New Home with Porches Whenever we are asked to design any project, we approach it the same way the builders of my home did: design it as though a family will live there forever. The forever home starts with good design. Our preference is to avoid whatever the current fad is going around and to design each home or addition in a timeless manner that will look as good 25 years from now as it will 125 years [...]
Simple Bedroom/Porch Addition Recently we have encountered a spike in the cost of construction. 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 cost of each building trade because [...]
View to Pool and Pool House Our clients' recently completed pool house in the Berkshires 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 [...]
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. 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 homes and vice versa. Our [...]
Modern Farmhouse With Reflecting Pond This summer my family and I rented a home on a lake in Maine and it was wonderful. Other summers we stay in a cabin on a lake in the Adirondacks or on the ocean. Perhaps those water-connected homes are extra special to us because we live inland surrounded by trees with no water, but a pool. Some of our clients are lucky enough to own property on a lake, a pond, a [...]
Carriage House/Garage The homeowners wanted comfortable quarters for family members and friends that could accommodate long-term visits. This guest house with 3 bedrooms, a great kitchen opening onto the living room, mudroom, and laundry is a place where anyone could settle in for an extended stay. With a balcony off the living room and porch off the kitchen, it is also a good place to watch the world go by. On top of that, there is an elevator [...]
Front Entry This was a wonderful old home that needed a modern kitchen, more light, and a great master suite. As always, we respected the original architecture while adding rooms that now take advantage of the views and the landscape. We added porches and made it into a very comfortable new/old home. Side View Rear View Screened Porch Kitchen Kitchen View Breakfast Area Butlers Pantry [...]
3 Chicks Close Up On one of our site meetings which included the homeowners, me, the project architect and the contractor, Howie Senior, from Structure Works Construction, pointed out a new swallow’s nest. The swallows would start to build a nest on the house which is under construction and then the workmen would have to undo their hard work when a new piece of clapboard or framing was installed. Howie solved their dilemma by putting up a couple [...]
Simple Alcove When designing a home or addition, part of the fun for the owner is imagining the project finished without any compromises. When bids come in from the contractors, many homeowners are eager to look at ways to reduce the price without losing space or the character of the project. As the architects, our job is to help bring the price down as far as possible without losing the qualities that the owners loved in the first [...]
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 [...]
