How Do You Make a Great Room Even Greater?
For architect William Hanley, the solution was making the stunning Maine surroundings part of the decor.
Architect: WMH Architects / Photo by Brian Vanden Brink
The Challenge
There are few spots to build a home as awe-inspiring as Maine’s Mount Desert Island. And this particular abode comes with a bonus: Perched on the island’s western side—a popular boating corridor with a vast beach—the space is also immersed in the woods, says architect William Hanley, who was tasked with designing a great room that made the inhabitants feel immersed in the environment.
The Solution
Taking cues from the randomness and verticality of the natural landscape, Hanley devised a glass wall comprised of windows and a door of varying widths. He likens the outdoors on the other side to a painted canvas. “The coloration is incredible: the blue-green ocean, the forest around, the muted grays of the exposed ledge outcroppings. It’s such an intense color palette that we didn’t want to compete with that inside.” As such, the window frames are made of clear finished pine, the floors are white oak, and the walls are white-painted plaster. And if one needs a breath of fresh air, there’s a narrow wood strip outside that’s fashioned not as a deck but a ship-like gangway. If it were any wider, there’d be a risk that it would become furnished, Hanley says—and “you don’t want to be looking at a deck cluttered with outdoor tables and chairs—it would impede the view.”
First published in the print edition of the May 2024 issue with the headline, “The Best View in the House.”
Previously
- The Spa Who Loved Me (in Medford)
- How Do You Make a Boxy Home Office into a Dream Work Space?
- The Baroque Purple Magic of a 19th-Century South End Townhouse
