Watch This Space

One of Ocean Home’s Top 50 Coastal architects of 2016, Ike Kligerman barkley Designs a Beautiful Residence in watch hill, Rhode Island.

- Andrew Conway

If The Mastery of a great ocean home is measured by its sense of anticipation, this exceptional vacation retreat in the coastal enclave of Watch Hill, Rhode Island, succeeds on every level.

A picturesque gravel driveway sets the scene, leading down a low-lying, rocky peninsula jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean like the prow of a ship.

Seagulls whirl and squawk overhead; the air is tangy with sea spray; and a breeze carries the sound of water across the bay, a secluded cove and neighboring salt marsh.

An open motor court welcomes family, guests and visitors alike, guiding them either to striking louvered cedar garage doors or a more formal front entrance reached via a wooden stairway.

And towering above is a handsome three- story home, designed in the classic New England Shingle vernacular, but exuding a confident and commanding character that strikes the perfect balance between modernity and tradition.

The seven-bedroom, five-bath residence is a masterwork by Thomas A. Kligerman, cofounder and principal of Ike Kligerman Barkley, one of Ocean Home’s Top 50 Coastal Architects of 2016.

The storied and multi-award-winning firm, with offices in New York City and San Francisco, designs stellar homes across America and beyond, but this particular commission held a personal attraction for Kligerman.

“Ever since I was 10 years old, I have spent summers just five miles down the road in the small ocean-side town of Weekapaug, set on a coastline dotted with simple shingled cottages,” he says.

“I also sail traditional wooden boats, and my visceral attachment to the Shingle style is inherently braided with that summer activity. The link between the two is wood and paint; the aromas of each combine with the salt and air, and I wanted to capture that in this house.”