New Build “Wild Harbor Legacy Gambrel” in North Falmouth Implies History

Down a dramatic tree-lined drive, this family homestead, meant to be a legacy estate for future generations, reads as a long-standing shingle-style house in classic vernacular. "Wild Harbor Legacy Gambrel" by Patrick Ahearn Architect recently won a 2024 Bulfinch Award from the New England chapter of the ICAA in the residential (over 5,000 square feet) category.

The main house, which is defined by gambrel forms, a pillared portico, stone chimneys, and a classical cupola with a weathervane, is an ode to the coastal style. 

Cedar shingles, New England fieldstone, and bluestone, along with details such as window boxes, shutters, and copper lanterns, give a sense of implied history to the Falmouth, Massachusetts, property, and a covered patio on the first floor, second-floor decking, a three-season porch, and bluestone patio with a pool open the house to the landscape. 

From the main entrance, a central spine draws guests through the house toward bay views. The primary spaces — kitchen and dining area, formal living room, and four-season sunroom — face due west to capture the sunsets. 

Designed to allow the owners to age in place, the house has a first-floor primary suite, gathering spaces for family and friends, a bedroom with an oversized closet that can be transformed into a nursery, and a guest bedroom that could be adjoined to the den to create a family suite. Above the carriage house, which looks as though it were added later, there’s a bunk room built into the gambrel roofline to accommodate older family members.