Clapboard Siding When we begin to design a home, we generally have an idea of what the exterior material will be. Often we will try alternate materials either to change the aesthetics, to adjust the budget, or simply at the request of our clients. Many of our projects combine two or more materials. If you are designing a modern home, the exterior material palate is almost limitless as long as it keeps the weather out and doesn’t fall [...]
In a completely unscientific review of past and current projects, I find that five types of additions are requested more than all the others combined. The reason may be that homeowners value these five additions the most or it could be that most homes lack or only have poor examples of these spaces. While I never try to predict real estate trends or future markets, it stands to reason that a home, which includes fine examples one or more of [...]
Built-In Beds When our third child was on the way, we decided to add a bedroom to our home. The room we were planning for our newborn son was immediately claimed by his oldest sister. We realized that in fairness, our firstborn deserved the first choice of rooms, and at that point, we began to reevaluate the design of the new room. This was an epiphany since our mental image of the room changed immediately. In fact, the [...]
Ranch style homes have fallen in and out of favor over the decades. This love-hate relationship with homeowners often leads to a desire to make major changes to the average ranch. One of the most frequently asked questions regarding a major ranch home renovation is: ‘When is it better to knock it down instead of working with what is there?’ Sometimes that line is hard to draw and it usually is determined by a cost benefit analysis. If [...]
Stone Addition Something magical happens to a home with the first snowfall of the season. Around my house the kids and the animals are even more excited than I am as we run and throw snow balls. Rosie, our mini Aussie, tracks in the snow which melts on the floor while I start a fire and my wife makes hot cocoa. The timing doesn’t always work, but when we can coordinate a photo shoot of one of [...]
Entry with Hooks and Storage Over the years, we have designed many mudrooms. Sometimes they are designed as a room dedicated to getting mud off of kids, pets, and everyone coming into the side door of the home. Other times they serve light duty as entries with coat hooks and a place to sit and take off or put on shoes. In the design of these mudrooms, we try to make them bright, comfortable, and above all functional. [...]
We always love it when our former clients call us back for additional work on their homes. In this case the owners wanted an open room which would be a place to play pool, entertain, and gather with family and friends. They wanted the addition to feel like a stone barn to which the main house was added, and we all agree, it really does feel like the stone addition has always been there. [...]
We started with an historic home on a dirt road in the countryside of Massachusetts which had been uninhabited for several years. Our clients came along at just the right time to resurrect this beautiful bit of history. By carefully preserving the antique portions of the home while renovating and adding to the newer sections, we were able to create a home that has a foot in several centuries. Best of all it still feels comfortable on that [...]
Excerpted from “On the Porch” by Sandee Mahoney and James Crisp Have you ever looked at a house and sensed that something about it wasn’t quite right? Perhaps it didn’t look finished or feel balanced. Was it the placement of the windows? The pitch of the roof? The size of the porch? It’s not always easy to put your finger on what’s wrong, but it helps if you understand a few principles of good design. These drawings illustrate [...]
We had a beautiful day, 54 vendors(a record) and over 600 visitors-what more can you ask for? Well, we had a late entry of Telescopes of Vermont who showed everyone the amazing Porter Garden Telescope. People were reading the fine print on a dollar bill almost a block away. It brought back my amature astronomer's glee. There were vendors like Chris' Coffee showing their amazing Italian espresso makers and handing out free samples to Hudson Company displaying their [...]
