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 [...]
I have renovated and added to my own home for many reasons, including the fact I hated the existing kitchen. I added a porch and a bedroom because I love porches and my oldest daughter needed a room of her own. Many people renovate a home because no one thought to incorporate light or views in the original design. Sometimes the existing home is outdated, dark, too small, poorly laid out, or all of the above. In any case, some [...]
We Americans have a love/hate relationship with our televisions. I try to limit my children’s time in front of the screen, but I myself spent my share of free time in front of the tube. That was so long ago, I remember going to the local store to replace tubes that had burned out. On the one hand, there is a huge amount of mindless junk on TV, but we have never had a greater choice of excellent content at [...]
View of Old and New The original house had been added to over time, but at its core was a beautiful old home with wide pine floors and plaster walls. A critical requirement of the project was to preserve the integrity of the historic structure while giving the new owners additional space for their growing family and friends. With some careful design and care during construction, we were even able to save two venerable old trees which have [...]
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 [...]
Built-In Beds When our third child was on the way, we decided to add a bedroom to our home. The room we were planning for our newborn son was immediately claimed by his oldest sister. We realized that in fairness, our firstborn deserved the first choice of rooms, and at that point, we began to reevaluate the design of the new room. This was an epiphany since our mental image of the room changed immediately. In fact, the [...]
If a person’s eyes are the window to their souls, windows in a home give expression to the character and soul of that home. Windows can be simple and utilitarian, they can focus attention on a special view, or they can dominate a wall. When I say window I mean windows, doors, transoms, and walls of windows. I live in an old home which has very regular simple windows. I love them. In my living room [...]
We are now a little over a month away from our 6th and largest Fine Home Source Home show. We have enlarged the tent and added vendors and have reached a milestone of 6 years keeping craftmanship and quality design alive. Join us in the celebration of quality services,craftsmanship, and design on September 28th in Millbrook, New York. Here are a few of the vendors who will be there: [...]
Having guests can be a wonderful experience. Providing a place for them to stay can sometimes be a real challenge. Of course it is easier to find a place for visitors when building a new home or guest house. Our clients generally want their guests close enough to be included in family activities, but far enough away for everyone to have their privacy. To complicate things, visitors with small children have very different needs compared to college [...]
