Springs house with sheets of steel inspired by old mile marker
Two low decks/patios jut out from the opened spaces leading to the pool. Credit: Bates Masi + Architects
The chance discovery of a decades-old stone mile marker became the inspiration for a Hampton architect’s personal home.
Called the "Mission House," its owner and architect Aaron Zalneraitis says the stone mile markers from the 1960s were placed between Springs and Amagansett, and have been mostly forgotten.
"Once we got to clearing the lot, we found a cool granite milestone," he says.
The gray steel look is incorporated inside the house, too, along with wood ceilings. Credit: Bates Masi + Architects
Zalneraitis of Bates Masi+ Architects in East Hampton saw the mile marker stone as an influence for the sheets of steel that wrap three areas of the home, leaving two other sections between them more natural and transparent. The gray steel look is incorporated inside the house as well, giving a stunning visual with wood ceilings or bright white opposing walls.
The two bedrooms are separated by the living areas, allowing for privacy but saving space by not needing hallways. Credit: Bates Masi + Architects
The parts of the home wrapped in three steel boxes are those needing privacy — the bedrooms, bathrooms, and a mudroom — and are distanced at intervals from common areas of living room, dining room, and screened porch, designed with screened or floor-to-ceiling windows.
"The spatial configuration promotes circulation within public spaces, minimizing hallways for an efficient plan," he says.
The home has 1,100 square feet of living space and 750 square feet for garage and porches.
"I spend most of my time in the living room," says Zalneraitis. "I am not much of a cook, so I intentionally pushed the kitchen off to the side."
Yet, he says, it allows for easy flow between the kitchen and rest of the home. The two bedrooms are separated by the living areas, allowing for privacy but saving space by not needing hallways.
Parts of the landscape blend with mature wooded area at the home. Credit: Bates Masi + Architects
Two low decks/patios jut out from the opened spaces leading to the pool.
Plantings and other parts of the landscape blend with mature wooded area at the home, with a flat lawn to the pool.
The home was finished in January 2019, and the pandemic has given Zalneraitis a even greater appreciation of the space he has designed.
"I would say in the past year, I have spent more time living in my home than I ever have in my life," says Zalneraitis. "And it is really a joy. I couldn’t ask more from it."
