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Islands restore us. In an age of overwhelm, they have an uncanny ability to clarify and simplify life: Whatever is left behind on the mainland fades, and the journey across water can feel like a small act of liberation.
When a Boston-based couple acquired a speck of an island on a New Hampshire lake, they were looking for just such an escape. They had previously bought and renovated a 1920s Great Camp on the shores of that same lake and wanted to supplement the property to reflect shifts in their family.
“They have grown children, with grandchildren on the way,” says architect Gil Schafer, whose firm, Schafer & Company, oversaw the design and construction of the island’s three structures (cottage, boathouse, and pump house). “Like many parents, they’d sought a place that would bring everyone together—thus the Great Camp. But as much as you want everyone back, sometimes they come with all their friends, and you’re like, ‘Oh my God, we just want some peace and quiet.’”
Schafer likens the island retreat to an 18th-century British folly—an imaginative building on an estate where a small group might venture for lunch or tea, or use it as a destination for an outing. But unlike most traditional follies, this one is as practical as it is beautiful, with interiors that are “almost boatlike in their functionality,” he notes. For the client, an avid angler and hunter, the fact that it’s encircled by trout-, bass-, and perch-filled waters only makes it more fitting.
Yet simplicity doesn’t come easily, as anyone who’s ever sought it discovers. Constructing even a modest, un-winterized cottage on an island measuring barely one-seventh of an acre posed logistical challenges. “The lake shuts down in winter and doesn’t reopen until late April,” Schafer says. “And everything has to come to the island by barge.”
That includes not only building materials—massive blocks of stone; truckloads of wood, piping, wiring, fixtures, and appliances—but also the workers to construct and install it all. Schafer’s team might schedule a barge and delivery trucks weeks in advance, only to have the weather turn bad. No wonder the project took three years to complete.
Eric PiaseckiA series of windows opens onto the porch by way of pulleys that lift the panes fully out of the way. The American wicker armchairs with original painted-wood details are vintage. The all-weather rug (Stark) can withstand anything from thunderstorms to midsummer sun.
Eric PiaseckiThe cottage can accommodate two couples for an overnight, plus one or two more for a day trip or lunch outing. The side table is a 19th-century tramp art piece. Schafer always keeps an eye out for terra-cotta pots with a rich patina, such as the ones placed around the home and planted with native flora. Dining table and chairs, Munder Skiles.
But for the classically trained architect, it was an undertaking that held great appeal. In addition to overseeing the three building projects, his team was hired to design the cottage’s interiors. “Architecture can be so linear,” he says. “Decorating is more freeing and fun.”
The hunt for antiques is a particular passion for Schafer. “It’s a sport I indulge in everywhere I travel,” he says. And the cottage benefits from his pursuits. Unique and whimsical pieces fill the space, from an arresting pair of faux-bois lamps on the screened porch to antique English pond boats anchored in a bathroom and dressing room; and from the carved fish on the mantel to the rustic oars mounted on the walls. Schafer also keeps a constant eye out for objects he can transform into lamp bases; an oversize green bottle in the living room and a contemporary Chinese apothecary jar in the primary bedroom are just two examples.
As for the rest of the decor, it harmonizes with the setting, both natural and man-made. Bathed in shades of citron and olive, teal and blue, the palette is underscored with deep, foggy greens, and brightened by touches of brown and cream. Fabrics are simple: plain or striped linens and cottons, with nature-inspired prints reserved for the bedroom curtains and upholstery.
Eric Piasecki
The cottage rises from a 6,000-square-foot island accessible only by boat. Schafer took great care to preserve the island’s trees, which offer not only shade but also shelter to local birds.
Hints of traditional Adirondack design appear not only in elements such as the twig tables and generous hearth, but also in the cottage’s blend of refined construction and rustic simplicity, and in its integration of indoor and outdoor rooms. The door and windows onto the screened porch all but disappear, for example: The former pockets into the wall; the latter are raised on pulleys, creating unimpeded flow between the spaces.
Art is used modestly: Fish paintings, maps, and pages from vintage fly-tying manuals decorate the walls. After all, even the finest oil painting could hardly compete with the sunlight that skitters across the lake’s surface and creates shimmers of golden light on the cottage’s walls and ceiling. And though the views shift and change constantly, they never cease to reassure visitors that the mainland and its cares are an entire boat ride away.
Kitchen
Eric Piasecki
The homeowners love to cook and wanted a full-size kitchen with a chef’s range (Viking), plus breathtaking views out over the lake. The counters are fabricated of black granite; cast-iron hardware repeats its hue. The apron-front sink is by House of Rohl, and the bronze wall light is by Hector Finch.
Breakfast Room
Eric Piasecki
A fish painting from Jeffrey Tillou Antiques overlooks the breakfast nook, anchored by a 1930s English lime oak trestle table, used as a workspace or for meals in inclement weather. The cottage’s deep green floors (Benjamin Moore’s Caldwell Green) recall traditional Adirondack camps and New England cabins, but Schafer softened them slightly to feel more weathered.
Living Room
Eric Piasecki
Shades of citron, teal, and olive unite the living room with its lakeside setting. The sofa is covered in a blanket pieced together by Schafer’s team from an Indian batik, cut and resewn to fit. “I like to layer textiles on top of things,” he says. “And I worried the large beige sofa might feel monolithic without it.” The slab used as a hearthstone came from a pre-Revolutionary house in Quincy, Massachusetts, that was being demolished. Wingback chair, Casa Gusto.
Eric Piasecki
Eric Piasecki
The living room’s antique twig table is used as a bar, with a lamp Schafer fashioned from a circa-1860 glass bottle. “I’m always looking for old things to turn into lamps,” he says. The walls are butt-jointed planking—“the way they would have been built before Sheetrock,” Schafer adds. He found the English painted chest in Connecticut. A vintage map of New Hampshire hangs above the stairs.
Primary Bedroom
Eric Piasecki
The primary bedroom occupies a small ground-floor wing, its ceiling following the steep slope of the roofline. The bed (Charles H. Beckley) was built to fit beneath the windows. The antique bench at the foot of the bed comes from Michael Trapp, Inc. Curtain fabric, Guy Goodfellow. Hanging light, Soane.
Guest Room
Eric Piasecki
Eric Piasecki
An 18th-century table sits beneath the guest room window. A built-in bench offers extra storage and a place to set luggage. A 1930s signal flag framed on the wall emphasizes the palette—and the nautical affinity of the clients. The simple cotton bedding was chosen for its versatility. The cream coverlet is from John Robshaw, and the blue waffle blanket is from Nickey Kehoe. Curtain fabric, Penny Morrison.
VERANDA Design Society Gold
VERANDA Design Society GoldCredit: VERANDA
Featured in our September/October 2026 issue. Interior Design and Architecture by Gil Schafer; Landscape Design by Miracle Farms; Photography by Eric Piasecki; Styling by Helen Crowther; Written by Celiar Barbour.