A 1797 Bahamian Cottage Gets an Award-Winning Renovation

A two-story wood-frame gable house built in 1797 on Harbour Island in the Bahamas, one of the oldest examples of a Loyalist cottage, has undergone a recent restoration that has brought back its original look. The restoration, completed by FGS Design, won a 2024 Bulfinch Award by the New England chapter of the ICAA in the "international" category. 

Loyalist cottages, which were built in the Bahamas right after the American Revolution by British residents loyal to the crown who bought land from John Murray, the island country’s first governor, were in the Colonial stick style. 

This Harbour Island cottage, which has a pair of dormers on an eave-front with a porch that faces the street and bay beyond, includes a subsequent addition that had a one-story kitchen and a covered porch on the rear. 

Restoration included replacing the failing foundation, which required lifting the cottage. As much of the original Abaco pine material as could be salvaged was used in the reconstruction, and rotten timber and structural materials were replaced. 

Twelve-inch-wide Dutch-lap siding was reused and replicated throughout. Later additions or replacements were removed in favor of more period-accurate detailing and construction. This included new custom wood double-hung windows, cedar shingles on the exterior, and shiplap wall cladding with exposed second-floor joists and flooring inside. 

A sympathetic bedroom addition on the rear makes use of exterior loggias as circulation to scale down the massing as well as providing a private courtyard with a plunge pool. A continuous enfilade from the addition through the front door to the bay highlights this cottage’s connection to the water.