Great coastal design rarely raises its voice. It listens—to an old streetscape, a field of lava, the force of salt wind, the rhythm of a harbor—and decides what not to disturb. That instinct unites the nine projects honored in the second annual Ocean Home Awards.
Across five states and several coastlines, this year’s winners expand, restore, and reinvent with uncommon restraint. A century-old gambrel gains room without losing its place on the street. A Maine residence moves inland so the shore can remain wild. In Hawai‘i, pavilions open to lava, trade winds, and Pacific light. Elsewhere, a kitchen hides its machinery, a poolscape turns columns into islands, and a Newport garden becomes a house without windows.
Different scales, styles, and climates; one shared conviction: the most memorable coastal homes defer to the water, the light, the land, and the neighbors who came before.
This winners’ portfolio is the opening chapter. In the days ahead, Ocean Home will publish the full article behind every award, with expanded photography and the complete story of how each project came together.
The 2026 Ocean Home Award Winners
Traditional Architecture: Over 7,000 Square Feet
Peter Zimmerman Architects
Northern Maine
In northern Maine, a cedar-shingled residence angles toward the rocky harbor and settles among established trees. One-room-deep planning, defined interiors, and porches tuned to the day’s changing light make a large house feel intimate and rooted.
Traditional Architecture: Under 7,000 Square Feet
Kligerman Architecture & Design
Weekapaug, Rhode Island
In Weekapaug, Thomas and Kristin Kligerman reinterpret McKim’s Low House and Rhode Island’s modest seaside bungalows. The 4,200-square-foot retreat pairs an 80-foot porch with time-honored materials, heirlooms, and a restored native landscape.
Modern Architecture: Over 7,000 Square Feet
SPAN Architecture
Bar Harbor, Maine
At Brooke Astor’s former Bar Harbor retreat, SPAN placed the main house hundreds of feet inland, tucked guest rooms beneath a planted roof, and restored Robert Patterson’s 1964 glass teahouse—treating architecture, ecology, and history as one living system.
Modern Architecture: Under 7,000 Square Feet
Walker Warner
Makena, Maui, Hawai‘i
Beside Makena Beach, Walker Warner gives a guest house leading-role presence. Sliding walls erase the boundary between its pavilions and layered gardens, while deep shade, refined shed roofs, and even a restored Airstream create an island world made for discovery.
Coastal Renovation
Patrick Ahearn Architect
Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts
On Edgartown’s Starbuck Neck, Ahearn nearly doubled a circa-1900 Shingle Style cottage while preserving its “baby bear” scale. New rooms slip below grade, the wings step down from the original gambrel, and a side-yard pool protects the common green and neighbors’ harbor views.
Coastal Kitchen
Tim Barber Architects
Newport Beach, California
In Newport Beach, full-height pull-and-pocket panels conceal nearly every appliance so this workhorse room reads as crafted millwork. A marble-lined range niche, furniture-like islands, and a hidden bar turn the kitchen into a calm, sociable living room.
Coastal Landscape
Hoerr Schaudt
Newport, Rhode Island
Hoerr Schaudt choreographs a descent from a Newport house to an infinity-edge pool that mirrors Narragansett Bay. Reclaimed granite, salt-tough plantings, fire, dining, and shelter compose what the designers call a “home without windows.”
Coastal Outdoor Living
Walker Warner
Hale Mau‘i, Island of Hawai‘i
Across a Kona lava field, Walker Warner disperses Hale Mau‘i into low pavilions linked by an elevated ipe walk. The lava flows between buildings, slatted doors breathe with the trade winds, and the land—not the architecture—remains the main event.
Coastal Poolscape
Robin Rains Interior Design
Santa Rosa Beach, Florida
On Florida’s Emerald Coast, columns rise from Aegean-blue water and a seating pavilion appears to float. Four floors above, a second pool shifts the mood toward cocktails and sunsets—all with lighting calibrated to protect nesting sea turtles.
This winning poolscape appears on the cover of Ocean Home’s August + September 2026 issue.
The 2026 Ocean Home Awards judges
Our thanks go to interior designer Kristin Paton, designer Robert E. Bagshaw, and architect J. Everett Schram, who brought their time, perspective, and rigor to this year’s judging. Choosing among these projects was not easy—and the conversation was richer for the range of expertise around the table.
This is only the beginning. Over the days ahead, we’ll return to every winner with a complete feature—more rooms and views, the ideas behind the work, and conversations with the architects, designers, and landscape architects who brought each project to life. Together, those stories will offer a closer look at what exceptional coastal design means now: work shaped not only by beauty, but by restraint, stewardship, and a deep understanding of place.