Accessory Buildings | On the Drawing Board

6 Renovations That Can Change the Way You Live in Your Home (Updated)
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6 Renovations That Can Change the Way You Live in Your Home (Updated)

I have renovated and added to my own home for many reasons, including the fact I hated the existing kitchen. I added a porch and a bedroom because I love porches and my oldest daughter needed a room of her own. Many people renovate a home because no one thought to incorporate light or views in the original design. Sometimes the existing home is outdated, dark, too small, poorly laid out, or all of the above. In any case, some [...]

By James Crisp|2023-02-26T12:15:48-05:00December 8th, 2015|Categories: Accessory Buildings, Additions, Basement, Bedrooms, Breakfast Nook, Fireplaces, Garages, Kitchen, Living Room, Miscellaneous, Porches, Renovations, Sun Room|3 Comments

Pool House in the Country (Featured Project)
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Pool House in the Country (Featured Project)

Pool and Pool House This pool house/guest house is set in a beautiful rural area of New York. It is part of a family compound including a main house, barn, and garage. This building will serve as a place for the owners to live while we work with them to design and build their main home. Kitchen Kitchen with Hidden Laundry Bathroom Covered Patio and Barbecue Front Door [...]

By James Crisp|2023-02-26T12:30:06-05:00April 14th, 2015|Categories: Construction, Design, Miscellaneous, New Homes, Pool Houses, Pools|0 Comments

Pool Pavilion (Featured Project)
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Pool Pavilion (Featured Project)

Pool Pavilion To break up my focus on shoveling snow and chipping ice out of the animal's water buckets, I thought I would remind everyone that spring and summer will come again and a nice cool drink will be appreciated. Set in the rolling hills of the Berkshires, this open air pavilion with fireplace and kitchen completes the poolside entertaining package. The nights can be a little cool in the Berkshires even in the summer. The fireplace takes [...]

By James Crisp|2023-02-26T12:40:22-05:00February 8th, 2015|Categories: Fireplaces, Pool Houses, Pools, Porches|Tags: pool house, pool pavilion|4 Comments

6 Carriage House-Lofts
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6 Carriage House-Lofts

Garage-Guest House Garage-Guest House One of the most cost effective places to gain a bonus space is above a garage. By picking up the roof a few feet when building a garage, you can gain usable space such as guest quarters, great storage, a painting studio, home theater, or an all purpose loft. When we are designing a garage we always suggest adding those extra few feet of head room even if there are no immediate plans to finish [...]

By James Crisp|2022-11-18T12:57:37-05:00January 9th, 2015|Categories: Accessory Buildings, Design, Garages, Home Office, Miscellaneous, Renovations|7 Comments

Pools, Pools, Pools, (7 of Them)
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Pools, Pools, Pools, (7 of Them)

Endless Pool As the summer winds down, most of us will bid farewell to our pools(better yet to our neighbors' pools). Ironically, now is when pools and pool houses are often on the drawing board in preparation for next summer's fun. To be fair, our landscaper friends do the lion's share of planning the pool environment. We are most often interested in the location of the pool as it relates to the main house, pool house and the surrounding [...]

By James Crisp|2023-02-26T13:17:08-05:00August 16th, 2014|Categories: Gardens, Pool Houses, Pools|0 Comments

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4 Enlightened Windows

If a person’s eyes are the window to their souls, windows in a home give expression to the character and soul of that home. Windows can be simple and utilitarian, they can focus attention on a special view, or they can dominate a wall. When I say window I mean windows, doors, transoms, and walls of windows. I live in an old home which has very regular simple windows. I love them. In my living room [...]

By James Crisp|2021-03-26T18:41:58-04:00October 28th, 2013|Categories: Accessory Buildings, Bedrooms, New Homes|Tags: bathrooms, pool house, windows|1 Comment

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Fine Home Source 2013, Sept. 28th

I will be the first to admit, everyone doesn't need a bowling alley. But if you would like to see the latest in home bowling, come on out to Fine Home Source on September 28th and take a look. This year we have some of the most broad ranging and professional vendors ever. You can speak to the experts from Orvis Sandanona about learning how to fly fish or shoot sporting clays then talk to the folks at Dutchess Overhead [...]

By James Crisp|2013-10-09T12:11:33-04:00September 17th, 2013|Categories: About Us, Accessory Buildings, Additions, Basement, Bathrooms, Construction, Design, FineHome Source, Fireplaces, Garages, Gardens, Home Office, Kitchen, Miscellaneous, New Homes, Porches, Renovations, Stairs, Technology|Tags: About Us, accessory buildings, additions, bathrooms, bowling alley, experts, Fine Home Source, Gardens, high end, home show, Hudson Valley, kitchens, millbrook, new home, professionals, renovation, saunas, weekend event, wine cellars|2 Comments

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4 Pool Houses(Revisited)

Nothing says summer like kids splashing around in a pool–except perhaps an adult party centered around a pool on a balmy summer evening. In either case, a pool house makes everything easier.Whether the pool house is small and simple or includes a full kitchen and guest quarters, having a place to store cold drinks, towels and refreshments makes summer entertaining a lot more fun. A pool house can be a place to access only the absolute necessities [...]

By James Crisp|2021-03-26T18:45:55-04:00May 21st, 2013|Categories: Accessory Buildings, Fireplaces, Miscellaneous, Porches|Tags: adirondack chair, blue paint, blue stone, exterior fireplace, exterior shower, landscaping, large window, outdoor dining, outdoor furniture, outdoor umbrella, patio dining, pool area, pool house, porch, shade, stone fireplace, traditional architecture, traditional design, vertical siding, white columns, white trim, wood furniture|0 Comments

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7 Metal Roofs

On a renovation we recently completed, the metal(tin) roof had a stamp on the back, the installer gave a 25 year guarantee. The roof was a little worse for wear, but was not leaking. The guarantee expired in 1905. For most of us, the expected life of a metal roof is beyond our expiration date. That is not true of most modern cedar shingle roofs which I have seen fail in less than 10 years(due to acid rain [...]

By James Crisp|2012-10-01T06:37:46-04:00October 1st, 2012|Categories: Accessory Buildings, Miscellaneous, New Homes, Porches|Tags: copper roofs, metal roofs, painted roofs, Roofs|1 Comment

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Berkshire Botanical Garden-Garden Folly

This winter, when it was hard to imagine spring flowers, we received a call from the Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Crisp Architects had been selected along with three other architects to design a folly titled ‘Gimme Shelter: Architects Design for Shade’. Proceeds of the exhibition and sale of the follies will benefit the garden and their many programs. We had a lot of fun with a variety of ideas then settled on a classic garden folly [...]

By James Crisp|2012-05-23T17:13:03-04:00April 18th, 2012|Categories: Accessory Buildings, Garages|Tags: Berkshire Botanical Garden, garden, garden folly, garden structures|2 Comments

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