Lulu Friedman’s clients, a couple who live in Boston, toyed with the idea of finding land on which they could build a small complex of shipping container homes and a pool. Then they stumbled across this pond-front, post and beam place on the South Shore. While the water views and 1-acre property were beautiful, the 1980s era home needed work.
The couple, who hosted their wedding reception on the grounds once the work was completed, tasked Friedman, who is the founder of Didi Interiors + Architecture, with modernizing the home with warm contemporary touches while preserving the existing cabin vibe. “We opened more rooms to the water and brought in deep earth tones to connect the home to nature,” Friedman says. “They wanted the spaces to feel welcoming in all seasons.”
In addition to replacing the windows and exterior siding — it’s now clad in both horizontal and vertical fiber cement boards in two colors — Friedman reimagined the wraparound decks and redesigned the stairs to the driveway, patio, and pond.
Friedman moved the dining table into the great room to make way for the kitchen behind the fireplace and added a built-in bar.Greg Premru
Inside, the team exposed and restored the beams, insulated and re-stained the wood slat ceiling in the two-and-a-half-story great room, and refinished the original wide plank pine floors. The soaring, double-side fieldstone fireplace accentuates the rustic-modern feel, as do the dramatic woven iron pendant lights and live edge, burned chamcha wood dining table.
For easier entertaining, Friedman relocated the kitchen from an enclosed, isolated space far from the great room and views, to the space behind the fireplace, the former dining room. The starting point for the mostly white scheme was the island’s natural stone slab, which informed the dark green base and matte black plumbing fixtures and pulls.
Sliders leading to the deck — the outdoor dining table is now under cover — and the casement window over the sink comes down to the counter, creating a pass-through window. Friedman also designed a bar between the great room and kitchen that serves the lounging, dining, and cooking spaces, as well as the deck.
Interior stairs with treads newly wrapped in white oak and embellished by a steel cable rail that refers back to the ones outdoors run between all three floors. In order to make room for future children, Friedman expanded the second floor, making it a full second-story by removing the roof. Storage space under the eaves evolved into a fully functional wing with two bedrooms and a bath.
As for the primary bedroom, Friedman added skylights for morning sun and popped the roof with a dormer to grace the bedroom with sliders. These open onto an upper deck with a two-person hot tub. “We kept this deck purposefully independent,” Friedman says. “It’s where they watch the sunset together.”
A door next to the kitchen sink leads directly to the covered outdoor dining area.Greg Premru
Architecture & Interiors: Didi Interiors + Architecture, dididesigngroup.com
Contractor: Loureiro Construction, loureiroconstruction.com
Cabinetry: Prestige Kitchen & Bath, prestigekb.com
Marni Elyse Katz is a contributing editor to the Globe Magazine. Follow her on Instagram @StyleCarrot. Send comments to magazine@globe.com.