Left to right: Pierre, Téa, Zoé, Esmé, Hilary, Nico (twins with Téa), Lola (black lab)
We asked the owners of the Little Compton house, Pierre Valette and Hilary Illick, to share a bit about themselves, their family and some background to the vision for their new home. This the first of several posts that provides the introduction and impetus for the project:
Tell us about your family:
We are a closely bonded family of six adventurous people, Pierre and Hilary at the head with children Zoé, Esmé, and twins Nico and Téa. As the kids have grown in age and independence, different factions of us have started to venture out on our own. Pierre and the two oldest girls, Zoé and Esmé, travel to Haiti to donate medicine to a hospital and read French books to school children. Currently, Zoé is living in Taichung, Taiwan studying Mandarin Chinese and living with a Chinese host family. Nico and Téa, our 11-year-old twins, have sports teams, musical pursuits and friends of their own. Hilary travels to California several times a year to teach week-long spiritual retreats through the Hoffman Institute. Pierre is going to Chilé this winter to shoot a documentary for children. In other words, we are at times far flung!
How are you going to be using this home?
As close as the six of us are emotionally, we find ourselves increasingly exploring our own interests independently — and one of our favorite things to do is come back together and re-group. We are looking to our house in Little Compton to provide a refuge for doing so.
We are building this home because we seek a sanctuary — away from the noise of our busy street, the stresses of tasks, and distractions that confront us daily. For 25 years we had such a sanctuary in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, miles from a paved road, blessed with a panoramic view of the magnificent mountain range, and surrounded by thousands of acres of undeveloped land. Hilary’s parents owned the property and hoped that this escape would remain in the family for generations. Unfortunately, the bad economy and high maintenance and utility costs made this dream unsustainable. The house was sold last summer.
How did losing the family retreat influence your approach to this home?
Our family dealt with the sadness of losing our sanctuary by thinking about how we could recreate one elsewhere — but we knew it would have to be smaller and more sustainable. We also wanted something closer to our home in Boston (easier to get to, less gas consumption to get there and back). And finally, we wanted to find something close to the ocean — leaving behind a mountain experience and embracing one by the water. We set our sights on the Southern Massachusetts/Rhode Island area because of family connections there. Fortunately, we found a three-acre piece of land in Little Compton — a beautiful Rhode Island seaside town, bordered by the Sakonnet River and Atlantic Ocean. We immediately knew that this was the right place for us with its abundant farmland, long vistas to the sea, protected wildlife sanctuaries, and a culture of land conversation.
In the next post, we’ll learn about what prompted their energy goals and learn what they like about Little Compton.
{ 2 trackbacks }
{ 0 comments… add one now }