9 Old Home Projects

Entry Before and After We have worked on many projects in our old home.  They have included a new kitchen, mudroom, kid's bedroom, master bath addition, and a new porch to name a few.  Every one of them has improved our old home and made it a better place to live.  I am occasionally asked by our clients if the addition or renovation we are asked to design will pay for itself when the house is sold.  I [...]

By |2023-02-11T16:54:42-05:00August 19th, 2018|Categories: Miscellaneous|Tags: , , |2 Comments

Low Ceilings, Old home-No Problem

Low Ceilings After Low Ceilings Before We are often asked how to deal with existing low ceilings in a home.  This is one of my favorite blogs on the subject: Homes built before the advent of efficient heating systems and proper insulation often used fireplaces both as a source of heat and a place to cook.  Lower ceilings and smaller rooms were much easier to heat with fireplaces, therefore many period farmhouses were built with a [...]

By |2024-01-26T12:44:52-05:00July 16th, 2018|Categories: Additions, Basement, Miscellaneous, Renovations|Tags: , , |4 Comments

Classical Addition

Gable at Night Our clients wanted to respect the architecture of their original home while taking on a major renovation and addition. The additions we designed are Greek Revival, which is a vernacular style of the region and was consistent with the age of the original home.  Triple hung windows bring wonderful amounts of light into the living room, while the open plan of the kitchen helps the renovated home flow well.  In the end, this old farmhouse feels [...]

By |2023-02-11T19:13:17-05:00December 30th, 2017|Categories: Miscellaneous|Tags: , , |2 Comments

The Philip Hart House-Sleeping Porch(Revisited)

Porch-exterior Every old home needs an advocate. A special someone who understands and cares about the details, the history, and the sense of place inherent in a period home. Those advocates may save that home from the wrecking ball or the vinyl siding salesman or the addition that would look better on a gas station. Two of those advocates are David and Nan Greenwood.Their home is in Hart’s Village just outside of the Village of Millbrook. Philip Hart [...]

By |2023-03-29T13:27:11-04:00July 12th, 2013|Categories: Miscellaneous, Porches|Tags: , , |1 Comment

Ugly Duckling Phase (You Have To Crack Some Eggs….#4)

Every project reaches a phase during construction, which only an architect can love.  There is that point in major renovations, when structural elements have been completed, but little of the trim or details have been put back in place.  None of the proportions, which make a building sing, are visible yet, and all the rough edges show through.  When this ungainly stage coincides with the spring mud season, we have a big mess. On the other hand, hope [...]

Energy Saving

After going through a period with oil prices at record levels and winter just around the corner, the topic of conversation at home and in the office is how we are going to keep our heating bills down. If you are building new or completely remodeling, there are many great options from state of the art heating systems to the best insulation and energy conserving design, but most of us need to make the best of what we have, especially [...]

By |2010-06-03T14:05:20-04:00November 3rd, 2008|Categories: Renovations|Tags: , , |0 Comments