Earlier this year, I had the privilege of speaking at the Luxury Home Design Summit in Chatham, Massachusetts, about designing homes on the coast. As a child growing up in rural, southern Ohio, I dreamed of the ocean. I read passages that described the waterfront, studied art books depicting distant coastlines, and filled sketchbooks with imagined seascapes. Today, after 35 years of designing waterfront homes, I’ve learned that the real coast is more compelling — and demanding — than I ever imagined.
Coastal homes offer extraordinary rewards alongside unique challenges. Every project reminds us that good design begins with understanding a place and, more than ever, creating homes that are beautiful, resilient, and built to last.
COASTAL ENVIRONMENT
Air, light, water, wind, sound, and topography shape every site. An evening breeze can lower the temperature by ten degrees. A dune can redirect wind. Brilliant coastal light — and even the sound of surf — can be spectacular one moment and overpowering the next. Salt air corrodes materials, fog saturates wood and fabric, and the environment is constantly in motion. Successful architecture works with these forces rather than against them. Glass railings preserve views while deflecting wind. Triple-glazed windows and doors with a Low-E film quiet noise and filter harsh light. Terraces, walls, operable louvres, and shade pergolas temper changing conditions while strengthening the connection between indoors and outdoors.
DESIGNING FOR RISK
Climate change is reshaping how we design homes. Rising seas, stronger storms, wildfires, flooding, drought, and coastal erosion are changing building codes, insurance requirements, and construction practices as costs continue to climb. Designing for these realities is no longer optional — it is fundamental to our profession.
Today’s homes often require fire-resistant materials and detailing, rooftop and eave sprinklers, pool pumps, ember-resistant vents, Class A roofing, non-combustible exterior assemblies, and defensible landscape design. Flood-prone sites may require elevated structures, flood vents, and salt-tolerant landscapes. Wind demands fortified roofs, impact glazing, durable materials, and resilient infrastructure to preserve places of comfort and beauty.
DESIGNING FOR LIVING
Site design is key: elevating homes on piles or stilts protects against flooding while opening views, and subtle landscape interventions such as berms, planted ridges, green retaining walls, or even a two-foot change in grade can create remarkable privacy without feeling defensive. Throughout, we look to the local landscape and vernacular architecture for guidance. Roof forms, porches, terraces, and materials rooted in a region create homes that feel connected to their surroundings rather than imposed upon them.
Inside, reverse floor plans, raised living spaces, and sunken courtyards position rooms to capture the horizon while minimizing exposure from the beach. Large operable windows and doors blur the boundary between indoors and out, deep-set openings and carefully selected glazing manage sightlines, and louvers, screens, and layered curtains provide flexibility throughout the day. At night, warm, indirect lighting preserves atmosphere and privacy.
Because many coastal homes are second residences and intermittently occupied, we integrate automated lighting and security systems to protect the home during periods of vacancy. Programmable thermostats, and humidistats help maintain healthy interiors, while generous storage for surfboards, wetsuits, bikes, beach gear, and outdoor furniture cushions keeps clutter to a minimum. Outdoor showers near entry points help manage sand and water.
DESIGNING FOR BEAUTY
Beauty is shaped by culture — not necessarily by our friends’ and neighbors’ tastes, but by our own values and rituals. We ask: How can spaces make daily life better? What draws us outdoors to become more present? What makes sleeping seaside a sweet dream?
We resist trends in favor of timelessness. While today’s aesthetic often favors pale, spare, reflective surfaces, we gravitate toward stained and textured wood, natural stone, and “muddier” colors rich with multiple hues. Weather-resistant materials such as cedar, mahogany, Ipe, and metal withstand salt air and coastal weather while developing graceful wear and patina over time. Coastal skies range from brilliant sunshine to dense fog, transforming a home in moments. Careful curation of shade, dappled light, and reflected light is essential. There is a reason photographers treasure the “golden hour”.
Finally, color is local. California air is different from Massachusetts air, which is different from London air or Mykonos air. Why should the same palette succeed in all four places? Northern Atlantic light is often silver, diffuse, and misty; Southern Atlantic light is pale gold and quick-changing; the Eastern Pacific is pink in the morning, white at noon, and orange at dusk. We create palettes that belong to their place.
DESIGNING FOR THE FUTURE
What do we value in living by the sea? History? Craftsmanship? Natural light? Trees? Texture? Familiarity? Invention? The best homes anticipate change — adapting to evolving families, health, finances, future generations, and environmental conditions. Durable materials, maintenance planning, and designing for sustainable features allow a home to adapt as environmental conditions continue to change.
In summary, designing resilient homes begins with three principles:
- Start with place: Learn as much as possible about the site, its history, climate, and community.
- Write your design memoirs — in advance. Think about the spaces, seasons, views, and sensations that will have delighted you throughout your life.
- Seek balance and variety through sun and shade, views and privacy, durability and beauty, immediate needs and future possibilities.
Novelists often describe the coast as a place where time slows, identities shift, and ordinary social structures weaken — where perception and emotion intensify. The moving coastal air and flickering sea light become metaphors for recollection and nostalgia. Painters, too, capture awe, serenity, adventure and the enduring pull of the sea.
We should design for that.
