Greg Lombardi Design (lombardidesign.com) created a landscape plan that matched the gorgeous Cohasset setting.

Sometimes, the perfect property doesn’t hold the perfect house. This was definitely the case for a couple with two kids, ages 5 and 7, who lived not far from a Cohasset waterfront property they coveted and eventually bought. The problem: The Colonial that sat on the property didn’t come close to matching the breathtaking setting; it was dark and had large, hulking volumes. It didn’t flow well and definitely didn’t speak to waterfront living. The couple tapped LDa Architecture & Interiors (lda-architects.com) to open up and completely transform the home.

The kitchen features a Cumar (cumar.com) countertop, a Miele (mieleusa.com) range and Tile Showcase (tileshowcase.com) backsplash.

“We’re process-focused and work to solve space and design issues in ways that inspire and delight a client each time they use their home,” says John Day, one of the principals at LDa. “We often say we have style, but not just one style. Our work is often the best version of a client’s goals, comments and input. We find that keeps our work fresh and varied, and we love that design challenge.”

Day says the couple, who had worked with LDa previously, wanted to unify the home’s many spaces, create an open floor plan and take advantage of natural light and exceptional views. “The original house was more of a traditional New England home and didn’t have as strong a connection to the yard and amazing landscape,” he says. “They wanted a house that made an interior design statement, blurred the line at the rear of the house to the deck and yard and still looked appropriate to the streetscape.”

A bar with elm brown stained horizontal-grain oak is adjacent to the kitchen

Given the style of the home, LDa had some fairly significant, but not insurmountable, challenges, including a flood-zone setting prone to high water and aggressive winds. But Day says his crew worked within zoning restrictions and budget to rebuild the home from the inside out—reconfiguring every space and designing a breakfast-room addition to the back of the house.

The living room features a sofa from Christian Liaigre (liaigre.com) and lamps and accent tables from Arteriors (arteriorshome.com).

While the previous great room had an open orientation, Day says a large heavy black kitchen with yellow walls had a colonial vernacular. Nothing flowed visually. “We took off the back of the house and added huge steel doors and windows to frame a panoramic ocean and beach view,” he says. “This created great daylight and dramatic space, but also the need to tune the interior to the exterior colors. The furniture and decor were designed to be formal enough for the front of the house, but durable and comfortable enough to live in every day. One other major element was art; the couple has a cool, personal and large-scale collection. In open floor plans, we often have the challenge of limited wall space, so we worked consciously to keep walls for very loved pieces.”

A floating steel and oak staircase in the foyer is truly a work of art—LED lights make the structure hover at night

Day notes that, since this is a yearround home, LDa added elements that complement a family’s daily needs, including a TV behind oak doors, a statement bar and a large fireplace. “The kitchen’s colors—oak, copper cabinets and gloss cream lacquer— were all tuned to the decor and the other rooms, so that they flow in use and to the eye,” he says, adding the family of chefs uses the kitchen quite a bit. “We wanted a cooks’ kitchen that didn’t dominate the space. The kitchen was [truly] custom, and we worked to keep the tall cabinets light and reflective.” Notable elements in the space also include glass tile backsplash from Tile Showcase (tileshowcase.com), Bertoia kitchen stools from Knoll (knoll.com) and appliances from Sub- Zero (subzero-wolf.com). LDa opted to situate a range and venting system on the island, because the family most often uses this area to cook.

The LDa interior design team used natural-tone and durable fabrics throughout the home.

And because views were paramount for the family in this incredible setting LDa added large, floor-to-ceiling windows to the first level. A contemporary design template was used throughout the home, most notably a floating steel and oak staircase in the foyer. “The inside edge of the stair doesn’t touch the wall, and we added LED light to make it hover at night. It’s a piece of art in itself.”

The family room delivers comfort and style, with a television that can be concealed when not in use by the family.

The goal for LDa’s interior design team was to achieve a sophisticated beach vibe without having spaces feel too nautical. Their solution: use natural materials and colors throughout the home that matched the surrounding landscape. Family room highlights include brown chairs from Holly Hunt (hollyhunt.com) and a sofa from Christian Liaigre (liaigre.com); the airy den is accented with a sofa by Flexform (flexform.it), a rug by J.D. Staron (jdstaron.com) and throw pillows by Romo (romo.com) and the Design Connections (thedesignconnection.com).

The home’s lovely exteriors looks like a New England classic.

In the end, the clients, who are triathletes, were pleased with the waterfront masterpiece and wound up with an outdoor bonus: a workout pool created in conjunction with Gregory Lombardi Design (lombardidesign.com). Thanks to the LDa team’s steadfast commitment to learning about a client’s inspiration—and how those clients want to live—the perfect setting finally had an unmatched place to call home.

The dining room features a chandelier from Loomis (charlesloomis.com), chairs from Kravet (kravet.com) and rug from J.D. Staron (jdstaron.com).

DESIGN DETAILS

TYPE

Single-family home

LOCATION

Cohasset

BUILDER

Curtin Construction
curtinconstructionllc.com

ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN

LDa Architecture & Interiors
lda-architects.com

LANDSCAPE DESIGN

Gregory Lombardi Design
lombardidesign.com

RESOURCES

CHRISTIAN LIAIGRE

Sofa, living room
liaigre.com

HOLLY HUNT

Chairs, living room
hollyhunt.com

J.D. STARON

Rug, den
jdstaron.com

KNOLL

Stools, kitchen
knoll.com

PRANDINA

Pendants, kitchen
prandina.com

TILE SHOWCASE

Backsplash, kitchen
tileshowcase.com