Vaulted Tennis Cottage

The tennis cottages at John's Island set two problems against each other. The first floor wants every inch of ceiling height it can get. The second floor already has more than it needs, and has to be held in scale.

This one was designed and built in house, in close collaboration with the owner. We took the unit back to block and framing, keeping as much of the existing infrastructure as we could, then rebuilt around a decision: no soffits anywhere on the first floor. Holding that line meant designing the plumbing, electrical, mechanical and cabinetry packages together, so every service line runs concealed inside finished millwork instead of inside a dropped ceiling.

Upstairs, a custom inverted hip ceiling with solid hardwood exposed rafters and tongue and groove boards answers the scale problem.

The cabinetry has custom inset beaded fronts and arched toe kick detail, with the appliances flush inset for a dead flat run. A pair of book end units, built for the house, balances the walk through to the living space and hides a custom supply air grille inside one of them.

In the primary bath, two showers flank a fluted freestanding tub, and paired vanities carry waterfall mitered tops in Taj Mahal quartzite, mitered again into the shower curb so the stone reads as a single piece. Coordinating that across several trades took precision from every one of them.