Hidden Gem: A Nantucket Pool House That Redefines Elevated Coastal Living

Just off the main road, hidden behind a high hedgerow like a secret love letter, lies a pool house. But the cedar-shingle structure, floating above the deer-filled, tundra-scrub forest, is so much more.

Designed by Hutker Architects, the 2,000-square-foot structure is a hub of activity. It is here that the large extended family, which has had a summer home in Nantucket’s historic district for a quarter of a century, gathers before heading to the beach. It is here that the patriarch flips breakfast pancakes for his grandchildren. And it is here that those same children run down meandering paths to catch fireflies as dusk descends.

Sited across the street from the family’s oceanfront main house, the L-shaped pool house has a great room with kitchen, dining room, and living room and separate catering kitchen. Other amenities include an outdoor kitchen, woodworking shop, and indoor-outdoor gym equipped with Pelotons and yoga mats. An outdoor shower is tucked into a gable. A children’s playground, pickleball court, and, of course, a swimming pool with spa round out the features.

“The concept was to create an oasis that you would discover,” says principal Matt Schiffer, AIA, who led the project team comprising partner Mark Hutker, FAIA, associate Kevin Schreur, and designer Sarah Soltes. “The owners wanted it concealed because they didn’t want to ruin the public experience of walking along the road.” And concealed it is—the property is surrounded by acres of conservation land.

Modeled after Nantucket’s vernacular Shingle-style shacks dating back to the 1800s, the single-story pool house complements the main residence. Its plan was approved by the Nantucket Historical Commission on the first round.

Brand new and sustainable (it is powered by a dozen underground geothermal wells and is highly insulated), it still references history in a deliberate manner. It’s elevated on a plinth made of reused red brick that’s meant to evoke the community’s age-old foundations. And it was built by Stephens & Co. using the rustic arts and crafts principles promulgated by the 19^th-century English art historian and critic John Ruskin.

Although the pool house nods to the past, it lives in the present. And wonderfully at that.

The great room, or the “life space,” as Mark Hutker calls it, is open on three sides thanks to telescoping folding doors and large sliders. A brise soleil shelters it from the sun. The room “is like an outdoor pavilion but inside,” says Schiffer, adding that the brise soleil “creates beautiful shadow play and lends itself to the style of a garden cottage.”

Designed by Gregory Van Boven, the interior spaces are appointed with elegant transitional furnishings upholstered in white outdoor fabrics. Accessories in various blues reference and reflect the pool beyond. Van Boven defined the living area with a painted rug, complete with fringe, that pays homage to the community’s folk-art traditions.

In the catering kitchen, which has commercial appliances, Soltes designed a built-in hutch resembling an armoire and a traditional-style central island crafted of heart pine. A fireplace made from indigenous Nantucket brick is the focal point of the main living areas.

One of the pool house’s more innovative features is the outdoor shower, nestled inside a gable (outdoor showers are not permitted by the historic commission). “It was inspired by the quintessential Nantucket bath houses of the 1930s through the 1950s,” says Schiffer. “You can look at the sky—it’s amazing. And there are privacy portal windows that let you see outside without being seen.”

Landscaping by Matt Girard of Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates “complements our overall vision,” adds Schiffer. “He created an integrated garden berm around the plinth that brings the pool house down to earth in a beautiful way.” Meandering pathways with trees and a hammock make the property a magical place for kids. The family couldn’t be happier with their amenity-rich oasis. All season long, it’s a special place for gathering and memory making.