Tis’ the Season to Get Together and Bake

Kitchen With Baking Station This time of year our kitchen is filled with family and friends talking, eating, cooking, and baking.  Often we are dancing around each other to get to utensils, trash bins, ingredients, mixers and ovens.  Our French exchange student, Paul, is in the process of teaching some of us how to make the perfect crepe. One of our clients, whose kitchen we recently finished,  included a baking station on the end of their island. This is [...]

By |2023-02-11T19:21:38-05:00December 12th, 2017|Categories: Miscellaneous|Tags: , , , |0 Comments

6 Farm House Sinks

Stone Farm House Sink Farm house sinks have evolved over time.  The earliest farm houses did not have running water and any cabinets in the kitchen would be more like furniture than the built-ins we have today.  A kitchen sink was usually placed next to a window to allow water to be poured into the sink from the outside.  In America, sinks were initially made of stone or lead lined wood, copper, or ceramic, then eventually were made of [...]

By |2023-02-26T12:51:36-05:00October 23rd, 2014|Categories: Miscellaneous|Tags: , , , , , , |4 Comments

5 Additions That Especially Add Value to a Home(Revisited)

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 [...]

By |2023-02-26T13:22:34-05:00May 8th, 2014|Categories: Additions, Kitchen, Porches, Renovations|Tags: , , , , |2 Comments

3 Coffee Bars

Built-in Coffee Center When I wake up in the morning, I need my coffee.  One of my morning rituals is to start the coffee brewing, check my e-mail, and then try to make sure all the kids are on schedule to catch the buses.  When my wife walks into the kitchen, after getting our youngest child up and ready for school, I pour her coffee and fix it the way she likes it.  After that, I am ready [...]

By |2023-02-26T13:24:43-05:00March 25th, 2014|Categories: Bedrooms, Kitchen|Tags: , , , , , |0 Comments

6 Eat-In Kitchens

Eat-In Kitchen with Fireplace Recently I visited Washington DC with my family and in addition to the monument tour, we visited the National Museum of American History where Julia Child's kitchen from her Massachusetts home is on display.  Mrs. Child donated her kitchen in 2001 and it is exactly as she left it with a big table right in the middle of the room.  You can see photos on the ‘Hooked on Houses’ blog. With Julia in mind, [...]

By |2023-02-26T20:56:22-05:00February 21st, 2014|Categories: Kitchen|Tags: , |2 Comments

One House, Plenty of Storage

Pantry Storage I can never have enough places to store things.  From cookbooks to gadgets, power tools to dog toys, winter gear to summer clothes, supply exceeds demand for space. One family, whose home we completely renovated, requested storage any place we could find it.  Although when designing a home or renovation, we are always looking for good places for storage, this home has a great variety of places to store stuff. I have never had a client [...]

By |2023-02-26T20:57:59-05:00February 5th, 2014|Categories: Design, Miscellaneous|Tags: , , , , , , |5 Comments

One Micro Home

Many people I know are weary of the work required to maintain a large home and the headaches associated with coordinating that task.  Although the idea of living in a very compact home isn’t for everyone, there are certainly days around my house that make me fantasize about living in a home, which due to its size, limits the amount of work required to keep it in good shape. Luckily we are often asked to design exactly that [...]

By |2014-06-06T13:37:18-04:00December 6th, 2013|Categories: Bathrooms, Design, Kitchen, New Homes, Porches|Tags: , , , |40 Comments

Mass. Farm House-Featured Recent Project

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 [...]

By |2014-06-06T13:42:38-04:00November 6th, 2013|Categories: Renovations|Tags: , , , , , |4 Comments

4 Kitchens Before and After Renovation(Updated)

A new kitchen can be one of the most dramatic changes to a home and a homeowner’s lifestyle.  When my wife and I renovated our kitchen, we went from wincing every time we cooked a meal to really loving to spend time there.  The new kitchen is the heart of our home.  It is where our family eats breakfast, does homework, gathers with friends and of course cooks. The layout of a kitchen is critical to [...]

3 Breakfast Bays

I have always loved sitting in a bright alcove eating breakfast and reading the paper.  These days the object in front of me is often an ipad or other electronics, but the wonderful feeling of a breakfast nook is always the same.  Of course bays which have windows on three sides are going to be the brightest.  Depending on the orientation of the house, the sunlight streaming in can be dramatic. If there are some interesting views, that [...]

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