Narrow Beach Houses
Photography by Christopher Covey
Thirty-five foot wide lots with three foot side yard setbacks and the garage in front dictate the organization of these beach area properties. Three stories barely fit 2000 square feet of living space but the bigger challenge is how to get natural light and openness into them. Though the floor plans, styles and features differ, they all share maximum daylighting through glazing at the front and stair wells that gather and disperse sunlight into rooms at the middle of the house. Due to the constrained property size most of the outdoor living occurs on front and rear deck and on roof decks with views of the ocean and harbor.