Splashes of Color Enliven an Abstract Painter's Crisp White Home

The home has a series of ramps and decks that were built to safely break apart if a major storm occurs. Exterior doors are by Weather Shield Windows & Doors, with handles by Baldwin Hardware.

Architect Robert M. Gurney, FAIA, Architect

For more than 20 years, a small French Colonial fell short of its potential on a secluded Maryland estuary known as “Solitude Creek.” It didn't take advantage of the waterside views just beyond its door, and if anything, the water had the upper hand: previous floods had rotted wood and spurred the growth of mold. But despite the property’s disrepair, a couple saw what it could become. They partnered with Robert Gurney, FAIA, and project architect Kara McHone to construct a house that better suited its surroundings. First, the architects had to meet the most prominent code violation: the new home had to be built above a base-flood elevation. “We were required to build on the existing rectangular-shaped foundation,” Gurney says. “If we altered or increased the size of the existing foundation, we would have not been able to build near the water.” Gurney and the team scrapped the original structure and increased its base height by two feet. Then, the architects brought in windows—lots of them. The owners asked for light-filled spaces where they could display artwork, since one is an abstract painter. But they also wanted to take in the setting as it always should have been seen.