Architect: Claude Miquelle, A.I.A.
Builder: Emil Hanslin, New Seabury on Cape Cod
Interiors: Donald Popplestone, Staff Designer
The decks prove that good design needn't be costly. Doors from the living room, left, kitchen and master bedroom, right, put breezes and sunshine a few steps from any place in the house. The stairs at far left and far right make it easy to get to the yard or patio. To construct decks, we simply sank footings, set posts along the outside edges, and topped them with beams and extended joists.
High cathedral ceiling and glass wall make the entry look much bigger, let more light into living room. Unity of materials in the areas helps too-walls at left and just inside the door are the same rough-sawn plywood used on the garage outside; brick tile covers both the entry floor and living room hearth at lower left; rough wood slat ceiling extends over both of these rooms, then continues out under the eaves.
In the evening, the entry makes a dramatic place to welcome visitors and linger over farewells. It's also quite functional, acting as a crossroads that channels traffic to different areas of the house. From the door, you can turn left and go downstairs, or take a step further and go upstairs to the living room, kitchen or master bedroom. The alcove to the rear has a coat closet at left and a big built-in cabinet for stashing gloves, briefcases, etc., as soon as you come indoors. A door at the right of the cabinet leads to the garage and utility room.
Lunch is served-or is it breakfast? The rear deck is so handy to the kitchen that it's hard to resist moving out here for every meal! And of course, the area's possibilities for informal entertaining, or just plain relaxing, are almost limitless. The two big decks seem to zone themselves-children on the rear one, adults on the side next to the living room. With a total area of more than 500 square feet, the decks nearly double the upper level floor space. Also, they give the kitchen the convenience of a separate entry, so you can bring in groceries or take out garbage without walking through the rest of the house. The sun screen overhead, which is made of rough wood slats, shades both the kitchen and bedroom doors. For more weather protection, one or both decks could be roofed or fully screened in.
Living room conversation center has the cozy, intimate atmosphere of a den. For economy and to establish the informal theme, we used a prefabricated fireplace with the legs removed. Its chimney goes back through the wall to join the furnace stack in the utility area off the garage. The three ceiling lamps, wall- hung end table, and shelves do a big job simply, without stealing floor space. To build the shelves, we just fastened eight-foot lengths of walnut to wrought-iron reproductions of antique brackets. A larger bracket supports one end of the table; the other is tied to the wall. On bright days you can change the room's entire character by opening the curtain to the left, or the sliding glass door to the deck just behind it.
The 122x19-foot living room is quite versatile, so we planned its furnishings for flexibility too. The lightweight swivel chairs and table in foreground can be easily moved to expand the conversation center if you're entertaining a large group; the rug can be quickly rolled up for dancing. Those two little hassocks in the corner are made of hemp braided in a basket weave.
For warmth and a sense of the out-of-doors, furniture, rug, and accessories here and in other rooms are bright colored. Synthetic fabrics help keep the house's over-all maintenance requirements down to a bare minimum.
Here we wanted to prove that a good kitchen needn't be huge. The meal preparation center is only 10x7 feet, but it's as complete, efficient, and luxurious as one twice as big. In designing it, we analyzed the steps most women would take at mealtime, then tried to reduce them. The refrigerator on the right has a long counter adjacent to it that facilitates loading, unloading, and mixing. From there, food moves to the range at extreme left, and then to the serving bar. Clean-up chores are centered at the stainless steel corner sink or the under-counter dishwasher. Storage is commodious, both here and in the family eating area to the rear.
In the eating area, the large overhead cabinets, mar-proof counter and shallow base cabinets underneath function as a 7-foot-long buffet for keeping dishes, silver, and table linen. The brick-patterned floor tile reminds you that the sliding glass door in the rear leads to the deck and outdoors.
In a house with less than 1,600 square feet, we couldn't afford to hand over any of that space to a once-in-a while separate dining room. But every house should have a place to seat dinner guests where they won't be able to see kitchen clutter. We compromised with an ingenious convertible unit that would work in many situations. One end of the living room was devoted to a handsome storage wall with an unusual fold-out dining table. In this view, it's extended to accommodate three people; you could pull it all the way out from the wall and seat three more. In the photograph at right, the table has been foreshortened into a desk that's just the place to make up grocery lists, pay bills, or dash off a quick letter. And the table-desk top can be folded down flush with the storage wall to provide even more floor space in the living room.
If you're planning to build a house, or remodel your present one, or you're just looking for a way to open up a rarely used dining room for other activities, then consider a unit like this one. It could be tucked into almost any space that's readily accessible from the kitchen. Folded up, it occupies less than two feet of floor space along one wall.
To build the storage unit, we simply stacked freestanding modular furniture on either side of the table- desk. On top are two shallow cabinets and various shelves for keeping books and decorative accessories; below are five deep drawers and two cabinets that could comfortably house records and hi- fi or stereo equipment. Above the desk is a light bridge with a fluorescent fixture concealed behind it. Because each element of the unit is independent, you could easily reshuffle the components any way that you like.
Walnut furniture matches the shelves at the other end of the living room over the fireplace. The flooring in every room on the upper level except the kitchen is dark oak laid in random widths to give a planking effect. Rich natural wood tones in the floor, storage unit, shelves, and ceiling give the living-dining room a warm, traditional feeling. White walls amplify the room's excellent natural and artificial lighting.
Very few smaller houses can boast a master bedroom like this! There's enough space in it for a king or queen- size bed, night tables, a pair of comfortable chairs and plenty of storage (see plan). The room measures about 12x12 feet, with an 8-foot ceiling. The sliding glass doors provide lots of light and a picture-window view-and put the rear deck and backyard just a few steps away.
Because it's roomy, isolated, and self- contained-with its own bath-the master suite can function as a Shangri-La for peace-loving adults. You can retreat here for a nap or evening of undisturbed reading, letting the children have the rest of the house. And in the morning, the man of the house can get up, step into the separate dressing area, and prepare for work without disturbing anyone else.
This built-in vanity lavatory is one of the major reasons why the master suite works so well. The sliding mirror doors conceal a large medicine cabinet; above it is a wide shelf that we used for displaying some attractive bottles, but it could just as easily hold fresh towels; below are two big cabinets for keeping other bathroom supplies. The 4-foot-long vanity counter has a laminated plastic top. To the left and right of the mirror are tall, recessed lighting panels. A door at the right leads to the bath; on the far left is one of the two bedroom wardrobes; beyond it is the linen closet, which includes a laundry chute to the lower level (washer and dryer are directly below) and a built-in hamper for hand washables.
By utilizing what might have been no more than a corridor to the bath, we were able to add more than 45 square feet of floor space and diversified storage to the master bedroom suite.
At the front end of the family room, this 15-foot-wide built-in unit wraps up study, storage, and sewing facilities in one big convenient package. The large desk in the center has a laminated plastic top that's 42 feet long. There are three drawers suspended below and adjustable shelves above. The closet on the right has more shelving for toys, games, records, and other family room paraphernalia. The one on the left includes a complete sewing center, which can be quickly closed up behind double doors when company is coming. To the far right, on the other side of the doorway, is still another closet with space for hanging winter or summer clothes. Like the ceiling and floor, unit could be a do-it-your- self job.
The 122x17-foot family room is big enough so that active youngsters won't get "cabin fever" on rainy days, and it's so durable and easy to keep clean that you'll never have qualms about leaving them down there. The key to its hardiness lies in the materials we used. That good-looking brick wall, for example, isn't brick at all-it's concrete, poured in a brick-patterned form. Besides being decorative, the wall forms one side of the foundation. The top half is plaster.
To save money on construction, the contractor could leave this room unfinished, and you could complete the job yourself. The floor covering is easy-to-put- down vinyl asbestos tile; the ceiling is vinyl-coated fiberglass, which comes in sheets that can be cut with a knife.
The sliding glass door opens directly onto the ground-level patio, which is sheltered from the weather by the rear deck above. This makes it possible for traffic to come and go to the downstairs bedrooms and bath without disturbing activity on the upper level.
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