The Glasshouse

The Glasshouse was built in the early 1960s by Chester Wisniewski, a Frank Lloyd Wright apprentice, as an experiment in how to live surrounded by nature. The house is organized around a central courtyard with Japanese maple trees and a screened garden—bedrooms open directly onto this outdoor space rather than a traditional hallway. Martha's Vineyard's salt air and storms require ongoing care to keep the extensive glass walls and experimental construction in good condition.

The design blurs the line between inside and outside. Wrap-around porches—both screened and open—let you move seamlessly between protected interior spaces and the surrounding landscape. At sunset, the glass walls and interior surfaces catch and reflect the sky's changing colors, so the house itself seems to glow with orange, red, and yellow light.

Our work focused on preserving what made the house special while making it more livable. We added custom storage solutions that feel original to the design and created an overhead kitchen rack that combines task lighting with practical storage. Every new element was carefully detailed to blend with the existing architecture, maintaining the house's experimental spirit and strong connection to the natural environment.