Example of a large classic wooden spiral staircase design in Boston with wooden risers

A pair of tufted armchairs by the windows are positioned for serious readers.
Inspiration for a transitional living room remodel in Milwaukee

The client, new to the West Village neighborhood, was looking for a fresh take on a New York City bachelor pad. He wanted something neutral and masculine, but with some careful injections of color to keep it interesting, and of course…with a specific budget in mind. We anchored the space with a clean gray sectional, found a perfect barrel-backed chair with a hint of pattern, and layered the space with a plush rug and modern artwork to finish the look. And as the client was an avid reader, we made a point to have plenty of surfaces to display his book collection. The living room and bedroom are connected by a beautiful pair of french doors, so it was important to carry the aesthetic throughout. We continued in the bedroom with shades of grays and blues, and added some oversized artwork to create a focal point. Overall, the result was an airy, modern space and a perfect reflection of the client’s vision.

A reading room that is washed in beautiful natural light. Window seats make this space a delight for a reader.
Sunroom - mid-sized transitional medium tone wood floor and beige floor sunroom idea in New York with a standard ceiling

For the second phase, we moved down to the Basement. We kept the friendly sloth – what better way to invite folks on down? Again we lightened up the walls and created different sections in the large open area. We were able to display some wonderful antiques and art pieces in this Landing. The antique dresser is the perfect for the sloped ceiling and a great source for storage. We repositioned the loveseat along the longest wall and created a built-in effect with the homeowner’s bookcases. The homeowners are avid readers so we organized their book collection and mixed in found objects like an old radio and typewriter to keep the shelving interesting. The homeowners told me that they rarely used their Basement prior to the redesign, and now it is one of their favorite spots in the home. That’s definitely what we like to hear! Enjoy!

As readers of architect/designer Katie Hutchison’s book The New Cottage (Taunton Press 2018), these homeowners approached KHS about designing a second home in Westerly, Rhode Island. Theirs is a double-long lot with street frontage on both ends, a short walk from the water. In addition to the new house, their wish list included a new lap pool (with associated patio) and new garage. Aesthetically, they were looking to create an informally elegant, human-scaled family compound, engaged with the site and connected with the outdoors. They further requested sustainable features/systems and low-maintenance materials. In response, KHS proposed an ell-shaped house that wraps two sides of a lap pool/patio. A porch-fronted two-story gabled component faces the main street and is flanked by the one-story primary suite in one leg of the ell and the one-story kitchen and rear porches in the other leg of the ell. The house is an efficient +/- 2800 square-feet and contains four bedrooms and three and one half bathrooms. A salt-box inspired garage is detached so as not to increase the building massing. It helps shape outdoor spaces and doesn’t block daylight and direct exterior access from the house. It faces the secondary street. Driveways off both streets offer different modes of arrival. The south-facing roof of the two-story volume – which includes three bedrooms and two baths – and the south-facing one-story roof of the kitchen and rear porches, as well as the south-facing roof of the garage support 47 photovoltaic solar panels, providing the bulk of the property’s electric power. Two oversized exterior folding glass doors off the living area and kitchen blur the boundary between indoors and outdoors, welcoming abundant daylight, views of the pool and patio, as well as summer breezes. An airy living/dining area includes a long custom window seat and borders a semi-open kitchen beneath a cathedral ceiling. Living area built-in shelving frames a TV and surrounds a modern efficient pellet stove. A cheerful interior palette of soft hues features pops of color, Scandinavian wallpapers, custom textiles, and a dash of warm wood accents in the form of counters, built-in desks, and custom furnishings. On the exterior, natural shingles side the main volume and environmentally friendly and durable Boral board-and-batten side the one-story components and garage, communicating a legible hierarchy of spaces. The overall effect is a breezy, crisp New England home, pool patio, and garage for today’s living.

As readers of architect/designer Katie Hutchison’s book The New Cottage (Taunton Press 2018), these homeowners approached KHS about designing a second home in Westerly, Rhode Island. Theirs is a double-long lot with street frontage on both ends, a short walk from the water. In addition to the new house, their wish list included a new lap pool (with associated patio) and new garage. Aesthetically, they were looking to create an informally elegant, human-scaled family compound, engaged with the site and connected with the outdoors. They further requested sustainable features/systems and low-maintenance materials. In response, KHS proposed an ell-shaped house that wraps two sides of a lap pool/patio. A porch-fronted two-story gabled component faces the main street and is flanked by the one-story primary suite in one leg of the ell and the one-story kitchen and rear porches in the other leg of the ell. The house is an efficient +/- 2800 square-feet and contains four bedrooms and three and one half bathrooms. A salt-box inspired garage is detached so as not to increase the building massing. It helps shape outdoor spaces and doesn’t block daylight and direct exterior access from the house. It faces the secondary street. Driveways off both streets offer different modes of arrival. The south-facing roof of the two-story volume – which includes three bedrooms and two baths – and the south-facing one-story roof of the kitchen and rear porches, as well as the south-facing roof of the garage support 47 photovoltaic solar panels, providing the bulk of the property’s electric power. Two oversized exterior folding glass doors off the living area and kitchen blur the boundary between indoors and outdoors, welcoming abundant daylight, views of the pool and patio, as well as summer breezes. An airy living/dining area includes a long custom window seat and borders a semi-open kitchen beneath a cathedral ceiling. Living area built-in shelving frames a TV and surrounds a modern efficient pellet stove. A cheerful interior palette of soft hues features pops of color, Scandinavian wallpapers, custom textiles, and a dash of warm wood accents in the form of counters, built-in desks, and custom furnishings. On the exterior, natural shingles side the main volume and environmentally friendly and durable Boral board-and-batten side the one-story components and garage, communicating a legible hierarchy of spaces. The overall effect is a breezy, crisp New England home, pool patio, and garage for today’s living.

As readers of architect/designer Katie Hutchison’s book The New Cottage (Taunton Press 2018), these homeowners approached KHS about designing a second home in Westerly, Rhode Island. Theirs is a double-long lot with street frontage on both ends, a short walk from the water. In addition to the new house, their wish list included a new lap pool (with associated patio) and new garage. Aesthetically, they were looking to create an informally elegant, human-scaled family compound, engaged with the site and connected with the outdoors. They further requested sustainable features/systems and low-maintenance materials. In response, KHS proposed an ell-shaped house that wraps two sides of a lap pool/patio. A porch-fronted two-story gabled component faces the main street and is flanked by the one-story primary suite in one leg of the ell and the one-story kitchen and rear porches in the other leg of the ell. The house is an efficient +/- 2800 square-feet and contains four bedrooms and three and one half bathrooms. A salt-box inspired garage is detached so as not to increase the building massing. It helps shape outdoor spaces and doesn’t block daylight and direct exterior access from the house. It faces the secondary street. Driveways off both streets offer different modes of arrival. The south-facing roof of the two-story volume – which includes three bedrooms and two baths – and the south-facing one-story roof of the kitchen and rear porches, as well as the south-facing roof of the garage support 47 photovoltaic solar panels, providing the bulk of the property’s electric power. Two oversized exterior folding glass doors off the living area and kitchen blur the boundary between indoors and outdoors, welcoming abundant daylight, views of the pool and patio, as well as summer breezes. An airy living/dining area includes a long custom window seat and borders a semi-open kitchen beneath a cathedral ceiling. Living area built-in shelving frames a TV and surrounds a modern efficient pellet stove. A cheerful interior palette of soft hues features pops of color, Scandinavian wallpapers, custom textiles, and a dash of warm wood accents in the form of counters, built-in desks, and custom furnishings. On the exterior, natural shingles side the main volume and environmentally friendly and durable Boral board-and-batten side the one-story components and garage, communicating a legible hierarchy of spaces. The overall effect is a breezy, crisp New England home, pool patio, and garage for today’s living.

As readers of architect/designer Katie Hutchison’s book The New Cottage (Taunton Press 2018), these homeowners approached KHS about designing a second home in Westerly, Rhode Island. Theirs is a double-long lot with street frontage on both ends, a short walk from the water. In addition to the new house, their wish list included a new lap pool (with associated patio) and new garage. Aesthetically, they were looking to create an informally elegant, human-scaled family compound, engaged with the site and connected with the outdoors. They further requested sustainable features/systems and low-maintenance materials. In response, KHS proposed an ell-shaped house that wraps two sides of a lap pool/patio. A porch-fronted two-story gabled component faces the main street and is flanked by the one-story primary suite in one leg of the ell and the one-story kitchen and rear porches in the other leg of the ell. The house is an efficient +/- 2800 square-feet and contains four bedrooms and three and one half bathrooms. A salt-box inspired garage is detached so as not to increase the building massing. It helps shape outdoor spaces and doesn’t block daylight and direct exterior access from the house. It faces the secondary street. Driveways off both streets offer different modes of arrival. The south-facing roof of the two-story volume – which includes three bedrooms and two baths – and the south-facing one-story roof of the kitchen and rear porches, as well as the south-facing roof of the garage support 47 photovoltaic solar panels, providing the bulk of the property’s electric power. Two oversized exterior folding glass doors off the living area and kitchen blur the boundary between indoors and outdoors, welcoming abundant daylight, views of the pool and patio, as well as summer breezes. An airy living/dining area includes a long custom window seat and borders a semi-open kitchen beneath a cathedral ceiling. Living area built-in shelving frames a TV and surrounds a modern efficient pellet stove. A cheerful interior palette of soft hues features pops of color, Scandinavian wallpapers, custom textiles, and a dash of warm wood accents in the form of counters, built-in desks, and custom furnishings. On the exterior, natural shingles side the main volume and environmentally friendly and durable Boral board-and-batten side the one-story components and garage, communicating a legible hierarchy of spaces. The overall effect is a breezy, crisp New England home, pool patio, and garage for today’s living.

As readers of architect/designer Katie Hutchison’s book The New Cottage (Taunton Press 2018), these homeowners approached KHS about designing a second home in Westerly, Rhode Island. Theirs is a double-long lot with street frontage on both ends, a short walk from the water. In addition to the new house, their wish list included a new lap pool (with associated patio) and new garage. Aesthetically, they were looking to create an informally elegant, human-scaled family compound, engaged with the site and connected with the outdoors. They further requested sustainable features/systems and low-maintenance materials. In response, KHS proposed an ell-shaped house that wraps two sides of a lap pool/patio. A porch-fronted two-story gabled component faces the main street and is flanked by the one-story primary suite in one leg of the ell and the one-story kitchen and rear porches in the other leg of the ell. The house is an efficient +/- 2800 square-feet and contains four bedrooms and three and one half bathrooms. A salt-box inspired garage is detached so as not to increase the building massing. It helps shape outdoor spaces and doesn’t block daylight and direct exterior access from the house. It faces the secondary street. Driveways off both streets offer different modes of arrival. The south-facing roof of the two-story volume – which includes three bedrooms and two baths – and the south-facing one-story roof of the kitchen and rear porches, as well as the south-facing roof of the garage support 47 photovoltaic solar panels, providing the bulk of the property’s electric power. Two oversized exterior folding glass doors off the living area and kitchen blur the boundary between indoors and outdoors, welcoming abundant daylight, views of the pool and patio, as well as summer breezes. An airy living/dining area includes a long custom window seat and borders a semi-open kitchen beneath a cathedral ceiling. Living area built-in shelving frames a TV and surrounds a modern efficient pellet stove. A cheerful interior palette of soft hues features pops of color, Scandinavian wallpapers, custom textiles, and a dash of warm wood accents in the form of counters, built-in desks, and custom furnishings. On the exterior, natural shingles side the main volume and environmentally friendly and durable Boral board-and-batten side the one-story components and garage, communicating a legible hierarchy of spaces. The overall effect is a breezy, crisp New England home, pool patio, and garage for today’s living.

As readers of architect/designer Katie Hutchison’s book The New Cottage (Taunton Press 2018), these homeowners approached KHS about designing a second home in Westerly, Rhode Island. Theirs is a double-long lot with street frontage on both ends, a short walk from the water. In addition to the new house, their wish list included a new lap pool (with associated patio) and new garage. Aesthetically, they were looking to create an informally elegant, human-scaled family compound, engaged with the site and connected with the outdoors. They further requested sustainable features/systems and low-maintenance materials. In response, KHS proposed an ell-shaped house that wraps two sides of a lap pool/patio. A porch-fronted two-story gabled component faces the main street and is flanked by the one-story primary suite in one leg of the ell and the one-story kitchen and rear porches in the other leg of the ell. The house is an efficient +/- 2800 square-feet and contains four bedrooms and three and one half bathrooms. A salt-box inspired garage is detached so as not to increase the building massing. It helps shape outdoor spaces and doesn’t block daylight and direct exterior access from the house. It faces the secondary street. Driveways off both streets offer different modes of arrival. The south-facing roof of the two-story volume – which includes three bedrooms and two baths – and the south-facing one-story roof of the kitchen and rear porches, as well as the south-facing roof of the garage support 47 photovoltaic solar panels, providing the bulk of the property’s electric power. Two oversized exterior folding glass doors off the living area and kitchen blur the boundary between indoors and outdoors, welcoming abundant daylight, views of the pool and patio, as well as summer breezes. An airy living/dining area includes a long custom window seat and borders a semi-open kitchen beneath a cathedral ceiling. Living area built-in shelving frames a TV and surrounds a modern efficient pellet stove. A cheerful interior palette of soft hues features pops of color, Scandinavian wallpapers, custom textiles, and a dash of warm wood accents in the form of counters, built-in desks, and custom furnishings. On the exterior, natural shingles side the main volume and environmentally friendly and durable Boral board-and-batten side the one-story components and garage, communicating a legible hierarchy of spaces. The overall effect is a breezy, crisp New England home, pool patio, and garage for today’s living.

As readers of architect/designer Katie Hutchison’s book The New Cottage (Taunton Press 2018), these homeowners approached KHS about designing a second home in Westerly, Rhode Island. Theirs is a double-long lot with street frontage on both ends, a short walk from the water. In addition to the new house, their wish list included a new lap pool (with associated patio) and new garage. Aesthetically, they were looking to create an informally elegant, human-scaled family compound, engaged with the site and connected with the outdoors. They further requested sustainable features/systems and low-maintenance materials. In response, KHS proposed an ell-shaped house that wraps two sides of a lap pool/patio. A porch-fronted two-story gabled component faces the main street and is flanked by the one-story primary suite in one leg of the ell and the one-story kitchen and rear porches in the other leg of the ell. The house is an efficient +/- 2800 square-feet and contains four bedrooms and three and one half bathrooms. A salt-box inspired garage is detached so as not to increase the building massing. It helps shape outdoor spaces and doesn’t block daylight and direct exterior access from the house. It faces the secondary street. Driveways off both streets offer different modes of arrival. The south-facing roof of the two-story volume – which includes three bedrooms and two baths – and the south-facing one-story roof of the kitchen and rear porches, as well as the south-facing roof of the garage support 47 photovoltaic solar panels, providing the bulk of the property’s electric power. Two oversized exterior folding glass doors off the living area and kitchen blur the boundary between indoors and outdoors, welcoming abundant daylight, views of the pool and patio, as well as summer breezes. An airy living/dining area includes a long custom window seat and borders a semi-open kitchen beneath a cathedral ceiling. Living area built-in shelving frames a TV and surrounds a modern efficient pellet stove. A cheerful interior palette of soft hues features pops of color, Scandinavian wallpapers, custom textiles, and a dash of warm wood accents in the form of counters, built-in desks, and custom furnishings. On the exterior, natural shingles side the main volume and environmentally friendly and durable Boral board-and-batten side the one-story components and garage, communicating a legible hierarchy of spaces. The overall effect is a breezy, crisp New England home, pool patio, and garage for today’s living.

As readers of architect/designer Katie Hutchison’s book The New Cottage (Taunton Press 2018), these homeowners approached KHS about designing a second home in Westerly, Rhode Island. Theirs is a double-long lot with street frontage on both ends, a short walk from the water. In addition to the new house, their wish list included a new lap pool (with associated patio) and new garage. Aesthetically, they were looking to create an informally elegant, human-scaled family compound, engaged with the site and connected with the outdoors. They further requested sustainable features/systems and low-maintenance materials. In response, KHS proposed an ell-shaped house that wraps two sides of a lap pool/patio. A porch-fronted two-story gabled component faces the main street and is flanked by the one-story primary suite in one leg of the ell and the one-story kitchen and rear porches in the other leg of the ell. The house is an efficient +/- 2800 square-feet and contains four bedrooms and three and one half bathrooms. A salt-box inspired garage is detached so as not to increase the building massing. It helps shape outdoor spaces and doesn’t block daylight and direct exterior access from the house. It faces the secondary street. Driveways off both streets offer different modes of arrival. The south-facing roof of the two-story volume – which includes three bedrooms and two baths – and the south-facing one-story roof of the kitchen and rear porches, as well as the south-facing roof of the garage support 47 photovoltaic solar panels, providing the bulk of the property’s electric power. Two oversized exterior folding glass doors off the living area and kitchen blur the boundary between indoors and outdoors, welcoming abundant daylight, views of the pool and patio, as well as summer breezes. An airy living/dining area includes a long custom window seat and borders a semi-open kitchen beneath a cathedral ceiling. Living area built-in shelving frames a TV and surrounds a modern efficient pellet stove. A cheerful interior palette of soft hues features pops of color, Scandinavian wallpapers, custom textiles, and a dash of warm wood accents in the form of counters, built-in desks, and custom furnishings. On the exterior, natural shingles side the main volume and environmentally friendly and durable Boral board-and-batten side the one-story components and garage, communicating a legible hierarchy of spaces. The overall effect is a breezy, crisp New England home, pool patio, and garage for today’s living.

As readers of architect/designer Katie Hutchison’s book The New Cottage (Taunton Press 2018), these homeowners approached KHS about designing a second home in Westerly, Rhode Island. Theirs is a double-long lot with street frontage on both ends, a short walk from the water. In addition to the new house, their wish list included a new lap pool (with associated patio) and new garage. Aesthetically, they were looking to create an informally elegant, human-scaled family compound, engaged with the site and connected with the outdoors. They further requested sustainable features/systems and low-maintenance materials. In response, KHS proposed an ell-shaped house that wraps two sides of a lap pool/patio. A porch-fronted two-story gabled component faces the main street and is flanked by the one-story primary suite in one leg of the ell and the one-story kitchen and rear porches in the other leg of the ell. The house is an efficient +/- 2800 square-feet and contains four bedrooms and three and one half bathrooms. A salt-box inspired garage is detached so as not to increase the building massing. It helps shape outdoor spaces and doesn’t block daylight and direct exterior access from the house. It faces the secondary street. Driveways off both streets offer different modes of arrival. The south-facing roof of the two-story volume – which includes three bedrooms and two baths – and the south-facing one-story roof of the kitchen and rear porches, as well as the south-facing roof of the garage support 47 photovoltaic solar panels, providing the bulk of the property’s electric power. Two oversized exterior folding glass doors off the living area and kitchen blur the boundary between indoors and outdoors, welcoming abundant daylight, views of the pool and patio, as well as summer breezes. An airy living/dining area includes a long custom window seat and borders a semi-open kitchen beneath a cathedral ceiling. Living area built-in shelving frames a TV and surrounds a modern efficient pellet stove. A cheerful interior palette of soft hues features pops of color, Scandinavian wallpapers, custom textiles, and a dash of warm wood accents in the form of counters, built-in desks, and custom furnishings. On the exterior, natural shingles side the main volume and environmentally friendly and durable Boral board-and-batten side the one-story components and garage, communicating a legible hierarchy of spaces. The overall effect is a breezy, crisp New England home, pool patio, and garage for today’s living.

As readers of architect/designer Katie Hutchison’s book The New Cottage (Taunton Press 2018), these homeowners approached KHS about designing a second home in Westerly, Rhode Island. Theirs is a double-long lot with street frontage on both ends, a short walk from the water. In addition to the new house, their wish list included a new lap pool (with associated patio) and new garage. Aesthetically, they were looking to create an informally elegant, human-scaled family compound, engaged with the site and connected with the outdoors. They further requested sustainable features/systems and low-maintenance materials. In response, KHS proposed an ell-shaped house that wraps two sides of a lap pool/patio. A porch-fronted two-story gabled component faces the main street and is flanked by the one-story primary suite in one leg of the ell and the one-story kitchen and rear porches in the other leg of the ell. The house is an efficient +/- 2800 square-feet and contains four bedrooms and three and one half bathrooms. A salt-box inspired garage is detached so as not to increase the building massing. It helps shape outdoor spaces and doesn’t block daylight and direct exterior access from the house. It faces the secondary street. Driveways off both streets offer different modes of arrival. The south-facing roof of the two-story volume – which includes three bedrooms and two baths – and the south-facing one-story roof of the kitchen and rear porches, as well as the south-facing roof of the garage support 47 photovoltaic solar panels, providing the bulk of the property’s electric power. Two oversized exterior folding glass doors off the living area and kitchen blur the boundary between indoors and outdoors, welcoming abundant daylight, views of the pool and patio, as well as summer breezes. An airy living/dining area includes a long custom window seat and borders a semi-open kitchen beneath a cathedral ceiling. Living area built-in shelving frames a TV and surrounds a modern efficient pellet stove. A cheerful interior palette of soft hues features pops of color, Scandinavian wallpapers, custom textiles, and a dash of warm wood accents in the form of counters, built-in desks, and custom furnishings. On the exterior, natural shingles side the main volume and environmentally friendly and durable Boral board-and-batten side the one-story components and garage, communicating a legible hierarchy of spaces. The overall effect is a breezy, crisp New England home, pool patio, and garage for today’s living.

As readers of architect/designer Katie Hutchison’s book The New Cottage (Taunton Press 2018), these homeowners approached KHS about designing a second home in Westerly, Rhode Island. Theirs is a double-long lot with street frontage on both ends, a short walk from the water. In addition to the new house, their wish list included a new lap pool (with associated patio) and new garage. Aesthetically, they were looking to create an informally elegant, human-scaled family compound, engaged with the site and connected with the outdoors. They further requested sustainable features/systems and low-maintenance materials. In response, KHS proposed an ell-shaped house that wraps two sides of a lap pool/patio. A porch-fronted two-story gabled component faces the main street and is flanked by the one-story primary suite in one leg of the ell and the one-story kitchen and rear porches in the other leg of the ell. The house is an efficient +/- 2800 square-feet and contains four bedrooms and three and one half bathrooms. A salt-box inspired garage is detached so as not to increase the building massing. It helps shape outdoor spaces and doesn’t block daylight and direct exterior access from the house. It faces the secondary street. Driveways off both streets offer different modes of arrival. The south-facing roof of the two-story volume – which includes three bedrooms and two baths – and the south-facing one-story roof of the kitchen and rear porches, as well as the south-facing roof of the garage support 47 photovoltaic solar panels, providing the bulk of the property’s electric power. Two oversized exterior folding glass doors off the living area and kitchen blur the boundary between indoors and outdoors, welcoming abundant daylight, views of the pool and patio, as well as summer breezes. An airy living/dining area includes a long custom window seat and borders a semi-open kitchen beneath a cathedral ceiling. Living area built-in shelving frames a TV and surrounds a modern efficient pellet stove. A cheerful interior palette of soft hues features pops of color, Scandinavian wallpapers, custom textiles, and a dash of warm wood accents in the form of counters, built-in desks, and custom furnishings. On the exterior, natural shingles side the main volume and environmentally friendly and durable Boral board-and-batten side the one-story components and garage, communicating a legible hierarchy of spaces. The overall effect is a breezy, crisp New England home, pool patio, and garage for today’s living.

As readers of architect/designer Katie Hutchison’s book The New Cottage (Taunton Press 2018), these homeowners approached KHS about designing a second home in Westerly, Rhode Island. Theirs is a double-long lot with street frontage on both ends, a short walk from the water. In addition to the new house, their wish list included a new lap pool (with associated patio) and new garage. Aesthetically, they were looking to create an informally elegant, human-scaled family compound, engaged with the site and connected with the outdoors. They further requested sustainable features/systems and low-maintenance materials. In response, KHS proposed an ell-shaped house that wraps two sides of a lap pool/patio. A porch-fronted two-story gabled component faces the main street and is flanked by the one-story primary suite in one leg of the ell and the one-story kitchen and rear porches in the other leg of the ell. The house is an efficient +/- 2800 square-feet and contains four bedrooms and three and one half bathrooms. A salt-box inspired garage is detached so as not to increase the building massing. It helps shape outdoor spaces and doesn’t block daylight and direct exterior access from the house. It faces the secondary street. Driveways off both streets offer different modes of arrival. The south-facing roof of the two-story volume – which includes three bedrooms and two baths – and the south-facing one-story roof of the kitchen and rear porches, as well as the south-facing roof of the garage support 47 photovoltaic solar panels, providing the bulk of the property’s electric power. Two oversized exterior folding glass doors off the living area and kitchen blur the boundary between indoors and outdoors, welcoming abundant daylight, views of the pool and patio, as well as summer breezes. An airy living/dining area includes a long custom window seat and borders a semi-open kitchen beneath a cathedral ceiling. Living area built-in shelving frames a TV and surrounds a modern efficient pellet stove. A cheerful interior palette of soft hues features pops of color, Scandinavian wallpapers, custom textiles, and a dash of warm wood accents in the form of counters, built-in desks, and custom furnishings. On the exterior, natural shingles side the main volume and environmentally friendly and durable Boral board-and-batten side the one-story components and garage, communicating a legible hierarchy of spaces. The overall effect is a breezy, crisp New England home, pool patio, and garage for today’s living.

As readers of architect/designer Katie Hutchison’s book The New Cottage (Taunton Press 2018), these homeowners approached KHS about designing a second home in Westerly, Rhode Island. Theirs is a double-long lot with street frontage on both ends, a short walk from the water. In addition to the new house, their wish list included a new lap pool (with associated patio) and new garage. Aesthetically, they were looking to create an informally elegant, human-scaled family compound, engaged with the site and connected with the outdoors. They further requested sustainable features/systems and low-maintenance materials. In response, KHS proposed an ell-shaped house that wraps two sides of a lap pool/patio. A porch-fronted two-story gabled component faces the main street and is flanked by the one-story primary suite in one leg of the ell and the one-story kitchen and rear porches in the other leg of the ell. The house is an efficient +/- 2800 square-feet and contains four bedrooms and three and one half bathrooms. A salt-box inspired garage is detached so as not to increase the building massing. It helps shape outdoor spaces and doesn’t block daylight and direct exterior access from the house. It faces the secondary street. Driveways off both streets offer different modes of arrival. The south-facing roof of the two-story volume – which includes three bedrooms and two baths – and the south-facing one-story roof of the kitchen and rear porches, as well as the south-facing roof of the garage support 47 photovoltaic solar panels, providing the bulk of the property’s electric power. Two oversized exterior folding glass doors off the living area and kitchen blur the boundary between indoors and outdoors, welcoming abundant daylight, views of the pool and patio, as well as summer breezes. An airy living/dining area includes a long custom window seat and borders a semi-open kitchen beneath a cathedral ceiling. Living area built-in shelving frames a TV and surrounds a modern efficient pellet stove. A cheerful interior palette of soft hues features pops of color, Scandinavian wallpapers, custom textiles, and a dash of warm wood accents in the form of counters, built-in desks, and custom furnishings. On the exterior, natural shingles side the main volume and environmentally friendly and durable Boral board-and-batten side the one-story components and garage, communicating a legible hierarchy of spaces. The overall effect is a breezy, crisp New England home, pool patio, and garage for today’s living.

Example of a minimalist home office design in Pune