The Memorial Day Sale
ends tonight

Originally part of Shelter Island’s working waterfront in the 1920s, the Boat House was deeply sentimental to its first owner, Dick Driscoll, for whom it was a family home. In his late 80s, Driscoll sold the property to Scott Murphy, a builder and designer who sought to preserve the soul of the home.

Murphy planned to increase the square footage but leave the back of the home – the original Boat House – untouched. When Hurricane Sandy changed the elevation requirements for the area, keeping it intact became impossible. Instead, he rebuilt it exactly as it was – “like a movie set,” he notes.

The home’s original boat house is complemented by Murphy’s carefully considered new construction, where floor-to-ceiling glass walls frame the harbor. “It’s not just the location – it’s about the feeling people get when they’re there. I look at myself as just a steward, holding down the fort."