Gracious secluded home on the Point

The house rests on a gentle hillside, sheltered by the spine of the hill from the full force of the prevailing southwesterlies. It evokes the paintings of Carl Larsson, who captured the magic of Scandavian summers past, with its perfect proportions and its profusion of enveloping greenery. The cottage was designed and built by a Westport architect and boatbuilder of great skill and sensibility in a setting lovingly planted by a famous local scrimshaw artist. The spirits of this place must be favorable, because three tenants have fallen in love and held their wedding celebrations here.

As you walk past an oval goldfish pond and enter the front door, your view is drawn upward to the cathedral ceiling of the kitchen, buttressed by huge beams that were scavenged by the scrimshander from an old Fall River mill. A Dutch door opens from the kitchen onto the south terrace and its rock walls. All appliances are brand new; the architect crafted the cabinets himself, and the window in the kitchen gable captures the long glow of summer sunsets. Across from the kitchen, a large diagonal brick hearth welcomes the visitor into the dining room, with its patio doors opening northwards to a private, terraced lawn, the pond, and the bordering woodland.

Proceed past the full bath, with carpentry reminiscent of a fine yacht 's cabin, and you step upward into the sunny light of the living room, with its fine views of the marsh and the river, and its French doors that tempt you to step out onto the covered porch that provides a fine place to read the paper. Opposite the living room, step down into the study, also containing a single bed and closet. Upstairs, you will find the master suite, with pretty river views, a half bath and large walk-in closet, and a third bedroom that, with its window seat and trundle bed, is a perfect space for children.

Westport Point is the most charming village in southern Massachusetts. this historic community has always been involved in sailing, fishing, farming and now a fine place to live. The world ends here and so does the world.

Stroll up from the Westport town dock through an eighteenth century New England coastal village of perfect scale and ambience, glancing left and right at vistas of the east and west branches of the Westport River that nurtured the village. Turn right and amble down a private laneway along a stone wall past a profusion of raspberries and a noble stand of huge copper beech trees, and step into a private oval garden facing the rose-covered cottage. To the south, the rock wall extends to the salt marsh and the East Branch. To the north, a terraced lawn slopes down to a private pond favored by a great blue heron and ringed with summer greenery. Dense woods separate the cottage from the nearby village; you feel secluded from the village but part of it.