Trevor Kennedy/Trevor Kennedy/Eye Capture Images
71 Hell Point Rd., Kingsburg, N.S.
Asking price: $3.5-million
Taxes: N/A
Lot size: 19.75 acres
Agents: Piers Baker, Duckworth Real Estate
The backstory
New Yorkers Peter Schneirla and Caroline Boillod knew little about Nova Scotia as they settled into the Sunday New York Times one morning in 2003, but the headline “bargains across the border” piqued their curiosity.
Soon the couple were planning a property tour of the East Coast province, which the Times described as an affordable alternative to the Hamptons and Cape Cod.
Mr. Schneirla is a gemologist who moved into executive roles for Tiffany & Co. and Harry Winston Inc., and Ms. Boillod had a career in finance at the time. From their viewpoint in Manhattan, the article’s description of miles of empty coastline sounded idyllic.
“I’ve always been enmeshed in nature,” says Mr. Schneirla, who counts fly fishing among his pursuits.
In Cape Breton, he was drawn to a remote sheep farm where the salmon run upstream, but Ms. Boillod was more taken by the village of Kingsburg on the province’s South Shore.
They were both intrigued by Nova Scotia’s storied history and Maritime culture.
“We are not Hamptons people in any way,” Ms. Boillod says of the moneyed enclave that draws many wealthy New Yorkers and celebrities.
The couple purchased a Victorian Gothic cottage in Kingsburg and spent summer sojourns exploring the trails that meander across the area’s three rugged headlands.
“It was dog time in the morning,” Ms. Boillod says of rambles with their German shepherd pup along the three-kilometre length of Hirtle’s Beach. “You can walk all along the beach if the tide is right.”
In time, the couple purchased a vacant lot with an eye to building a contemporary new house.
Occasionally they would discuss schemes with another Kingsburg resident: internationally renowned architect Brian MacKay-Lyons.
“We would run into him on the beach or go over to his house,” says Mr. Schneirla.
The couple had not moved past the planning phase when Hill House landed on the market. The home on a drumlin overlooking the Atlantic Ocean was awarded a Nova Scotia Lieutenant Governor’s Medal of Excellence for MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects in 2004.
Kingsburg is a small village, and Mr. Schneirla and Ms. Boillod were already acquainted with the original owners, who were based in the Netherlands.
Mr. Schneirla and Ms. Boillod shelved their own project and purchased the property on Hell’s Point in 2014.
The house today
Home of the Week, 71 Hell Point Rd., Kingsburg, N.S.Trevor Kennedy/Trevor Kennedy/Eye Capture Images
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In the words of Mr. MacKay-Lyons, Hill House is “primarily a landscape-viewing device.”
“Like a camera, it frames 360-degree views of the natural and cultural landscapes for a landscape photographer client,” says the firm’s written description of the project.
There are two buildings: a main residence and, across the courtyard, a more rustic guest house. Mr. MacKay-Lyons dubbed that dwelling “the barn,” which provides an open-concept kitchen and dining room plus two additional bedrooms and a sleeping loft.
“He fit it to this very unique piece of land,” Mr. Schneirla says of the architect. “Brian is a craftsman.”
Together the two buildings provide 2,750 square feet of interior space with three rooms currently used as bedrooms.
There’s also a large space that can serve as a workshop or studio in the barn.
The house is positioned on the hill to receive passive solar energy from sunrise to sunset, and polished concrete floors are warmed with radiant heat.
To withstand fierce North Atlantic storms, the house and the barn turn their rumps outward against the wind, while walls of glass face one another across the courtyard.
“We’ve been up there in almost every type of weather you can imagine,” says Mr. Schneirla. “You would think it’s exposed, but it’s airtight. It’s really anchored.”
Low concrete walls create a sheltered microclimate in the courtyard, inspired by neolithic Celtic hill forts, according to MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple.
In the main house, the open-concept main living area combines the kitchen with dining and lounging. The interior has minimal detailing, with maple cabinetry and soapstone countertops under a sloping hemlock ceiling.
Beyond the living and dining areas stands the primary bedroom and bathroom. A library and home office provides vistas across the landscape to the sea.
“It’s absolutely got the best view in the world,” says Mr. Schneirla.
The landscape photographer had her darkroom in the basement, along with a sauna.
When Mr. Schneirla and Ms. Boillod became the new owners, they refurbished the lower level and turned the darkroom into a media room.
“There was nowhere for a TV,” Ms. Boillod says of the upper level, “because it’s all glass.”
They also added a wet bar and pantry.
Outside, the couple had wooden decking replaced with concrete.
After a few years, the Mr. Schneirla upgraded the windows and had two new storm-resistant standing seam metal roofs installed.
The home also has high-speed internet, with all wiring buried underground so it doesn’t mar the view.
“It’s a modern smart house,” Mr. Schneirla says of the technology.
After leaving New York, the couple planned to split their time between Nova Scotia and their other home in Key West, Fla., but they find it challenging to fly with two dogs and the drive takes multiple days.
“We’re very committed to our four-legged friends,” says Mr. Schneirla.
They’ve decided to sell Hill House with the furniture included.
Outside, Mr. MacKay-Lyons clad the house in traditional Maritime materials.
“A plain, rough-weather wrapper of eastern cedar shingles and local hemlock gives way on the interior to a warm, lantern-like quality,” the architect says.
The best feature
Mr. Schneirla is a landscape painter who enjoys wandering across the fields to the coastal coniferous forest and mixed hardwood lowlands to the 65 feet of rocky shoreline.
“It’s called Hell’s Point for a reason,” he says. “It’s very dramatic with the bluffs and the waves.”
He sometimes sets up his easel on the deck outside and watches for whales and Northern Gannets in the distance.
“It’s really a rejuvenating, magical place.”