home of distinction
A
COMMON challenge with waterfront homes, says Jay, is that because people do all their living on the water-facing side of
the home and entrances are on the opposite side, you often don’t know when someone’s come to the door. DeChesere
solved this problem by making a 7-foot-wide hallway from the glass double doors all the way to the open living space.
Heather and Jay can both see and hear when their guests have arrived, and guests can see the couple’s Labradoodle,
Sable, coming to greet them.
Down both sides of the entry hallway hang paintings and pastels done by DeChesere, an architect turned artist. Though Smith
and DeChesere love to travel, they don’t bring home lots of souvenirs. Instead, they bring home photos, many of which turn into
inspiration for DeChesere’s art. Instead of shelves filled with international knick-knacks, the couple has walls lined with paintings
and pastels of their favorite places and memories. Guests might see a fishing village in Thailand next to a Parisian cityscape next to a
portrait of Kenyan children.
Heather’s style is more traditional and farmhouse, while Jay prefers more modern and industrial spaces. Creating an artful
compromise, DeChesere designed a modern industrial farmhouse. The walls in the wide entry hallway and in much of the lower
floor are finished with nickel-spaced shiplap, adding texture and softening the look of the exposed steel beams supporting the
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WBM october 2019