This Inviting Prefab Home in Martha’s Vineyard Takes Cues From Nature
Faced with the challenges of building on an island, a New York–based family embraces the benefits of prefab design with a custom Axiom timber home.
Faced with the challenges of building on an island, a New York–based family embraces the benefits of prefab design with a custom Axiom timber home.
In the small fishing village of Chilmark, tucked into a quiet wooded setting, a home with gracious architecture and light-filled interiors honors its owners’ deep ties to the land. "My family has been coming to Martha’s Vineyard for ten generations," says Will Seward, a New York–based builder by trade. When it came time to put down roots on the island, he and his partner, Michelle, knew they wanted a custom home with minimalist, yet warm and approachable design that felt in harmony with its setting.
Custom windows and doors from the Marvin Signature Ultimate collection frame surrounding views throughout the home, including in Michelle’s favorite spot for catching up on email.
Photo by Dwell Creative Services
For the couple, part of this harmony meant working within the natural constraints of their location, which—accessible only by boat and air—can quickly escalate costs both financial and environmental. "Building on an island is tricky," says Jake Wright of Turkel Design prefabricated homes, who solved the couple’s problem with a customized take on the Boston-based company’s Axiom 2790 model.
The couple’s son, Spencer, and the family cat in the home’s sunny living room on the lower level.
Photo by Dwell Creative Services
Clad in ash, the multilevel residence is a sleek, right-angled nod to the island’s vernacular architecture—shingle-style exteriors that become weathered and gray over time—and it provides the welcoming, human-scaled getaway the family had hoped to create.
"My wife’s passion is cooking," says Will. "We built everything around the kitchen and all the life that happens there."
Photo by Dwell Creative Services
See the full story on Dwell.com: This Inviting Prefab Home in Martha’s Vineyard Takes Cues From Nature
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