Translating traditions for an active family

The family’s love of the Cape and an outdoor lifestyle culminates in the evenings around an active backyard. Photo by Greg Premru

The far corner of the home finds a sunroom created for the couple that Chris says they use constantly. This special spot combines Chris’ love for the comfort of the home with Steve’s love of the outside, and frames an idyllic marsh view. “We have coffee there in the morning, we watch all kinds of wildlife interact with the marsh, including deer, and sometimes we just sit and relax in the sun,” she says.

Outside a low covered porch—designed not to take too much depth, thus allowing light to enter the home—transitions to the outdoor living spaces, Steve’s domain. In truth, it is the whole family’s place to gather. Mild nights throughout the year are spent, long after the sun has settled behind the marsh, around a massive wood-fueled fire pit constructed by R.P. Marzilli Landscape Construction of Medway. Comfortable furniture completes the outdoor rooms.

Working with a small lot and wetland restrictions called for Falmouth’s Horiuchi Solien Landscape Design to create the perfect solution for the family while managing the challenges.

Hutker sums up the collaboration on this project, saying, “This was a great group to work with. The Richards love craft, they love detail, and they wanted this sort of inside/outside experience of tying together with the land. We approached this by listening carefully to the things that make them happy and focusing on positioning the spaces to take best advantage of the coastal sunshine, and then identifying their activities during the course of the day to choreograph the layout of the house relative to their lifestyle.”

Hutker Architects’ talent is not producing any one archetype, but rather informing their designs with the way people live by exploring their sensibilities and delivering homes that surpass their clients’ own imaginations. The Richards, who might have characterized their style as traditional before this project, and having now journeyed through the evolution of this process, say they don’t really have a label for their home. “Maybe transitional, maybe modern Cape. We just know it is us,” Chris says with a smile.