Home of the Week: A captivating contemporary in coastal Cohasset

A 1890 mansion with four bedrooms and an apartment for rent is reenvisioned with inspiration from Frank Lloyd Wright.

The living room of our Home of the Week features a waist-high stone wall and long, padded bench seating. (Mike Petrocelli)

By John R. Ellement

April 12, 2023

Home of the Week: 8 Stevens Lane, Cohasset

$1,999,000

Style Contemporary

Year built 1890

Square feet 4,100 (rental unit adds 900)

Bedrooms 5 (1 in the rental unit)

Baths 4 full, 1 half (1 full in the rental unit)

Water/Sewer Public

Taxes $17,771 (2023)

It’s an aesthetic polymath.

When first built in 1890, it was a Dutch Gambrel. But in the 1960s, artist Tom Lucas, who cofounded South Shore Art Center, reconstructed it into a contemporary home influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie Style. And the current stewards — that’s how the owners view themselves — have added distinctive new stylings, including a Japanese-influenced furo small tub/shower.

Located on top of Bourne’s Rock and a short distance from the town center, the home features a winding driveway that slopes upward to the front of the house, which looks like telescoping rectangles crowned by a bright red roof. On the far right, there is a deck for the exclusive use of the one-bedroom, one-bath, 900-square-foot rental unit, which has been updated and has its own entrance.

8-stevens-lane-cohasset-exterior-front — The home sits on more than a half acre. – Mike Petrocelli

The Prairie Style influence has survived the decades and makes its appearance throughout the house. But the most striking example is just behind the main door, where real stone, quarried on site, climbs the wall waist high, extending above long, built-in, padded benches in the family room. Stone also encases a square floor-to-ceiling column, and the peak of Bourne’s Rock actually pops up through the floor. A stone fireplace is clad in a multicolored ceramic structure artist William Wyman created as a step-down inglenook.

8-stevens-lane-cohasset-fireplace-insert — A stone fireplace is clad in a multicolored ceramic structure artist William Wyman created as a step-down inglenook. – Mike Petrocelli

There’s more.

Flooring in the 868-square-foot room is oak original to the house, and the 14-foot-high ceiling is cloaked in redwood planks. And not to be outmatched are the windows: 18 feet high, floor to towering ceiling, and inviting one to step through an adjacent door onto the wide composite deck. There’s a hot tub out there, a padded bench seat, and stairs to a second deck — this one at treetop level and set up for cooking.

8-stevens-lane-cohasset-hot-tub — The lower deck comes with a hot tub. – Mike Petrocelli

A door from this second deck opens into the 416-square-foot, fully modernized eat-in kitchen. The counters are a dark granite with a finish that makes them look like soapstone, and the cabinets are red birch with frosted glass doors up high and thin metal pulls. There is a stainless steel oven hood and a blue ceramic tile backsplash behind the stove. The round two-tier island offers a sink, a granite level, and a glass counter on stainless steel legs with seating for four. All sit under three narrow pendant lights.

The main dining spot, however, may be the built-in banquette, which has matching blue seating that basks in the glow of a curvy light fixture reminiscent of an infinity symbol. Floor-to-ceiling red birch cabinetry with opaque-panel doors at the top rings the room, offering more storage.

8-stevens-lane-cohasset-kitchen — The kitchen features a two-tier island. One level is granite; the other is glass. – Mike Petrocelli

8-stevens-lane-cohasset-banquette — The kitchen banquette matches the blue tile behind the stove. – Mike Petrocelli

The kitchen flows into a 320-square-foot living room that is essentially a spacious loft overlooking the family room. The space features a stone-clad gas fireplace, oak flooring, and custom bookshelves. Expansive windows boast staggered, thick muntins that beautifully frame the woodsy view.

A short stairway leads to a hallway with a half bath and then a 263-square-foot den/bedroom suite with recessed lighting, several windows, a ceiling fan, a walk-in closet, and a full bath that has not been updated.

8-stevens-lane-cohasset-den-bedroom — This room could serve as a den or a bedroom. – Mike Petrocelli

Back out in the hall, spiral and wooden staircases lead to the main bedroom level. The primary suite measures 430 square feet and occupies much of the right side of the home. A wall of windows appears to point at a sharply angled, redwood-clad cathedral ceiling. The suite also features a 58-square-foot walk-in closet and an en-suite bath that includes a Duravit double vanity with a Caesarstone top, a linen closet, ceramic tile flooring, a furo tub/shower encased in glass, and access to the laundry room.

8-stevens-lane-cohasset-spiral staircase — Modern lighting with pops of color descends over the spiral staircase. – Mike Petrocelli

8-stevens-lane-cohasset-primary-suite — The primary suite boasts a cathedral ceiling clad in redwood and a wall of windows. – Mike Petrocelli

8-stevens-lane-cohasset-primary-bath-vanity — The primary suite bath comes with a Duravit double vanity with a Caesarstone counter. – Mike Petrocelli

8-stevens-lane-cohasset-primary-bath — The primary suite bath features a furo tub/shower combination enclosed in glass. – Mike Petrocelli

The other bedrooms on this level are 315 and 330 square feet, and both have hardwood flooring and cathedral ceilings clad in redwood. They share a bath with a ceramic tile floor and shower surround, as well as a Duravit vanity with a Caesarstone top.

8-stevens-lane-cohasset-bedroom-3 — The ceiling of this secondary bedroom is clad in redwood. – Mike Petrocelli

8-stevens-lane-cohasset-secondary-bedroom — This secondary bedroom has hardwood flooring and a cathedral ceiling. – Mike Petrocelli

8-stevens-lane-cohasset-main-full-bath — The main bath is shower only. – Mike Petrocelli

The penultimate room is also the fourth bedroom. It’s 256 square feet with carpeting and multiple windows on three walls. One of those windows opens, allowing a person to clamber out and ascend a ladder to the ultimate spot: a widow’s walk with 360-degree views.

Any of the decks or the widow’s walk are excellent bird-watching platforms or a perch from which to hear the 57-bell carillon from St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church.

8-stevens-lane-cohasset-view — The view of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church from the home’s widow’s walk. – Jim Mitterando

The home sits on more than a half acre and has gas heat.

Danielle Bing and Kris Kososki of Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty in Boston have the listing.

Follow John R. Ellement on Twitter @JREbosglobe. Send listings to [email protected]. Please note: We do not feature unfurnished homes unless they are new-builds and will not respond to submissions we won’t pursue.