This large, active family desired a home with private places where each could claim his own space. For entertaining guests, they needed several different kinds of gathering
places for family and friends.
This required formal places for adult gatherings and work, and places for study and play for active kids. The clients requested two separate entries, a formal and a family one;
and loads of storage space.
The Process
To organize the spaces, we created four zones:
Family Public
Family Private
Formal Public
Formal Private
And we designed the kitchen as the hub of activity.
The Result
Through an interesting formal entry, one arrives into a double-height space lit by high, tiny dormers and leading to a formal living room overlooking a garden and outdoor deck.
The family entry comes from the garage under a breeze-way to a green-house/mud-room. This double-height space also lights the stairs and second floor common area. One enters past the stairs to the large family kitchen, which opens to the family areas and leads to the formal dining room.
The stairs alongside the entry greenhouse give views to the outside as one comes to a common area for the children. Their bedrooms and bath all open onto the common area. A second floor exit leads to a balcony that connects house to garage and forms the breezeway below.
Finally, and intimate space is tucked under a gable to the front, lit by a series of tiny dormers and large windows at its end. We call it "the sanctuary". The dormers and sloping ceilings give it a church-like feel. It is a study/work room that can double as a guest room.
Because of the densely populated neighborhood and narrow site, we designed the formal places to the front, facing a garden and the road. The quieter spaces face the next-door neighbor; and the noisiest places to the back facing a play yard.
We also took care to break up the mass of the house to make a series of interesting spaces inside and disguise the size of the house as it appears from the road.
