Shingle Style on a Lake

Once a summer camp for girls, this idyllic property along the shore of Lake Cour d’elene still has Indian-named dormitory cabins – now guest cottages – hidden among thick groves of pines. The owners wanted their new house, on the site of the original dining hall, to blend into the environment much like the cabins do and very unlike most of the houses along the lake. Also, unlike these semi-contemporary neighbors, they wanted a structure, much like the Shingle Style houses of the Hamptons, which looked like it had been there for over a hundred years.

The main difference between this design and its McKim, Mead and White forebears, is the very tall living/dining room, which is meant to recall both the great halls of English manor houses and the many soaring lobbies in National Park lodges of the American West. This 35 foot tall room would normally be darkened by a deep verandah along the front would normally darken the inner room, but it is in fact filled with light all day long by clerestories that appear from the exterior to be the windows and balcony doors of the expected second and third story bedrooms. Something of a summer camp itself, the property has multiple boat houses, a bocce ball court, a billiards room and a two-lane bowling alley.