Set on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay on Kent Island, this home was inspired by the large commercial ships that pass in front of the property on their way to Baltimore Harbor. The client wanted a contemporary home with an open floor plan that also echoed traditional forms. The structure is divided into two pavilions, one public, one private, linked by a glass entry that frames the view of the water. The pavilions are offset from each other like ships passing in the night, giving each a commanding view of the water. The dining room also functions as a library with two story bookshelves and a wrap around interior balcony lined with nautically inspired horizontal stainless steel cables and turnbuckles. The house is situated in a sea of grasses surrounded by extensive wood decks designed to be less than 30 inches from the ground so they would not require guardrails. The window manufacturer, Weathershield, used this home as the centerpiece of its National Advertising Brochure. We used different exterior cladding colors as a language of window types: the farmhouse style windows are trimmed in sage green, the broad banks of windows are in bronze and the large square picture windows are in red. The banks of windows, from floor-to-ceiling and wall-to-wall, allow a continuous view of the horizon. The red picture windows are located at key vistas to frame those views like large landscape paintings.