Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: A Calm-Inducing Home for a Couple and Their Guests
A network of pavilions brings the outdoors into this Japanese-inspired modern house in the Boston suburbs
With their children grown and raising kids of their own, this couple decided it was the right time to build their dream home. They desired a comfy, open space filled with lots of light and plenty of guest rooms for visiting family and friends. To complete their vision, they turned to architect Colin Flavin to create a peaceful Zen-like home, designed as a series of pavilions open to sun, sky and the outdoors.
White cedar shingles with a semitransparent stain clad the house. A concrete path surrounded by Japanese-style gardens leads to the home’s front entry. The garage is to the right. The glass entry is from Dynamic Architectural Windows & Doors; the wood soffit above is western red cedar V-groove sealed in a semitransparent stain.
The entry leads to a dynamic open living space. Flavin’s team used a Japanese framing technique for the artistic ceiling. Rafters are connected to diagonal steel beams, juxtaposing the white painted steel and Douglas fir wood planks and beams to create a space that’s perfectly tuned acoustically. The wall creates a hallway that leads to the master suite and is open at the top, so it appears to float in the space.
An array of Shakúff pendant lights float above the dining room table, in front of glass doors, windows and clerestories. White oak hardwood flooring was used throughout the first level. The table was custom designed to reflect the idea of a river running through the woods. The lattice-like sunshades over the windows on the exterior cast a beautiful pattern on the wood floors.
Browse light oak hardwood floors
Browse light oak hardwood floors
The modern kitchen cabinetry is from Poggenpohl; the island is topped with granite. Open glass shelves hold colorful glassware above the wet bar. The full wall of glass opens to the pool and outdoor living areas.
The patio runs the length of the house, with spaces for an outdoor living room, concrete fire pit and outdoor dining and entertaining. Blu Grande stone pavers surround the pool area.
In the master bath a freestanding Barcelona tub from Victoria & Albert sits in front of a window of etched glass. A stainless steel towel warmer from Vogue is adjacent to artwork and a mirrored shelf.
Find freestanding tubs
Find freestanding tubs
In one of the home’s guest bathrooms, a quartz bench provides built-in seating in the glass-walled shower. The lower portion of the long window is translucent glass to provide light yet privacy.
The two first-floor guest rooms open onto a private stone patio. The rooflines cantilever out over the pavilions at a slight tilt, while sunshades tilt upward as well; their positioning, Flavin says, is strategic to allow in winter sun and block summer sun.
One of the guest bedrooms on the main level is soothing in cream tones. The sliding glass door opens to a private patio.
The main living space glows from within at dusk. At the left are the four-season porch and the master suite. To the right is the two-level guest wing. “The design really started around this central living space,” Flavin says. “With the exposed ceiling of steel beams and heavy timber in a lovely composition, it’s the heart of the house.”
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House at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple
Location: Lenox, Massachusetts
Size: Five bedrooms
Architect: Colin Flavin of Flavin Architects
By designing the house as a network of connected pavilions, architect Colin Flavin says he was able to connect the house to nature and bring in much-needed light. “The pavilion concept was a nice way to arrange the different functions in the house while bringing in light, which is so important in New England with our snowy and cold climate.”