This property is divided by the wings of the house into four quadrants, each a garden or courtyard. The simple geometry of the plan belies a rich and subtle experience of movement. The pleasure of the house derives from how you are conducted from one quadrant to another through openings in every wing, by how the rooms of the house address the gardens, and by how the gardens enhance the views from the inside of the house. The house sits high and these gardens are often the foreground for great, long offsite views to water on both sides of the island.
The drive approaches the main wing of the house obliquely. The public rooms in this wing divide the entry court from the pool garden. The living room, study and dining room are located in series under a big, open, barn like ceiling. Bedrooms are located principally in a courtyard in the northeast quadrant, and staff and service spaces are in an outlying building at the end of the entry court, connected to the main house by an atrium. A tower, visible from most everywhere, and affording views of the whole island, stands where the four quadrants intersect. The atrium and bedroom courtyard are quiet and simple spaces. The pool garden by contrast is elaborately terraced, orchestrating a steady fall, with the contours of the lot, to the water.