Ferns Our architectural photographer, Rob Karosis is an artist who cannot turn off his creative eye when taking a break between architectural shots. We always look for those bonus photographs that come back from a photo shoot. Although architectural photography requires an element of craft and technical expertise, only an artist can make the images come alive. Fields Barn in Early Morning Fog Cornfield Early Summer Abandoned Farm Doors [...]
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 [...]
Screened Porch with Folding Doors When it is buggy out, a screened porch is in its glory! I love to eat dinner on my open porch (as well as drink my morning coffee), but if the bugs are out, I go inside. Screened porches solve those problems entirely. It is just lucky for me, that my property rarely has a bug problem. For some homeowners, the mosquitos, gnats, and other biting insects come out like clockwork, making it [...]
The Bear that Ate my Bird Feeders I was just beginning to test the idea of setting up a remote-controlled camera to photograph the variety of birds that come to our bird feeders. I found that in my first test, it worked quite well. The very next day, a big black bear knocked down every bird feeder we had. I will put my idea on hold until this coming winter. Bluejay Test Photo On any farm, [...]
Greenwich Waterfront Home The spring and the fall are great times to visit job sites. As long as the construction sites are not too muddy, the weather is usually fine and the countryside is spectacular. We are working on a wide variety of projects in locations from the Berkshires to Greenwich, New Jersey to Columbia county, New York, and everything in between. I never tire of vising homes under construction. Greenwich Waterfront Home Woodstock New [...]
Breezeway Connector There are times when we want to add a room or even a building to a home but we need some space between them to make the addition work well. There are many ways to accomplish that connection. The connector can become a room or a destination itself, or simply a corridor. For the 'Breezeway Connector,' we included a sitting area and a place to barbeque. Breezeway Connector Breezeway Connector Because of [...]
Simple Porch Between the shortage of materials and the high demand, we are all scrambling to understand the current price of projects. Covid has shut down factories and interrupted supply chains like no other time in my career. There are signs that material prices will stabilize soon, but no one knows what to expect in the short term. When designing a home or addition, part of the fun for the owner is imagining the project finished without any [...]
Complete Renovation After You would think that it is an easy decision whether to renovate or to take an existing home down to the foundation. Many times, that decision is complex as well as difficult. It is not uncommon for a homeowner to come to us with a list of changes to a home they have just purchased that are very extensive. We as architects are asked if it would be better to demolish the home or work around what [...]
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 [...]
Berkshire Family Compound Almost Finished Berkshire Family Compound Almost Finished It is a real adventure visiting job sites these days. I go from mud pits to ice sheets to snowdrifts sometimes all in one day. My job is easy compared to the guys working on the job sites though. In addition to dealing with weather-related difficulties, contractors are also having to deal with spot shortages of materials and fluctuating prices. I also understand that there is [...]
