Fresh water or salt? That was the question a couple from Rhode Island asked themselves as they scouted locations for a second home. Desiring to be closer to their daughter in Bremen, they were pulled equally by the siren of the sea and the call of the wild. But after viewing a rustic property down a back road overlooking Webber Pond, fresh water won by a landslide. The couple then teamed with passive house design and build studio GO Logic, of Belfast, and Samantha Pappas of Samantha S. Pappas Design in Yarmouth, to customize a modern, sustainable home that captures the beauty of the great outdoors.
A modified GO Logic 1700 model dubbed “Folded Rock” by the homeowners for the granite outcroppings that stud the property, the 3-bedroom, 2-bath single-level home has an open-concept kitchen-living-dining space and room for two home offices. Clad in Cambia, a thermally modified lumber, it all but recedes into the woods around it. The home was designed to meet U.S. passive house standards and is also set up to allow the owners to charge their two electric vehicles.
Alan Gibson, the owner of GO Logic, remarks, “People have an idea of passive houses as kind of sterile or just purely functional. But this is a great example of how just because you have this incredible envelope and windows and doors and components and mechanicals, doesn’t mean you can’t make it really homey feeling.”
Known for her stylish, classic interiors, Samantha S. Pappas combined clean lines with woodsy hues to bring an inspiring mix of nature and nurture into the space. “They wanted a color palette that brought the outdoors in,” she explains, noting the shades of gold, green, and gray used throughout. “Having that nature tie in without it being blue and white. And truly, this property is so beautiful in the fall. Those colors just really bring that sense of warmth from outside.”
Masterfully illustrating that choice is the living room, where custom furniture from High Pass Woodworks is paired with richly colored ochre velvet chairs from Blu Dot, bringing to mind peak-season foliage. “I just thought that those work so nice with the green ottomans and the yellow tables, that kind of just married the two,” Samantha says. “They weren’t afraid of having pops of color. So, it was really refreshing to be able to mix it all together.”
A vibrant selection of masks collected on the travels of the globe-trotting homeowners hangs above a leather sofa from Crate & Barrel, while the standout of the space is the custom maple millwork on the backwall that acts as a clean grid upon which moody oil paintings take center stage.
“I really love the slat wall,” Samantha says. “I just love how it brings the art even more to life and kind of rounds out the room. It adds such a nice warm touch to the space and a point of interest. For a home of smaller scale, it packs in the personality without feeling overdone or busy.”
The autumnal colors favored by the owners are further enhanced by floors of light-reflecting polished concrete throughout, softened by layered natural wool area rugs. In the primary bathroom, terra cotta and moss green zellige tile create two zones in the space and echo the lichen covered granite just outside the window. “It just kind of ties into the whole surrounding of the house,” Samantha notes.
Alan agrees, “The very raw earthy tiles illustrate that. They’re artisanal made, not uniform, precise and modern. You wouldn’t expect that in an ultra-modern net zero home, but it brings a ton of warmth.”
Using low-toxin materials and prioritizing environmentally friendly elements is not only a priority but a passion for Samantha. Diagnosed with breast cancer in January 2024, just as she launched her own home renovation project, the designer powered through the rebuild as she focused on her own healing. “We did a massive renovation, brought the house to the studs and added on. We were doing all of that while I was going through chemo and surgery, and it just opened my eyes to how important having a space is that brings you a sense of calmness and how healing our homes can be. It really shed a whole new light on how I work and totally changed how I design spaces.”
On creating interiors that feel personal and promote well-being, Samantha reflects, “I think it’s about connecting to the actual person living in the house. What is going to bring them peace? Feeling the outdoors within your home gives such a sense of calm and can make your body relax. And color palettes, like earthy or warmer colors, just wrap you in a hug almost, you know? You walk in and you just feel the weight of the outside world come off you.” ▪
