Home Design Hillside

Hillside Home

This unique house was designed for clients who had a beautiful hillside lot that looks into a gorgeous bay in Maine. Granite ledges stepped away down the hill, and a grove of mature spruce trees made the site private and gave it a great sense of place. Because the granite ledge was so erratic, the architect knew that it would be tough to find a place to build, which resulted in trying to make as compact a house as possible.

Hipped roofs are a natural for this kind of square plan, and that worked well for this house because it seems low and ground hugging as you approach it from higher on the hill. As the ground falls away, though, the building becomes three stories tall with a walkout basement. However, many of our customers have built this house on a flat or gently sloping site, often without the basement level.

The simple front facade gives little hint of the surprises one encounters on the inside of the house. The ceiling in the foyer and kitchen areas rises from 8' at the front of the house to a dramatic 16' at the transition to the living areas of the house. A door just to the right opens to a combination utility room and half bath. Straight ahead there are stairs to the upper level, and a hallway leading to the living room. A large skylight above the hallway allows abundant sunlight into the middle of the house, and a door in the hallway opens to a coat closet tucked beneath the stairs.

Hillside Design

Windows topped by rising multi–paned transom windows in the kitchen wrap around the corner sink and along one wall, providing views to and through the side deck. A pergola of sloped beams was placed over this deck to allow more sunlight into the house. A peninsula countertop with a raised eating/serving bar separates the kitchen from the dining area. Large picture windows with multi–paned transoms run along one wall, while a pair of doors at the end of the room open to a screened porch. This porch has two doors that open to either the side deck or to a lovely open deck at the rear of the house.