Dream House Tour: A New England shingle style home on Buzzards Bay

Shingle-style coastal home with sweeping gambrel roof, round covered porch with white columns, and ocean dune setting

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This shingle-style coastal home in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, on Buzzards Bay, is nestled on ten acres of property on the tip of Mishaum Point. The estate is surrounded by water on three sides with magnificent views in all directions.

Designed by RAMA Houses, a lighthouse-like tower anchors the west side of the main house. A smaller guesthouse to the east with a gambrel roof and covered porches echoes the main residence. Continue below to see the rest of this gorgeous home tour…

DESIGN DETAILS

ARCHITECT Robert A.M. Stern Architects
INTERIOR DESIGN Anne Mullin
LANDSCAPE DESIGN Oehme Van Sweden

shingle style house exterior

Exterior & Architecture

The home’s bold silhouette is defined by a staggered pair of haystack gables and broad covered porches atop rustic stone walls that wrap around three exposed facades. A lighthouse-like tower anchors the western end of the composition, while a single-story service wing frames the entry to the east. A separate guesthouse echoes the main residence with its own gambrel roof and covered porches. The cedar-shake exterior is punctuated with playful sculptural details, including a spiral shell relief mounted between windows, that nod to the home’s maritime setting.

shingle style house exterior

“Oftentimes, we begin a project by establishing a sense of place, but that wasn’t necessary with this project. The site — a peninsula that extends two-and-a-half miles into Buzzards Bay — speaks for itself. In fact, the bunker of a World War II U.S. Navy surveillance station remains buried on the property! It was clear from the beginning that we wanted to take advantage of the extraordinary landscape, and the house we designed stands at the very tip of the peninsula with incomparable views in all directions,” states the architects.

shingle style house exterior

What We Love About This Home

This home feels deeply rooted in the New England shingle-style tradition while delivering a level of detail and craftsmanship that goes far beyond the expected. We love that every room tells a story connected to its extraordinary site: the “hall of fishes,” the shell motifs woven into floors and ceilings, the lighthouse tower with its wine cellar base and lookout study at the crown. The interiors by designer Anne Mullin strike a perfect balance between formal elegance and coastal ease, and the sculptural woodwork throughout is simply breathtaking.

Tell Us…

What is your favorite feature of this shingle-style estate on Buzzards Bay — the dramatic lighthouse tower, the richly detailed interiors, or the sweeping wraparound porches with their endless ocean views? Please share your thoughts in the Comments below!

Note: Have a look at a couple of other stunning home tours that we have showcased here on One Kindesign in the state of Massachusetts: A waterfront home in Osterville with a relaxed coastal vibe, designed by Catalano Architects overlooking West Bay, and A classic New England shingle-style home on Martha’s Vineyard designed by Patrick Ahearn Architect, overlooking beautiful Katama Bay in Edgartown.

shingle style house exterior entry

traditional style home entry

Interior Spaces

A center hall connects the rooms on the main floor, moving from the long, broad living room with its coffered ceiling and ocean-view French doors to the octagonal breakfast room. The round library in the tower features a beamed and domed ceiling and a fieldstone fireplace, while the tower wing’s mahogany staircase with stone wall connects the library to the lighthouse-lookout study.

The kitchen shines with a blue island, exposed wood beams, glass pendants, and a mosaic shell backsplash, while the floors throughout celebrate extraordinary woodcraft: from hand-carved interlocking scrollwork inlays to parquet floors etched with seashell motifs.

The lower level caters to entertainment, with a bowling alley, games room, boat bar, and a “hall of fishes” that connects to the wine cellar.

Elegant coastal living room with fireplace, built-in shelves, armchairs, and French doors opening to an ocean view

Bright coastal living room with blue decor, bay windows, ocean view, and seating area

Spacious coastal living room with coffered ceiling, blue accents, fireplace, and ocean-view doors

Coastal living room with a fireplace detail

Shingle-style living room with stone fireplace, vaulted wood ceiling, and ocean views

Stone accent wall with staircase and arched doorway leading to living room

Formal dining room with octagonal tcoffered ceiling, crystal chandelier, round mahogany table, cream upholstered chairs, and yellow walls with ocean views

Close-up of hand-carved wood floor inlay with interlocking scrollwork design in contrasting dark and light wood tones

Coastal-style open kitchen with white cabinetry, blue island, exposed wood beams, glass pendant lights, and mosaic shell backsplash

Parquet wood floor with carved seashell motifs in a basket-weave pattern beneath curved white kitchen cabinetry

Breakfast nook with coffered wood beam ceiling, built-in banquette seating, glass-top round table, and ocean views through bay windows

Grand hallway with barrel-vaulted ceiling, wainscoting, iron lanterns, arched doorways, and dark hardwood floors leading to a staircase

Luxurious master bedroom with barrel-vaulted ceiling, bay window with ocean view, ornate marble fireplace, and blue floral area rug

Owner’s Bedroom Suite & Guest Rooms

The owner’s bedroom suite occupies the west gable on the second floor, anchored by a marble fireplace and a barrel-vaulted ceiling, with a bay window framing sweeping ocean views. A circular vestibule with a shell-motif ceiling medallion and shell-shaped sconces serves as a beautiful transition into the suite. Guest bedrooms face south and east to capture the surrounding water views.

Circular vestibule with shell-motif ceiling medallion, blue textured walls, shell-shaped sconces, and double doors opening to the master bedroom

Powder room with antique bamboo-carved dresser vanity, silver vessel sink, shell-framed mirror, and textured sea-green wallcovering

Home office with dramatic starburst ceiling beams, wrap-around floating desk, anchor chandelier, and panoramic ocean views through bay windows

Curved upper balcony with white rocking chair overlooking a tranquil ocean sunset

Outdoor Living

The wraparound covered porches, pool terrace with a wood pergola and lattice panels, and a curved upper balcony all take maximum advantage of the incomparable 360-degree views.

Wraparound covered porch with white columns, outdoor dining set, and sweeping ocean views

Shingle-style oceanfront estate with gambrel roof, stone foundation, rectangular pool, and colorful striped lounge chairs

Wood pergola with decorative lattice panels framing an oceanfront pool terrace with turquoise outdoor seating

Close-up of white spiral shell relief sculpture mounted between windows on a cedar shake exterior wall

Curved oceanfront porch with white columns and railings framing a shingle-clad turret, stone walls, and sweeping ocean lawn views

Shingle-style turret with conical roof, curved balconies, stone base, and a flag dated 2007

Above: The tower is considered the most striking exterior feature of the property. It encloses a distinctive space at each level: a wine cellar in the stone base; the library, ringed by a bracketed balcony, at the main level; and, beneath the bell-shaped dome of the turret, the primary study with its inset porch.

Wooden dock leading toward two shingle-style coastal homes set on a grassy oceanfront bluff