“We didn’t want a house that was too serious—we wanted it to be fun, to feel like it had been lived in from the get-go,” says chef Chris Willis of the vacation home he and his wife, Pam, recently completed on Martha’s Vineyard. “We really pushed back on having details that felt too new.”
As the proprietors of Pammy’s, the much-loved restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts—where they’re based—the Willises know a thing or two about assembling a team, and they did so seamlessly for this four-year endeavor. “They’re very collaborative and open to a lot of different things,” interior designer Karie Reinertson, who worked on the project alongside her Mother Studio cofounder, Laura Evans, says of the clients. “But they also have a lot to say, a lot of opinions, and it was really fun to have them trust us.” That circle of creative confidence extended to include architect Maryann Thompson of firm MTA, who dreamed up the home’s distinctive “pinwheel” layout, maximizing its views and openness, as well as project manager Doug Jack of Nidify Studio and celebrated landscape designer Michael Van Valkenburgh.
“We wanted to create a house that heightened the experience of the beautiful landscape and the phenomenological qualities of the site in multiple ways,” explains Thompson, who had worked with the homeowners on two prior projects. The pinwheel plan, she adds, “created exterior spaces between its arms—outdoor rooms held by the building’s form.”
Tucked away on a leafy plot between the ocean and Summertime, the preexisting family home of Chris’s brother, the new house and its guest cottage were playfully dubbed Suppertime, underscoring its owners’ love of entertaining. A giant Nickey Kehoe table grounds the dining room, which can accommodate 20 guests, under pendant lights that were designed to lift out of the way, should the couple want to open up the expanse for a larger party. “Because they love hosting, they wanted this space to be really flexible and alive,” explains Reinertson of the glass-walled room, which features a piano that the Willises’ two teenage daughters often play for company. “The idea is that people could bleed out into the landscape if they’re having a large party,” says Evans of the enchanting grounds masterminded by Van Valkenburgh. “It becomes this very permeable space.”
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