Michael Carlton Sandy Agrafiotis

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In their twenty-nine years of marriage Bob and Colleen Gossett have lived in eight homes as the insurance executive was reassigned to various locations. “We found some things we liked in each house and a lot of things that we didn’t,” says Colleen.

They used that knowledge—good experiences and bad—when they constructed their new seaside bungalow in Seabrook, New Hampshire. Working with architect John Merckle of TMS Architects in Portsmouth, they turned restrictions into advantages, reckoning with a strict zoning code that caps the height of new construction at 28 feet.

“We actually used the height restriction to our advantage making the main living area on the second floor of the three-story house,” says John. “We used the first floor for an office and playroom tucked behind the dunes. The previous house on this lot had its living area on the first floor so you couldn’t see the beach and ocean because they were blocked by the dunes.” Ceiling heights on the first floor were kept low so they could be maximized on the upper floors.

Having lived in so many other houses, Colleen knew she wanted an open floor plan. “We entertain quite a lot and I didn’t want to be closed off from anything going on,” she says. John used columns, rather than walls, to define the second-floor living spaces, bringing an open and airy feeling to rooms. Because of Colleen’s desire for closeness he designed a large, open island in the kitchen. “We thought of doing the usual thing by using the underside of the island for storage, but Colleen wanted it to be a place to sit and entertain,” says John. Columns support the island and repeated arched cabinets in the kitchen and wet bar give the spaces consistency.