Design | On the Drawing Board

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3 of Our Favorite Architectural Details (#1)

This is the first of a series of articles showcasing some of our favorite architectural details. No architectural project is successful unless the details are well thought out, proportional, and designed to last. The details do make the project. We often use cupolas to bring in light and for ventilation. Best of all, they add detail to a roof and make an historical connection to the barns built in the nineteenth century and before. A fireplace [...]

By James Crisp|2012-05-23T16:44:26-04:00June 6th, 2011|Categories: Additions, Design, Fireplaces, Miscellaneous|Tags: cupola, Fireplaces, pergola, roof|3 Comments

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Where To Put The TV

We Americans have a love/hate relationship with our televisions. I try to limit my children’s time in front of the screen, but I myself spent my share of free time in front of the tube. That was so long ago, I remember going to the local store to replace tubes that had burned out. On the one hand, there is a huge amount of mindless junk on TV, but we have never had a greater choice of excellent content at [...]

By James Crisp|2012-05-23T15:22:12-04:00February 8th, 2011|Categories: Design, Fireplaces, Miscellaneous, Technology|Tags: popup TV, TV, TV cabinet|2 Comments

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Entertaining Made Easier With a Wet Bar

Whether you are serving a Diet Coke, a glass of wine, or a cocktail, a wet bar simplifies the process. In one place you can have all the raw materials for festive refreshments, and at the same time contain the mess. A wet bar can be hidden behind doors like a closet, or it can be a place to display glasses, drinks, and the tools of a bartender. Added convenient features might include a coffee station complete with [...]

By James Crisp|2010-12-27T10:51:45-05:00December 4th, 2010|Categories: Design, Miscellaneous, Renovations|Tags: bars, entertaining, festive drinks, Wet bars, wine|0 Comments

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Models Tell the Story

There is always an air of excitement around the office as a model is nearing completion. To me, they are our best representation of a new home or addition, short of a full-scale construction project. We have tried photo realistic renderings, computer modeling, and a simulated walk through, to name a few. None are as helpful to our clients and us as a physical scale model. (They are a lot more fun, too.) Depending on the scale of [...]

By James Crisp|2012-05-23T16:31:34-04:00November 25th, 2010|Categories: Design, Miscellaneous|Tags: architectural models|0 Comments

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Simple is Sometimes Best

There is a wonderful hamlet of period homes near my house which are owned by a group of lifelong friends. They are all meticulously cared for by their owners, and the idea of adding on to one of these jewels is taken very seriously. When I was asked to design an addition to this particular home, I lived in New York City and only weekended in the area. The task I was given was to design a dining room addition [...]

By James Crisp|2012-05-23T15:32:24-04:00July 14th, 2010|Categories: Additions, Design, Miscellaneous|Tags: addition to old home, period home addition, simple home|1 Comment

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Simple Home

Whether you are designing an iphone or a country home, keeping it simple is harder than it looks. Instead of relying on flash and dash, a simple design relies on substance, proportion, and details. Most people cannot tell exactly what is wrong with a home when the proportions are off, but they know a beautiful home when they see it and good proportions are always the key. In the eighteenth century, nails and bricks, as well as most other elements [...]

By James Crisp|2010-06-03T13:28:03-04:00January 10th, 2010|Categories: Design, New Homes|Tags: home design, simple design, traditional design|0 Comments

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Carpenter Architects

Two hundred years ago there were few architects to direct carpenters in the way to build a proper home. That was just fine. Homes in general were simple and carpenter architects paid a lot of attention to detail and proportion.There were books written by architects, that provided guidelines and formulas for the creation of homes, but those were a point of departure and did not anticipate every condition that the carpenter would encounter. Those early builders were trained well and took pride [...]

By James Crisp|2010-06-03T13:44:19-04:00August 16th, 2009|Categories: Design|Tags: architects, carpenter architects, carpenters, craftsmanship, details, proportion|1 Comment

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Parish Hall

Crisp Architects specializes in home design. We design new homes, renovate and add to existing homes, and we restore old homes. In the course of our practice we are frequently asked to design other types of buildings and we happily comply. Those include horse barns, indoor tennis courts, office space, small commercial projects, all kinds of accessory buildings and parish halls. One of our favorite examples of non residential projects is St Peter's Parish Hall. Working with the committees was [...]

By James Crisp|2010-06-03T13:47:42-04:00June 1st, 2009|Categories: Design|Tags: AIA, church, design award, parish hall|0 Comments

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Modern Farmhouse Design

There is no absolute prototype for a farmhouse, but most of us can recognize one when we see it. By definition the originals were located on farms and were integral to the life and work of those farm families who lived there. Depending on when and where those homes were built, they could be made of stone, brick, shingles or clapboard. Most farmhouses had porches since there was no air conditioning and many farm and family chores were undertaken there. [...]

By James Crisp|2010-06-03T13:55:12-04:00March 30th, 2009|Categories: Additions, Design, New Homes|Tags: architects, farmhouse, modern farm house|5 Comments

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Farmhouse Modern

Many of our clients own old farm houses and love the way they fit into the countryside of the Northeast. These same clients want the interior of their homes to be brighter and more modern than the original farm house. Recently we renovated a large kitchen and added a bright sun room to an 1800s farm house in Litchfield County, Connecticut. The kitchen cabinets were frameless and painted white with simple but elegant details offsetting the extra thick Carrara marble [...]

By James Crisp|2010-06-03T13:59:04-04:00December 31st, 2008|Categories: Design, Renovations|Tags: bright interiors, farmhouse, modern design, Renovations, simple design|0 Comments

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