The original house—a center-entry Federal with two rooms on each of three floors—suffered a number of poorly conceived additions over its life. It came to us as a four-unit condominium, which we were asked to convert back to a single-family. We redesigned the floor plans, which feature a new stair hall and a custom conservatory overlooking the rear yard and garden. The exterior elevations were altered via new rooflines and windows to achieve a cohesive appearance. The interior features new custom cabinetry throughout.
We were also asked to design a playhouse for a client’s young daughters. The client asked that the playhouse be stimulating and fun, while respecting their historical home. Our solution was to simplify the Federal details of the main house and use them to create the playhouse frame, downsized for children. Ornamental clerestory windows—diamonds on the east, stars on the west—were used to create interior light patterns that changed throughout the day. Windows with bunny and kitten patterned muntins and a butterfly weathervane were incorporated to entertain both the children and parents.
