings pictured here exemplify the look Anne McDonald Design created throughout the home’s interior. Natural materials, a soft neutral palette and a blend of midcentury modern, postmodern and contemporary furnishings combine to achieve a cool, beachy style with 1960s and ’70s vibes.
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The few furnishings pictured here exemplify the look Anne McDonald Design created throughout the home’s interior. Natural materials, a soft neutral palette and a blend of midcentury modern, postmodern and contemporary furnishings combine to achieve a cool, beachy style with 1960s and ’70s vibes.
Read more about this home
Photos by Tim Bies
5. Farmhouse With a Twist
DeForest Architects designed this cliffside home on Whidbey Island, Washington, to take advantage of multiple magnificent views. One side of the house faces Puget Sound and the mountains on the Olympic Peninsula beyond; the other faces a soft meadow. A wooded ravine filled with giant ferns and old-growth trees encloses a courtyard on one end of the home.
The five-bedroom, four-bathroom house’s shape started with a simple gabled form that’s consistent with the local rural architecture. It has a standing-seam metal roof and vertical cedar siding on the upper level. But a glass staircase bisects the long, bar-shaped house, and one side of the lower level is essentially a modern glass box.
5. Farmhouse With a Twist
DeForest Architects designed this cliffside home on Whidbey Island, Washington, to take advantage of multiple magnificent views. One side of the house faces Puget Sound and the mountains on the Olympic Peninsula beyond; the other faces a soft meadow. A wooded ravine filled with giant ferns and old-growth trees encloses a courtyard on one end of the home.
The five-bedroom, four-bathroom house’s shape started with a simple gabled form that’s consistent with the local rural architecture. It has a standing-seam metal roof and vertical cedar siding on the upper level. But a glass staircase bisects the long, bar-shaped house, and one side of the lower level is essentially a modern glass box.
That glass box houses the home’s gathering spaces, which include this cozy breakfast area off the kitchen. The couple who own the home can enjoy water, island and mountain views from this vantage point.
The interior is rich with natural finishes such as hemlock and basalt ledgestone. Clean-lined, earth-toned furnishings allow the views to provide most of the drama.
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The interior is rich with natural finishes such as hemlock and basalt ledgestone. Clean-lined, earth-toned furnishings allow the views to provide most of the drama.
Read more about this home
Photos by Genevieve Garruppo
6. Worldly Hamptons Hideaway
This four-bedroom, 3½-bathroom home in Westhampton Beach, New York, was created for a London-based family of five by design-build firm R2Q Construction and interior designer Jessica Gething. It sits on a long, narrow peninsula between the open ocean and a bay.
The home’s architecture and cedar shingle cladding give it a quintessential Hamptons look. But unlike many old Hamptons cottages — including the beach shack this house replaced — it’s built atop piers to protect it from flooding.
6. Worldly Hamptons Hideaway
This four-bedroom, 3½-bathroom home in Westhampton Beach, New York, was created for a London-based family of five by design-build firm R2Q Construction and interior designer Jessica Gething. It sits on a long, narrow peninsula between the open ocean and a bay.
The home’s architecture and cedar shingle cladding give it a quintessential Hamptons look. But unlike many old Hamptons cottages — including the beach shack this house replaced — it’s built atop piers to protect it from flooding.
Huge windows and doors offer sweeping views across the bay from the open-plan living room, dining room and kitchen. The soft color and material palettes, which include woven grasses and white oak, take their cues from those views. One noteworthy element is the floor, which is made from a durable resin product used for lining pools. It looks like poured concrete but is softer and more textured, and it won’t crack.
The exterior may be classic, but Gething says it’s no typical Hamptons home inside. The designer drew inspiration from Europe and some of her clients’ favorite destinations, such as Ibiza and Morocco, to give the interior’s coastal style a worldly spin.
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The exterior may be classic, but Gething says it’s no typical Hamptons home inside. The designer drew inspiration from Europe and some of her clients’ favorite destinations, such as Ibiza and Morocco, to give the interior’s coastal style a worldly spin.
Read more about this home
Photos by Mariko Reed
7. Creative Couple’s Compact Perch
Architect Geoff Campen, a partner at San Francisco-based Klopf Architecture, and his wife, architectural designer Diana Ruiz, designed this house for themselves on California’s Sonoma Coast. It’s in The Sea Ranch, a planned community founded in the 1960s in which modern houses complement the rugged coastal landscape.
This house is new but adheres to the community’s environmental principles and architectural aesthetic, with black-stained vertical cedar siding covering its geometric form. At about 1,670 square feet (155 square meters), with one bedroom, two half bathrooms and a shower room, it’s relatively compact. But a flexible floor plan and creative design details help it to live large.
7. Creative Couple’s Compact Perch
Architect Geoff Campen, a partner at San Francisco-based Klopf Architecture, and his wife, architectural designer Diana Ruiz, designed this house for themselves on California’s Sonoma Coast. It’s in The Sea Ranch, a planned community founded in the 1960s in which modern houses complement the rugged coastal landscape.
This house is new but adheres to the community’s environmental principles and architectural aesthetic, with black-stained vertical cedar siding covering its geometric form. At about 1,670 square feet (155 square meters), with one bedroom, two half bathrooms and a shower room, it’s relatively compact. But a flexible floor plan and creative design details help it to live large.
The house is set back in the trees but has a wide view of the Pacific through large, horizontal windows on its front. The cedar siding continues from the exterior onto the home’s ceiling. White walls, white oak paneling and a concrete floor with built-in radiant heating on the lower level complete the simple interior palette.
Contemporary and midcentury modern pieces furnish the airy space, including this living and dining room, where a chandelier from Avenue Lighting’s Fairfax collection hangs above Barcelona chairs. Splashes of vibrant yellow and blue stand out against the grayscale backdrop. To the right, open shelving peeks out from the “opposite L"-shaped kitchen.
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Contemporary and midcentury modern pieces furnish the airy space, including this living and dining room, where a chandelier from Avenue Lighting’s Fairfax collection hangs above Barcelona chairs. Splashes of vibrant yellow and blue stand out against the grayscale backdrop. To the right, open shelving peeks out from the “opposite L"-shaped kitchen.
Read more about this home
8. Resilient Beauty on the Bay
This contemporary Portsmouth, Rhode Island, home sits atop helical piers, with a ground-level garage/indoor-outdoor living space and a first floor 12 feet above ground level. This elevation allows for sweeping views of Mount Hope Bay from the main living areas. But the purpose was, in fact, to keep the home safe from floods. When expecting a storm, the homeowners open the garage doors. If floodwater enters and applies pressure to the walls, they simply detach thanks to special fasteners.
Designed by architectural firm ZeroEnergy Design, the L-shaped home has its common areas in the gable-roofed horizontal section on the left and its kitchen, bedroom and office spaces in the vertical shed-roofed section on the right. Also on the right, behind a three-story glass wall, is an elevator wrapped by a staircase.
Airtight construction, continuous insulation and triple-pane windows create a tight envelope. Solar panels on the shed roof provide about the same amount of energy as the homeowners consume.
How to Protect Your Home From Hurricanes and Flooding
This contemporary Portsmouth, Rhode Island, home sits atop helical piers, with a ground-level garage/indoor-outdoor living space and a first floor 12 feet above ground level. This elevation allows for sweeping views of Mount Hope Bay from the main living areas. But the purpose was, in fact, to keep the home safe from floods. When expecting a storm, the homeowners open the garage doors. If floodwater enters and applies pressure to the walls, they simply detach thanks to special fasteners.
Designed by architectural firm ZeroEnergy Design, the L-shaped home has its common areas in the gable-roofed horizontal section on the left and its kitchen, bedroom and office spaces in the vertical shed-roofed section on the right. Also on the right, behind a three-story glass wall, is an elevator wrapped by a staircase.
Airtight construction, continuous insulation and triple-pane windows create a tight envelope. Solar panels on the shed roof provide about the same amount of energy as the homeowners consume.
How to Protect Your Home From Hurricanes and Flooding
This is the combined living and dining area, which are housed in the horizontal section. (The kitchen is through the opening on the left, past the dining table.) The space has dramatic cathedral ceilings and vast views of the bay. There are swing doors leading to the porch, but most of the glass is fixed-panel, selected for its weather resistance.
The current homeowners (a young family who live here full time) collaborated with interior design firm Equilibrium on the furnishings. The look is contemporary and warm, with midcentury modern elements such as the Eames lounge chair and arc floor lamp in the foreground.
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The current homeowners (a young family who live here full time) collaborated with interior design firm Equilibrium on the furnishings. The look is contemporary and warm, with midcentury modern elements such as the Eames lounge chair and arc floor lamp in the foreground.
Read more about this home
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Tour more vacation homes
See photos of modern home exteriors
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1. Rustic Three-Cabin Compound
On the small, unbridged island of North Haven, Maine, which sits an hour’s ferry ride off the mainland, McBride Architects created a summer-camp-inspired collection of three cabins for a couple with two grown children.
The largest of the cabins (seen here on the right), nicknamed Papa Bear, is a four-season structure with communal space for cooking, dining and family time, plus a sleeping loft. The other two structures are three-season sleeping cabins, each with its own bathroom. The primary sleeping cabin is seen here on the left; the two-bedroom sleeping cabin is just out of view.
Each cabin is clad in locally sourced Alaskan cedar shingles and oriented to maximize views.
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