Architectural Details
To create depth and visual interest and use the angled walls to their advantage, Hershman used a striking wood-grain wallpaper for the wall behind the bed and the room-facing side of the angled wall to the left of the window. With the dark grey for the underside the contrast creates a great reading nook. I like how the hand-knit throw matches the walls
The doors again. Not so sure about this: The hallway on this level also includes a glass floor. Winston explains, “Since our house is so dark, we wanted to get some more light in. So Ben suggested we enlarge the skylight on the top floor and then make the hallway floor glass so that the light could stream down the middle of the house.”
The family hired local mason Juan Gonzalez of Gonzalez Masonry to build the fireplace, which arrived by crate on a truck from Toronto. After they borrowed a forklift to get the kit into the house, the artistry began. “Juan used rocks from the Yakima River for the fireplace,” Rich says. Gonzalez and his crew laid the rock in “hidden” designs that can be seen with a discerning eye, including flowers and the shape of a heart. Large keystones chosen for their beauty sit above the firebox in the music room and the living room. A stainless steel heat exchanger is embedded in the masonry, between the fireplace’s burn chambers and the flue. The heat exchanger is connected to copper tubing attached to the hot-water tank. The heat generated from two fires a day circulates via a pump, which heats the water in the home’s hot-water tank as well as the vast majority of the home.
a fireplace that is not only the room’s focal point but also the home’s primary source of heat and its hot-water heater. It opens to both the music room and the living room on the other side. After the Smiths learned they would lose a great deal of heat if they built their fireplace into the wall, they turned to Temp-Cast Masonry Heaters in Toronto for a solution. What they found was a Russian fireplace: a rustic-looking fireplace that provides beauty, heat and hot water.
Use skylights to improve headroom. A stairway with limited headroom can be very uncomfortable to use and might discourage you from making the most of the rooms on an upper level. Sometimes this low clearance is an issue only for a small area at the top landing. Raising the roofline or adding a dormer can be very expensive solutions for such a small area. But a well-placed skylight can be used to raise the ceiling height where it’s needed most. It also brightens the room and provides the opportunity for ventilation.
hallway closet; light fixtures, floor stripes.
hallway workspace/office
hallway library with wall-mounted floating or bracket shelves
hallway library with built-in window seats, with or without hidden storage. Slender bookcases between the windows can be outfitted with sconces to provide light, making the hall an inviting reading spot.
hallway library
thin mounted cabinets in long hallway
sliding barn door
built-in shelving over bed in a nook.
above door shelf
pocket French doors with etched glass, facing mirror, and paint color
exterior sliding door in a space where pocket door isn't feasible like an under-the-stairs room.
cool fireplace
Very cool: An archway full of character leads into a walk-in wardrobe, which is accessed via a little set of steps. “The space was originally an outside attic, accessed from outside the house,” says Strutt. She was curious as to what lay behind it and “started picking away from the outside in.” When Strutt accessed the space, she discovered that it was four steps above the level of the bedroom, so the stairs were put in to link the two spaces together. The unusually shaped archway is due to the fact that there is a chimney breast to the left and the Aga chimney to the right.
French doors and transom to guest room/study.
love the wall paneling and curve of the stairs
lovely. there is enough empty floor space to keep the homeowner’s large potted plants warm in the winter. Shelves provide space for overwintering plants like begonias and geraniums.
Brick and stone, especially the brick's pattern and the stone sink with hose. Ideal if floor has a drain--stained concrete cheaper than stone. This fantastic potting room actually had been a covered porch that the designers enclosed and winterized.
This farmhouse’s potting room serves as a lovely buffer between a kitchen and a garage. Lococo used board and batten siding and a rustic clefted slate floor to make it feel like it was a breezeway closed in at a much later date.
pony wall with bench
Love the stairs and the way the light behind them makes it seem like there is a secret world back there. I also like the paneling and trim, but not sure about the tan grass-cloth wall paper and hate the furniture and stair runner.
beehive oven behind a door and old glory sign on mantel
Pocket french doors! love the little study alcove. dog pillow red, cream and tan. rolltop desk.
2 sets of pocket doors--this would be my solution to loving lots of cosy purposed rooms, but yet having an open modern flow when needed
Cute: Colored glass rondelles fill the windows of this wine room, echoing the shapes of the vintage bottles nearby. The effect is not only beautiful but practical as well, since the wine is protected from direct sunlight.
This intricate stained glass pattern not only provides privacy in this very traditional room, but it softens the harsh sunlight to protect the delicate woods and fabrics. Harp table, green curtains, fan(?) chairs, blue chair with fringe.
As Jim Buckley of Buckley Rumford Fireplaces in Washington state explains, “The opening should be about as tall as it is wide; the depth of the firebox and fireback should be about the same and about one-third of the fireplace width; the fireback should be plumb and straight; and the throat should be rounded or streamlined to a small, typically 4-inch, throat opening.”
What attracts many people to a Rumford fireplace, besides its aesthetics, is its efficiency in radiating heat into the room and drawing smoke and pollutants out. Rumford fireplaces are taller and shallower than the typical fireplace, and have a narrower chimney opening to increase updraft.
Inglenook near entrance of house
Arts and Crafts inglenook at Gamble House in Pasadena--love the wood and old glass.
A bent library ladder, seen here, sports a bend midway to work around an obstruction such as a countertop or radiator cover. A ladder manufacturer can make this ladder based on the obstruction’s height and depth dimensions that you provide.
Interesting use of under the stairs space! Harry Potter guest bed nook.
Known as an inglenook, a bench around a fireplace provides a welcoming spot for warming up on a chilly winter’s day. I like how it divides from the dining area--I wonder what the whole space looks like?
Too cool! Accessible only by ladder, this reading nook is a magical spot where kids or grownups can get lost in a book. Instead of being filled with dusty decor, it is a useful sitting spot, complete with bookshelves.
Framed by a pediment and flanked by bookshelves, this sunny window seat with steps leading up to it is perfect for escaping to with a mug of hot tea. Bare windows make the most of light and views, and a plump pillow and cozy blanket invite relaxation.
oversize woven pendant light and the coffee table provide a strong center to “break up the bowling alley feel” of the long space.
little window in under the stair closet
painted wood floor pattern
dutch-door and inlaid compass rose in the entry hall. bead-board ceiling
leaded glass salvaged transoms
two large sliding doors create the corner of the music room (library or study?) so they can be closed for privacy or opened to connect with the living space.
Gate with arch connected to stone wall.
air vent in the bottom of the door to prevent must/mildew.
great way to break up a long hall. Nautical.
Lattice ceiling trim mirrors floor's tile pattern, and looks like sky--neat use in a small room.
Coffered ceilings with can lights and a secret door to another space behind the bookshelves
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