NAUTICAL IN NEW ENGLAND The Carr family reached out to Principal Architect Seth Ballard of Ballard + Mensua Architecture to bring their design dreams for a New England waterfront home to life. Hosting guests 300 out of the 365 days per year, the Carrs wanted to create a home that would allow them to host their three sons and their families for holidays, as well as be a place for friends to retreat to and feel as if they are vacationing at a resort. The House is sited completely around enjoying the 270 degree views of the Naragansett Bay, including a sunset screened porch. Above the porch lies a terrace and a sunrise tower, which houses the master bedroom; an octagon timber frame sunrise room on the top offering seating in the round, and a guest bedroom suite on the lower level. To make the lower level walk out, a flood wall with stepped planters was built to offset one of the home’s more special features, the octagon courtyard around the lower level bedroom. Additionally, Ballard capped the stacked stone planters in blue stone to create a unique courtyard for the Carr family and their friends to enjoy. To further emulate the shale look of New England style homes in the surrounding area, Ballard wanted to apply a natural-looking, loose stacked stone to the home’s exterior and Eldorado Stone’s Nantucket Stacked Stone was a perfect fit for this New England water front property. Inside the home lies a three-story fireplace dressed in Eldorado’s Nantucket Stacked Stone and custom blue stone houses an oversized main fireplace in addition to a second fireplace in the loft that overlooks the Bay View Room. The Bay View Room was designed to evoke the feeling of being on a ship and did so by incorporating a custom cedar timber frame featuring wave shapes, two stories of glass, and a nautical railing and paneling system. Another interesting design feature of this home is that the kitchen cabinets have no straight lines and come together in a blend of curves to continue the home’s nautical theme. The details incorporated into this home truly captured the essence of New England by providing a sense of authenticity that is difficult to duplicate. Eldorado’s Nantucket Stacked Stone lends to the nautical feel of New England waterfront communities with its weathered yet elegant and simple appearance. In conjunction with other traditional and nautical elements found throughout the home such as the round windows, grey color palette, and even architecture that reflects a similar appearance to that of a lighthouse, make for sweet design success. Eldorado Stone Featured: Nantucket Stacked Stone with a dry-stack technique