Summertime and the Living Is…

As we learn how to maneuver in this new normal, two places we can find comfort are home and the outdoors.

… NOT AS EASY AS IT USED TO BE. We’re still figuring out how to adapt to Covid-19 being part of our lives. So many things are now more challenging—or worse, impossible. Did we ever imagine yearning for the days when we’d have friends over for dinner or visit loved ones out of town? Or go on a vacation? Could we envision working from home? Becoming our children’s teachers? Who ever gave grocery shopping a second thought and thought it would require so much planning? The list goes on.

As we learn how to maneuver in this new normal, two places we can find comfort are home and the outdoors. New Hampshire has an abundance of natural beauty so if we have to stay put this summer, our state is a great place to be.

That’s what drew two couples from the New York City area to the Lake Sunapee region—one worked with Jeremy Bonin, of Bonin Architects in New London, to design a year-round home (page 64); another worked with architect Peter J. White in New London to create a place for friends and family to enjoy time together (page 44).

A third couple came to Ken Tatro, of Christopher P. Williams Architects, PLLC in Meredith, when they discovered the perfect site on Lake Winnipesaukee (page 54). The home he created caught the attention of the 2019 New Hampshire Home Design Awards judges, who gave it an honorable mention for architectural design.

When they moved from Gilford to her family’s summer cottage on the other side of Lake Winnipesaukee, Lynn and Dick Elkinton enlisted architect Aimee Bentley, of Beckwith Builders in Wolfeboro, and interior designer Michael Cebula, of Cebula Design in Newburyport, Massachusetts, to build a more functional, year-round home on the site (page 34).

Sally and Bruce Larsen turned to architect David Drasba, of Scully Architects in Keene, to design their Jaffrey Center home’s additions as well as noted landscape designer Gordon Hayward to develop a landscaping plan that unified the old and new portions of the house (page 74). Not only have Sally’s beautiful gardens been featured on numerous garden tours, she’s also documented them for the Smithsonian Institution’s Archives of American Gardens.

Summer is also the time to savor fresh, local fruits and vegetables, and Mary Ann Esposito provides some delicious recipes (page 28). Bon appétit and enjoy summer!

Editor

P.S. It is with a heavy heart I let you know this is my last issue as editor of New Hampshire Home. I have loved being a part of each and every issue of this publication, and will miss you, dear reader. Here’s to all of us continuing to celebrate the great work of New Hampshire’s design community.