A Serene Sense

Hutker Architects and LaBarge Homes join together to create a quiet and peaceful retreat on Osterville’s Eel River.

There is nothing quite like the sense of anticipation a disappearing driveway and a well-conceived approach to a home elicits in those who are visiting for the first time, as well as the regular inhabitants whose never-ending satisfaction of the slow reveal endures. For a recently completed project in Osterville, that sense of intrigue is just the beginning of the waves of sensory input experienced while navigating the multitude of spaces and vistas inherent to the overall program. Jim Cappuccino, AIA partner at Hutker Architects, who along with his team Erin Levin and Ryan Alcaidinho, says the homeowners, who have a history of summering in Osterville, knew what they wanted in their new home. “They wanted a modern take on a farmhouse feel and sensibility,” Cappuccino explains. “However, it was important to keep the height and scale proportionate to the lot, which had acreage, but was long and narrow. Of course, the incredible view of the Eel River setting is so serene, it was important to keep the relationship with that waterfront feature as a major component of the design throughout.”

As already stated, that design proposition begins with the turn into the driveway. The landscape design was conceived by the energetic and intuitive Stephanie Hubbard, principal of SiteCreative in Boston. Hubbard’s passion for the natural world and how the spaces in which we live can contribute to our overall enjoyment, is evident in all of her work. An average landscape designer might have centered the start of the driveway in the exact middle of the front lot line along the street. Hubbard however, using her subtle powers of positive manipulation, placed the entrance at the top corner of the lot…