In a hobbit house of a cottage, a cozy Rhode Island retreat for all seasons
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From the rustic granite steps that lead to the stone cottage in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, there is no hint of the suburban cul-de-sac that is just a few dozen yards away. The view ahead is a forest of cedar trees that dip into a shallow valley cut through by a stream. The wee structure, with its granite beams and a sturdy mahogany door, seems fit for a Hobbit. But this is no fantasy.
It is the real-life creation of Neil and Samantha Best, the husband-and-wife team behind Magma Design Group in Rehoboth, Massachusetts. Built atop a single wall left from an existing fieldstone foundation — presumably an outbuilding on what was once a farm — the 20-by-20-foot folly is sited to capture the south-facing views and the light of the 6-acre property.
The tiny retreat, which the owner uses for reading, relaxation, and gardening chores, looks as though it’s always been there. Built largely from fieldstones found on the property, in a way, it has.
When the designers presented the owner with the initial concept, she immediately fell for it. “But then I had to go find these stones that would make it work,” says Neil, a landscape architect, of the undulating, organic facade that sprang from his imagination. Luckily, “amazing materials were coming up from the ground right here,” says Samantha, a certified horticulturist who was charged with moving boulders on the property so that necessary machinery could get to the site and, later, skillfully placing them back with a mindfully natural aesthetic.
Construction began in the fall and was completed the following spring, with a very snowy winter in between, leaving the Bests to get to know the property intimately in all seasons. Neil wore micro-spikes over his work boots to steady his footing as he built the structure by hand throughout the treacherous weather. Invisible underpinnings such as the new 42-inch-deep concrete foundation, insulation, and waterproof flashing belie the structure’s timeless appearance. Neil, who has a background in carpentry, painstakingly fitted the rounded stones together without cutting or carving a single one. The three roughly 11-foot pillars that became the facade’s lintels framing the entry are made from a pink granite unique to Rhode Island, and were found at a farm in nearby Tiverton. (A fourth was uncovered on the property and turned into a lamppost.) And while Neil shaped them using a traditional feather-and-wedge technique, all cuts and splits were made on the back of the pillars so that they are out of sight.
The sides and back of the two-story structure, which is built into a slope, are clad in stained pine board-and-batten. Pine also lines the interior walls and ceiling, accentuating the cabin-like feel. Perched above the valley, the 400-square-foot top floor offers the sensation of being in a treehouse, with picture windows providing excellent views to the changing seasons and wildlife below. (Turkeys, deer, and raccoons are regular visitors, as is a snapping turtle that comes to lay her eggs each spring.) Below, a walkout storage room and potting area, accessible only by an exterior door, is well used by the owner, an avid gardener.
To the east of the cottage, Samantha created a wildflower meadow with native grasses, blueberries, and magnolias. Beyond it, a large kitchen garden was revamped with granite-framed raised beds.
“We design for plant communities,” says Samantha, whose plan for the larger property integrated several native species such as mountain laurel, foam flower, and Christmas fern among existing plants. “We think about layers above and below the soil and creating environments that support both soil and plants.” The cottage also pleasantly complements the property’s main house, a post-and-beam Acorn structure. Mission-style furnishings and favorite books make the space personal. And although the shed has electricity and a pellet stove, no tele- vision or Internet is allowed.
“We try to create retreats in people’s lives,” says Samantha, “whether it’s a patio or a shed, where they can disconnect from the technological distractions of life and get in touch with nature in their backyard.” Here, the Bests have literally carved that guiding philosophy in stone.
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