We're honored that our Marblehead project is on the cover of Northshore Home magazine.
Set along the water's edge, this once-fragmented Colonial Revival home has been reimagined as a contemporary coastal residence, one that feels connected to its New England setting while expressing the character of the family who calls it home.
A familiar coastal language, refined
Graham Salzberg approached the renovation through both a regional and personal lens. Inspiration came from Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Hill House in Helensburgh, Scotland—a celebrated Arts & Crafts residence commissioned by Graham's great-grandfather, Walter Blackie.
Hill House's balance of traditional Scottish forms, craftsmanship, and artistic expression offered a meaningful point of departure. For the Marblehead home, that influence became an architectural composition grounded in familiar New England forms but pared back through a contemporary lens.
Salzberg stripped away heavy roof returns, corner boards, and the original gambrel entry. Nickel-gap siding with carefully mitered corners created a cleaner exterior expression, while new glazing compositions replaced the conventional double-hung and arched windows. The result: a home that feels both rooted and forward-looking.
Designed around life by the sea
Expansive bi-folding and sliding glass panels open the primary living spaces to the patio and the ocean beyond. When the doors are open, the sound and movement of the waves become part of the house, and the architecture seems to expand and contract with the seasons.
A custom stainless steel brise soleil shades the primary bedroom and guest suite, filtering sunlight into shifting patterns throughout the day. The play of light and shadow moves across the façade, answering the home's southern and southwestern exposure.
Natural mahogany distinguishes the central living spaces and warms the home's Thunder Gray exterior. Salzberg chose the color to echo the changing coastal atmosphere, particularly on overcast days, when the house seems to merge with the gray-blue tones of the ocean and sky.
A custom mahogany pivot door marks the new two-story gabled entry—the first detail guests notice when they arrive.
