When our clients asked us to add a great room to the back of this 1970's colonial, they expected a simple and staid room in keeping with the rest of the house. We knew they had traveled throughout the middle-east, so designed a skylight-topped, domed ceiling in the addition that reminded them of Morocco. We left a lower-ceilinged band around the room's edge to provide a cozy spot and transition to the soffit outdoors. The outside of the building is more well-behaved, with a pared down interpretation of New England vernacular forms.