13 Family Friendly Pool Houses and Pavilions

Pool House With Porch A Pool house can be a place to access only the absolute necessities while enjoying the pool, or it can be a fun destination that allows friends and family to spend the day around the pool and then stay for the night. A well-designed pool house can easily double as a guest house for summer and winter use.  Pool houses we have designed often become the favorite house on the property. Pool House [...]

By |2024-03-19T11:54:47-04:00March 3rd, 2024|Categories: Pools, Design, Pool House, Pool Houses|0 Comments

7 Ways to Cut Painful Construction Costs in 2022

Simple Bedroom/Porch Addition Recently we have encountered a spike in construction costs.  We have seen this happen several times over the course of our practice, and it is always a shock when the established cost of building a home or an addition is no longer possible.  We have found that there are multiple reasons, but the main ones are the scarcity and accompanying inflation of building materials and the increasing construction costs of each building trade because they [...]

By |2024-01-31T18:30:43-05:00October 16th, 2022|Categories: Construction, Construction Costs, Miscellaneous, New Homes, Pool Houses, Porches|0 Comments

Breathtaking Berkshire Pool House

View to Pool and Pool House Our clients recently completed this Berkshire pool house.  It is a fun destination that can double as a guest house as well as a place to play pocket billiards or just relax.  The porch facing the pool includes phantom screens, which can come down with the push of a button and completely keep the bugs away.  After a sauna and a quick swim in the pool, a glass of wine on the [...]

By |2024-01-31T18:48:57-05:00September 19th, 2022|Categories: Miscellaneous, Pool Houses, Porches|Tags: , , , , , |0 Comments

4 Brilliant Outdoor Living Spaces

Outdoor Living and Dining In the northeast, we don't have a whole lot of warm weather suitable for outdoor entertaining, so we celebrate those perfect days in any way we can in our outdoor living spaces.  We are lucky to be able to collaborate with talented landscape architects and designers including Conte and Conte, Renee Byers, Judy Murphy of  Old Farm Nursery, and Rob Adroyd of Greylock Design Associates respectively.  Outdoor living spaces impact the design of our [...]

13 Pool Structures

Indoor Pool 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 or pavilion 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. This summer is predicted to be a scorcher and [...]

7 Perfect Pergolas

Pergola on Stone Terrace I love pergolas.  They give shade and add detail and interest to any structure although, I have to admit, there is no pergola which is perfect for all situations. We sometimes create free-standing pergolas, however most are connected to a home or outbuilding.  Materials for posts and beams can either match the larger structure or be completely different creating a contrast.  If plants are allowed and encouraged to grow over the structure, care should [...]

By |2023-02-11T19:15:23-05:00December 30th, 2017|Categories: Miscellaneous, Patios, Pool Houses, Porches|Tags: , , |3 Comments

4 Greek Revival Buildings

Former home of Kermit Love, creator of Big Bird (New Home) We love Greek Revival style buildings.  Sometimes we add on to Greek Revival homes, and we also design them from the ground up.  We often take liberties with details and proportions like carpenter architects did with the originals.  Above is a home we designed for (the late) Kermit Love, the creator of Big Bird, and his partner.  Kermit was in his 80s when we began this project. [...]

By |2023-02-25T10:19:01-05:00August 14th, 2017|Categories: Additions, Family Room, Living Room, Miscellaneous, Pool Houses, Porches, Renovations|6 Comments

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

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

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