Knowlwood
Split level homes are quite a familiar site to the communities of New England. Following World War II, many developments were constructed almost entirely of these peculiar multi-floor homes. As the years progressed, the community grew and expanded, yet, forty years later, these homes no longer fit the need of the modern American family.
A split-level offers many problems when trying to renovate or re-create the existing structure. The floor plates are split by a half-flight of stairs, making the flow of circulation through the home difficult to manage. This home is a great example of modernization and renovation without removing the existing structure.
The resulting transformation is that of a shingle-style home, rich in detail. The intersecting Dutch gables are the main focus of the front and offer a hierarchy and a new sense of entry. The front door is pronounced with a gentle, sweeping eyebrow arch and a bowed front stoop.
Outdoor spaces abound with the East porch. Carving out high ceilings from both within the existing home and on the exterior help to open the spaces and interconnect the once disjointed plan.
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Pineway
This home is a whimsical interpretation of a European-style storybook Tudor home with a central two story foyer that opens to the dining and living rooms. Thru the foyer is a main corridor that acts as the central spine of the home, collecting its patrons and allowing them access to all of the family spaces. Outdoor spaces such as raised patios and covered porches boast a built-in barbecue and a working fire pit.
The exterior is replete with many eye-catching elements such as the conical roof of the stair tower, large eyebrow dormer, and handsome chimney. The sumptuous materials give the home a certain tactile quality expressed in the stone, stucco, and cedar and brick accents.
This is a house that blends harmoniously into the surrounding neighborhood even with its strong stylistic impressions. The quality of the material and the refinement of the craftsmanship help to ease the visual originality and link it to a neighborhood of older homes.
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Coffetown barn
Resurrecting an old barn for new purposes is a clear definition of revival. This old barn was located in Coffeetown, NY, disassembled, placed in a warehouse, and re-built as a home on a horse farm in Somerset County. Rich, heavy timber detailing remains juxtaposed to the new finely crafted cabinetry, new rooms all united with eclectic fine furnishings.
Originally built as a hay-barn in western Pennsylvania in the 1840's, the original structure's timber-frame was salvaged and re-erected on a 40 acre horse farm in Somerset County. Preserving the original beams and timbers of the old barn while adapting the spaces to the needs of the clients proved challenging, but the result is a unique residence that combines all the modern luxuries and amenities of the 21st century set within the rustic backdrop of the original barn.
The newly configured barn contains a billiard room, home theatre and wine cellar on the ground floor with the main kitchen, dining room, and living room on the main floor. The loft spaces above overlook the original threshing bay of the main barn. While the owners clearly wished to preserve and celebrate the historic quality of the original barn, they were open to the reinterpretations of the barn vernacular that this project expressed, as in the corn crib inspired entry vestibule. Nowhere is this adaptive re-use more evident than in the re-use of the silo form. The silo houses a circular stair leading to a star gazing observatory, allowing for full 360 degree views of the night sky.
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Turret Hill
A new Short Hills home with an old world face. This project picks from the details of a Tudor home with its rough sawn wood brackets, stone finish, formed brick and slate roof. Details on the exterior makes one want to get in for a closer look.
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