Property of Mr. and Mrs. Henry S. Chafee, Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island | Architect: George W. W. Brewster

11/05/2025 10:19:00 PM

For many Americans, no grassy knoll, wood, or stand of pine can ever replace the fascination of a lapping brook or pounding sea. When Mr. and Mrs. Henry S. Chafee decided to live year-round on Narragansett Bay, a beautiful, broad arm of the Atlantic which reaches deep into Rhode Island, they asked architect George W. W. Brewster of Boston to plan for them a livable modern house on the terraced site which their Victorian summer house once occupied at the water's edge. Taking full advantage of the old foundation and rich planting, Mr. Brewster designed an attractive and comfortable house by the water. By using radiant heat in the floors, he was able to spread the house out in one story and open it to the outdoors with glass walls, even in a cold New England climate. The new Chafee house retains the dignity of its predecessor, is thoroughly modern in concept. Only one room deep, it spreads in a long. central unit flanked by two adjoining wings, one of which extends down the sloping grade to two-story depth and embraces the terrace wall. Through a glass window wall with five double French door- ways, the house, which faces south, opens its main living area to the flagstone terrace, lovely old lawns and gardens which the builder was able to keep intact, and to the bay.

Its solid clapboard front, turning toward the roadway, is broken only at the very end by a chaste and beautiful double doorway, side-paneled with glass. The center unit is one large room divided into entrance hall, living room, and dining area by two fireplace walls. Most of its handsome floor is in black, white, and gray marble squares, exquisite to look at and easy to maintain. One wing houses the master bedroom and a sewing room, and a double guest room which can be closed off from the house to reduce work, or provide independent quarters for guests. In the sewing room there is space for a grandchild to nap. Storage closets are fitted with built-in bureaus and sliding doors. In the opposite wing is a U-shaped, compact, and step-saving kitchen, which blends stainless-steel sinks, white enamel appliances with teakwood counters and backsplash. A spacious pass-through opens to a land- ing and stairs which lead out to the garden or down to the laundry, a floor below on the slope of the hill. In the laundry room there is an electric washing machine and a gas clothes dryer concealed behind accordion folding doors. Among the clever but simple ideas that make this an unusually easy house to live in is a closet at the service entrance that opens from the outside so food deliveries can be made while the owner is away.