THE HISTORY OF THE HOUSE
 

BUILT AROUND HISTORY 

 
Some houses begin as frantically scribbled sketches on a cocktail napkin. Others spring to life from an architect’s drafting table, with careful consideration given to views, tree lines, and sun exposure. But the story of this handcrafted home in Rhode Island has an unusual beginning―it was built around a pole.

Surrounded By Water, Built Around A Historic Pole.

Located on the vacation destination of Block Island, just 12 miles from the mainland, the pole served as a practice mast for members of the Life-Saving Service (the Coast Guard’s predecessor) to rehearse rescues more than a century ago. Decades later, when architect and jack-of-all-trades John Gasner decided to build on the pole’s property, he wasn’t sure what to do with it. After much deliberation, he decided to keep the relic right where it’s always been.

A One-Of-A-Kind Summer Home
 

Originally he built a workshop/studio on the spot, later using it as a gallery. Today, John, his wife, Pam, and their three children―Will, Noah, and Julia―have transformed the space into a one-of-a-kind summer home with the pole running through the middle redefining rustic living.

Salvaged Treasures And Handrafted Interiors

For preservation-minded John and Pam, who have long worked to safeguard the vernacular island architecture, even more satisfying than their ocean view is the reaction of first-time visitors. “They think I restored the house, not that I built it,” John says. “They say it looks 100 years old.”

Simplicity And Natural Elegance

To achieve the aged appearance, John designed an exterior compatible with the prevailing architecture. “I used natural materials and kept things simple,” he says. John employed construction techniques akin to those of the late 1800s, eliminating plywood and relying mainly on locally milled woods. He had windows custom made at a mill shop that’s been in business since the late 19th century, and crafted the outer walls from weathered white cedar shingles.

The Escape You’ve Been Waiting For

John and Pam took an organic approach to the interiors as well. “The framing pays homage to the Early American homes on Block Island,” John says. Pine-board floors and rustic furnishings in the living room suit the home’s beach finds―from the balusters fashioned from driftwood to a tree trunk-turned- coffee table that John ferried home in the family’s trusty Boston Whaler.

The Kitchen Of Your Dreams

The Gasners dressed up the kitchen with a coat of crisp white paint on the walls and ceilings and steely blue on the floors. The lifesaving practice mast now serves as a pot rack before bursting up through the floor of the master bedroom.

Wake Up With The Ocean

Upstairs, on either side of the central common space, the children’s bedrooms have partial pine-plank walls. “It’s a narrow building, so I wanted to keep things as open as possible,” John says. In the master bedroom, the bed is positioned to look straight through the common space to sweeping vistas of the Atlantic. “We wake up looking at the ocean,” Pam says. “What could be better than that?”

Surrounded By Water, Built Around A Historic Pole.

Located on the vacation destination of Block Island, just 12 miles from the mainland, the pole served as a practice mast for members of the Life-Saving Service (the Coast Guard’s predecessor) to rehearse rescues more than a century ago. Decades later, when architect and jack-of-all-trades John Gasner decided to build on the pole’s property, he wasn’t sure what to do with it. After much deliberation, he decided to keep the relic right where it’s always been.

A One-Of-A-Kind Summer Home

Originally he built a workshop/studio on the spot, later using it as a gallery. Today, John, his wife, Pam, and their three children―Will, Noah, and Julia―have transformed the space into a one-of-a-kind summer home with the pole running through the middle redefining rustic living.

Salvaged Treasures And Handrafted Interiors

For preservation-minded John and Pam, who have long worked to safeguard the vernacular island architecture, even more satisfying than their ocean view is the reaction of first-time visitors. “They think I restored the house, not that I built it,” John says. “They say it looks 100 years old.”

Simplicity And Natural Elegance 

To achieve the aged appearance, John designed an exterior compatible with the prevailing architecture. “I used natural materials and kept things simple,” he says. John employed construction techniques akin to those of the late 1800s, eliminating plywood and relying mainly on locally milled woods. He had windows custom made at a mill shop that’s been in business since the late 19th century, and crafted the outer walls from weathered white cedar shingles.

The Escape You’ve
Been Waiting For

John and Pam took an organic approach to the interiors as well. “The framing pays homage to the Early American homes on Block Island,” John says. Pine-board floors and rustic furnishings in the living room suit the home’s beach finds―from the balusters fashioned from driftwood to a tree trunk-turned- coffee table that John ferried home in the family’s trusty Boston Whaler.

The Kitchen Of Your Dreams

The Gasners dressed up the kitchen with a coat of crisp white paint on the walls and ceilings and steely blue on the floors. The lifesaving practice mast now serves as a pot rack before bursting up through the floor of the master bedroom.

Wake Up With The Ocean

Upstairs, on either side of the central common space, the children’s bedrooms have partial pine-plank walls. “It’s a narrow building, so I wanted to keep things as open as possible,” John says. In the master bedroom, the bed is positioned to look straight through the common space to sweeping vistas of the Atlantic. “We wake up looking at the ocean,” Pam says. “What could be better than that?”

   

 

A WORK OF ART

A WORK OF ART

“Beautiful buildings are more than scientific. They are true organisms, spiritually conceived; works of art, using the best technology by inspiration rather than the idiosyncrasies of mere taste or any averaging by the committee mind.”

~ Frank Lloyd Wright

“Beautiful buildings are more than scientific. They are true organisms, spiritually conceived; works of art, using the best technology by inspiration rather than the idiosyncrasies of mere taste or any averaging by the committee mind.”

~ Frank Lloyd Wright