Shutze Award

When Todd and Susan Peterson and their close friends Grant and Emily Williams decided to build a summer cottage together, they selected the Watersound community on Florida’s gulf coast. Watersound had resurrected the Shingle style, which is native to the New England coast. The style was often referred to as the “seaside style” and was tailored to recreation and leisure activates. The design of this house was inspired by small summer cottages by architects John Calvin Stevens and William Emerson, as well as the Montauk Point homes by McKim, Mead, and White. This precedent along with the Watersound Guidelines allowed the designer to adapt the style for the Florida coast by implementing a simplified classical vocabulary, and by adding multiple porches and deep overhanging eaves with open rafter tails.

The Peterson-Williams beach house fronts both the boardwalk and the road. Its gambrel cross-gabled roof allows the house to address both sides of the corner. The front porch and the boardwalk porch lead into a large living room which opens into the kitchen and the dining room, where a comfortable banquet can be found. A small bedroom and bunkroom for the couples’ small children are tucked away on the main floor. Off the dining room, a screen porch with a cozy outdoor fireplace is ideal for enjoying a cool evening. The adjacent deck provides a convenient place for a cookout, as well as access to the guest suite above the garage. Two private master bedroom suites are located on the upper level for privacy. The stair hall leads up to the octagonal lantern above. The unique wood ceiling draws you up the spiral stairs. Once, the top is reached, beautiful views of the gulf coast are the reward.