House Lust: A Brutalist Waterfront Estate on R.I.’s Farm Coast

Little Compton's once-controversial 'Concrete Castle' is on the market for $4.15 million.

8 hours ago

Dana Rae Laverty,

This home at 155D West Main Rd. in Little Compton drew the ire of neighbors when it was built in 2016. It’s being sold for $4.15 million. Photograph courtesy of Mott & Chace Sotheby’s International Realty.

The most controversial and unique home in Little Compton — indeed, in probably all of Rhode Island — is hitting the market.

This Brutalist waterfront home (now there’s a phrase you don’t see every day) in Little Compton can be yours for $4.15 million. The concrete behemoth perched atop the town’s highest point affords scenic water and farm views from every sun-drenched room.

It caused much consternation during and after its 2016 construction, the gray, squat structure drawing ire from residents and summer visitors alike. It was so different from the sprawling, shingle-style homes, quaint farmhouses and tidy bungalows that populate the town. People wondered: Was it a doomsday bunker? A castle? A joke?

In fact, current owner Kim Saal thought much the same. His partner, Kate Bechtold, had to talk him into seeing it.

“Kate said to me, ‘Before we buy anything else, we need to go look at this place,’” Saal says.

As soon as he walked up the home’s front staircase into the two-story glass atrium, he was on board. His concerns about what it looked like from the outside — boxy, cold, gray — were eased.

“You have the exact opposite feeling once you walk in the door,” he says. “It is warm, is comfortable, and there’s this invisible wall between the interior of the house and the exterior space. You feel like you’re always outside.”

The 5,800-square-foot home sits on two coastal acres hugging the Sakonnet Passage. Photograph courtesy of Mott & Chace Sotheby's International Realty.
The grand staircase is thirty feet long and fourteen feet wide. Photograph courtesy of Mott & Chace Sotheby's International Realty.
Retractable windows in the two-story atrium open to the outside. Photograph courtesy of Mott & Chace Sotheby's International Realty.
The great room's retractable windows create a seamless indoor-outdoor living area. Photograph courtesy of Mott & Chace Sotheby's International Realty.
The owner's collection of French country antiques complements modern decor elements. Photograph courtesy of Mott & Chace Sotheby's International Realty.
The gourmet kitchen features Viking commercial-style ovens, two-inch Carrara marble countertops, an eight-burner Viking stovetop and a Sub-Zero refrigerator. Photograph courtesy of Mott & Chace Sotheby's International Realty.
Custom teak cabinetry and terrazzo floors frame the spacious kitchen. Photograph courtesy of Mott & Chace Sotheby's International Realty.
The dining area opens to the outdoor patio and has stunning views of the Sakonnet Passage. Photograph courtesy of Mott & Chace Sotheby's International Realty.
The view of the Sakonnet from the dining area. Photograph courtesy of Mott & Chace Sotheby's International Realty.
The outdoor patio has plenty of seating space and a built-in kitchen and fire pit. Photograph courtesy of Mott & Chace Sotheby's International Realty.
The view of the Sakonnet from the outdoor patio. Photograph courtesy of Mott & Chace Sotheby's International Realty.
The main bedroom has floor-to-ceiling windows and custom teak cabinets, and a custom teak and ebony inlaid king-size bed. Photograph courtesy of Mott & Chace Sotheby's International Realty.
Custom teak cabinets and drawers line the master suite's dressing area. Photograph courtesy of Mott & Chace Sotheby's International Realty.
The main bathroom features a bodyspray shower, a soaking tub and oversize Linac marble floors. Photograph courtesy of Mott & Chace Sotheby's International Realty.
A custom teak sink in the master bath features a Linac marble countertop. Photograph courtesy of Mott & Chace Sotheby's International Realty.
The freestanding soaking tub comes with secluded natural views. Photograph courtesy of Mott & Chace Sotheby's International Realty.
Guests can watch a movie — "The Brutalist," perhaps? — in the six-seat theater. Photograph courtesy of Mott & Chace Sotheby's International Realty.
A sitting room on the second level has stairway access to a rooftop deck. Photograph courtesy of Mott & Chace Sotheby's International Realty.
A guest bedroom with custom white oak cabinetry and quarter-sawn white oak floors. Photograph courtesy of Mott & Chace Sotheby's International Realty.
The four-car garage has a tool room, a utility sink and showroom-finish epoxy flooring. Photograph courtesy of Mott & Chace Sotheby's International Realty.
Both guest bedrooms have scenic views, built-in white oak cabinetry and birch wall cladding. Photograph courtesy of Mott & Chace Sotheby's International Realty.
The half-bath features terrazzo flooring and a cast concrete stair step countertop. Photograph courtesy of Mott & Chace Sotheby's International Realty.
The three-story staircase is retrofitted to house an elevator, if needed. Photograph courtesy of Mott & Chace Sotheby's International Realty.

The couple has lived in the home since 2021, choosing it in part because Bechtold’s daughters were both in the area: One attended the University of Massachusetts, and the other lived Connecticut. With two guest bedrooms and a full guest bathroom on the second level, the family would have plenty of space for visiting.

But life, sometimes, has other plans. Her daughters have since both moved to Colorado, where Bechtold is originally from, and she misses them, and her grandchildren, dearly.

“Leaving is very hard for me, because I truly love this place,” she says. “Yet the girls aren’t here.”

The 5,800-square-foot home sits on two coastal acres hugging the Sakonnet Passage. It features three bedrooms, including a main bedroom suite and changing area with custom teak closets, two and a half bathrooms, a cavernous great room, a gourmet kitchen with Viking and Sub-Zero appliances and marble Carrara countertops, automated smart home systems and in-floor radiant heating. It also has access to a private beach, a 1,400-square-foot rooftop deck, custom teak accents in each room, Douglas fir ceilings and floor-to-ceiling retractable windows in the great room and atrium.

There’s also a six-seat movie theater, complete with luxury seats that come with illuminated cupholders, USB charging ports and small tables (for popcorn, of course).

All of the wooden accents and ample windows give the home’s interior a honeyed, warm glow. Even though the building is constructed of concrete, it never looks or feels cold inside.

“To be able to take in all that farmland and the ocean, these beautiful 180-degree views outside these glass walls, it’s really extraordinary,” says Cherry Arnold, an agent with Mott & Chace Sotheby’s International Realty. “It’s a perfect place for a house like this that has so much glass.”

When they first moved in, Bechtold was always asking if Saal had left the kitchen light on. He hadn’t. It was just the natural light flowing into the space.

Domenic Carcieri designed and built the home in 2016, dubbing it Brutaliste Sur Mer and a “self-contained oasis” in a promotional video. There are six distinct spaces connected by “bridges,” with the living area, kitchen and main bedroom suite on the main level; two guest bedrooms and bath on the second level; and a rooftop deck on the third level. The theater, four-car garage and 2,000-square-feet of unfinished space are on the lower level.

For anyone intimidated by the large front stairway — or those who may have mobility issues — a space wired for an elevator runs from the garage level to the second floor, Saal says.

The property is at 155D West Main Rd., Little Compton. It’s listed at $4.15 million. Contact Cherry Arnold of Mott & Chace Sotheby’s International Realty at 401-864-5401 or cherry.arnold@mottandchace.com for more information or a viewing.

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