Tour a Classic New Hampshire Lake House

When this three-and-a-half-acre site on a New Hampshire lake became available just down the road from their summer home, the homeowners couldn’t pass up the opportunity to build their dream house. The couple tapped a team of seasoned design pros to create a comfortable yet stylish oasis where they could spend time with their children and extended family.

Architect Don Knerr designed the home in keeping with the traditional New England lake-house vernacular, incorporating materials like cedar shingles and siding, local stone, and timber beams.

For the landscape, Pellettieri Associates saved as many specimen trees as possible and then introduced a variety of native plantings.

The main entrance features a grand porte cochere with Douglas fir timber framing. Architect Don Knerr designed the home in keeping.

A soaring great room offers plenty of space for extended family and visitors to hang out; many of the furnishings are antique or vintage to encourage a “collected and nostalgic” feeling, according to designer Robin Sturm.

A sinuous second-floor railing adds interest to one end of the great room, where a double-sided fireplace is sheathed in local stone.

Beyond one of the room’s two stone fireplaces is another living area dubbed “the pub,” complete with a colorful—and carefully curated—bar.

A custom bed from Mark Jupiter lends a cool, contemporary element to the primary bedroom.

The primary bath features a freestanding tub from Apollo.

The bunk room boasts custom built-in beds complete with storage drawers.

The girls’ bedroom includes a built-in bed niche and a pair of reproduction beds from Leonards New England.

A screened porch located off the pub can be closed off with folding glass doors. In the clients’ former house, the main living areas were on the upper level with little connection to the outdoors, so the goal for this project was to unite the living spaces with nature as much as possible and allow the lake to take center stage. “We wanted to create the feeling of these big public spaces stretching over the water,” notes Knerr.

An existing tiki bar on the property was too far gone to salvage, so KVC Builders constructed a new cedar structure on the original footprint.

“The bar was one of the most charming things about the former property, but it was in such sad shape,” recalls Knerr. “This structure is indicative of the place and lifestyle. In fact, it has become the go-to neighborhood hangout spot.”

The residence occupies the only substantial area of sandy beach on the lake.

The homeowners of this newly built lakefront residence in New Hampshire are no strangers to the area. In fact, they had been living just down the road when this three-and-a-half-acre parcel—with the lake’s only substantial sandy beach—became available.

“It was a combination of three lots being sold by one family, which is pretty unusual for this area,” explains architect Don Knerr of Charles R. Myer & Partners, the firm behind both this residence and the homeowners’ previously renovated summer house. “There were originally three small cottages on the property, but they were in rough shape. This was a great opportunity for our clients to build a custom residence with more square footage and outdoor space than their last house. They are an active family who loves being outside and hosting their extended family throughout the summer.”

The clients’ last home had the main public spaces on the upper level, with no direct access to the outdoors, and the bedrooms below, so the goal here was to build a house that felt more connected to the water and surrounding landscape. As such, Knerr ended up siting the 6,000-square-foot home as close to the lake as setback requirements would allow. “We stayed in the traditional New England lake-house vernacular, with the same materials palette that people have been using for 150 years,” says Knerr, referring to the untreated cedar shingles and siding, stone, and timber beams outside, and the various woods, stone, slate, and soapstone inside. “These materials will age gracefully and develop a nice patina over time.”

The main living space is centered around a soaring great room overlooking the water, with a bar-and-television area dubbed “the pub” on one end that opens onto a screened porch. “There’s a ‘noisy’ end with the pub, and a ‘private’ end containing the primary suite,” says Knerr. Upstairs are the children’s rooms and a bunk room complete with a classic New England sleeping porch.

The process wasn’t without its challenges, though. In order to make the most of the site, Knerr worked with KVC Builders and landscape architecture firm Pellettieri Associates to redirect the private road on which the residence is located. “The road originally went through the center of the lot, so we moved it away from the water to allow more space for the house,” explains Graham Pellettieri. “It’s no small feat to move a road, but it dramatically impacted the look and feel of the property.” Pellettieri Associates collaborated with Knerr on the landscape, saving as many evergreen, birch, and pine trees as possible and then introducing a variety of native plantings.

When it came to the interiors, Marc-Michaels Interior Design played off the architecture, creating a family-friendly oasis that is “collected and nostalgic,” says the firm’s Robin Sturm. “You don’t often see this level of charm and detail in new construction anymore. The house feels as though it has always been there, so we spent a lot of time scouring for antiques and specifying aged finishes, so nothing feels too crisp.”

When all is said and done, says KVC’s Jim Koulopoulos, “the home was designed with comfort in mind. It’s all about the lake and spending time with family.”

Project Tea 
Architecture: Don Knerr, Charles R. Myer & Partners
Interior design: Marc-Michaels Interior Design
Builder: KVC Builders
Landscape design: Greg Grigsby, Graham Pellettieri, Pellettieri Associates, Charles Myer, Charles R. Myer & Partners