Vacation Zen House: Southampton, New York

Some homes are built to impress. This one was built to help you slow down. Set beside an 80-acre open-space reserve in Southampton, New York, Vacation Zen House is the kind of place where the view does most of the talking: open fields, tall evergreens and a pool framed by an 18-foot wall of glass. The approximately 7,300-square-foot home pairs the warmth of a classic barn shape with clean modern lines, wrapped in charred cedar siding and a black standing-seam metal roof.

A vacation home should feel good the moment you walk in, whether it is July or January. That comfort starts behind the walls. Architect Chaleff & Rogers and builder Jeff Gardner, Inc. planned for Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) from day one, and ACME supplied 6 1/2-inch SIP wall panels and 12 1/4-inch SIP roof panels. Each panel combines structure, insulation and sheathing in one piece, so the walls and roof went up quickly and formed a continuous insulated envelope around the whole house. That mattered here. A 40-by-30-foot, double-height great room with a wall of glass needs a building shell that can keep a big, open space comfortable all year.

Inside, the home makes room for both togetherness and time apart. A floating steel-and-glass staircase connects the main living areas, while a private upper-level wing and a finished lower level give family and guests space to spread out. It shows what SIPs can do on a large custom home: give architects and builders room to design something distinctive, and give the people inside a home that stays comfortable and efficient for years to come.