You Stay Here

At a Martha's Vineyard compound, Steven Gambrel and Tom Kligerman have made a guest retreat so good, visitors may never want to leave.

- Mercedes Kraus

When a large seafront parcel of land went up for sale on Martha's Vineyard, its neighbors, who had lived next door for three decades, immediately scooped it up. The husband and wife-who have grown children-seized the opportunity to expand their property and, soon after, to create a place where visiting friends and family could gather.

To bring to life their vision for a guest residence, the family enlisted the expertise of ELLE DECOR A-List Titan Steven Gambrel, who took charge of the interiors, and A-List architect Tom Kligerman, a longtime friend of the family who had previously worked on other buildings on the estate. Their goal was to conceive peaceful spaces that seamlessly meld with the landscape and the greater context of the historic island.

The house is a masterfully layered composition. "It's one building, but it's designed to look like two," Kligerman says. To wit: What initially appears to be separate structures-a quaint, long-established saltbox and a nearby garage are part of an expansive single edifice that subtly blends into the hillside.

Between the two "buildings," an outdoor kitchen complete with a pizza oven is a crucial tool for the family's annual make-your-own pizza parties. Guests easily flow from the screened porch, across the patio with its wide sea views, and into the great room and its kitchenette.