“A young Yarmouth couple needed distinct yet connected spaces: a quiet home office for the wife and a personal woodworking shop for the husband’s furniture design and fabrication hobby. Building two separate structures wasn’t practical, so from the start it made sense to bring everything under one roof. The key challenge was determining how to separate the two spaces: should one be above the other, should they be placed side by side, or should they be completely divided within a single structure?

“The final design is a roughly 1,000- square-foot building with two separate entrances and a volumetric shift that defines each space. The office is on the left, while the woodshop occupies the longer right side, featuring a custom translucent clerestory window. While this window doesn’t offer much of a view beyond the treetops and the underside of the roof, it allows soft, even light to filter into the workshop, subtly reinforcing its function. To enhance separation, we poured two distinct concrete slabs to prevent vibrations from transfer- ring between spaces. A double-stud wall further mitigates any additional sound transfer, and TimberHP wood fiber and cellulose insulation—along with independent mechanical systems—ensure thermal and acoustic comfort. I collaborated with Emerald Builders as the contractor, and the timber elements were fabricated by Benjamin and Co.

“Birch plywood panels line the walls inside the woodshop, combining warmth with functional versatility for tool storage and shelving. The floors, both concrete slabs by Jon Meade Design, differ in finish: the woodshop slab exposes more aggregate for an industrial feel, while the office side remains polished and refined.

“The building’s exterior design reflects the distinct functions of each space. To hint at the woodworking aspect, we incorporated timber framing and exposed rafter tails, which visually break down the length of the structure. The timbers—stained and sealed hemlock—will weather grace- fully without turning silver like cedar. The exterior siding, a deep bluish gray, shifts in orientation to create a subtle textural contrast: horizontal along the woodshop’s long volume and vertical on the taller office section.”

—Jamie Broadbent, owner and lead architect, HellBent Design Studio