In the photo above, I included a partial view of the neighboring natural-finish, white-cedar shingle house, which is by no means large, as a scale reference for the diminutive yellow house. Dividing a home’s volume into smaller components is a strategy I often recommend for reducing the apparent scale of larger homes. But, here, an already smaller home has divided its volume into smaller components, which results in it seeming even smaller, and, yes, even more adorable. Wouldn’t it be delightful if whoever lives here owned a “Kite Blue” MINI Cooper and parked it out front for my next photo op?!

The attention to detail in the porch brackets, chamfered posts, staggered shingle coursing on the gable end which wraps the side walls, and the angled boards infilling the ends of the porch roof only tips the scale further on the adorable scale. So do the yellow and white color scheme and the seemingly large (for such a petite house) double-hung windows.

Show me the keys; the yellow house would be a dreamy vacation rental. (Did I mention it's on Martha's Vineyard?)

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast

The semi-enclosing guardrail, periodic turned posts, and gently sloped bead-board ceiling all provide comfortable shelter, while the long, wrapping, open expanse welcomes daylight, breezes, and view. Furnishing the porch for sitting and dining, complete with finished sideboards, serving tables, and a rug, greatly expands and diversifies the available living space.

If I could, I’d wrap this gem up and take it home with me. Short of that, we can borrow from its example. Learn more about integral, wrapping porches in my recent Drawing Board column for Fine Homebuilding’s annual HOUSES issue. Click here for a PDF of the column. "Design an integral porch" by Katie Hutchison, Issue #227, Spring/Summer 2012. Reprinted with permission copyright 2012, The Taunton Press, Inc. Read another porch paradigm “Design snapshot”, too.

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast

Hidden Gardens of Beacon Hill (Boston, MA) Thursday, May 17, 2012 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Concord Museum 21st Annual Garden Tour (Concord, MA) Friday-Saturday June 1-2, 2012 9:00 am - 4:00 pm 
 
Farmington/Unionville Friends Kitchens and Gardens Tour (Farmington/Unionville, CT) Saturday, June 16, 2012 10:00 am – 4:00 pm 
 
South End Garden Tour (Boston, MA) Saturday, June 16, 2012 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Portsmouth Pocket Garden Tour (Portsmouth, NH) Friday, June 22, 2012 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm and Saturday, June 23, 2011 9:00 am - 3:00 pm

New Castle Village Walk & Garden Tour (New Castle, NH) Sunday, June 24, 2012 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm

Newport Summer Secret Garden Tour (Newport, RI) Friday-Sunday, June 29-July 1, 2012 10:00 am - 5:00 pm  

Provincetown Art Association and Museum Secret Garden Tour (Provincetown, MA) Sunday, July 8, 2012 10:00 am - 3:00 pm 

Pittsfield Garden Tour (Pittsfield, MA) Saturday, July 14, 2012 10:00 am – 4:00 pm and Sunday, July 15, 2012 noon – 4:00 pm  

Private Gardens of the Kennebunk’s Tour (Kennebunk, ME) Saturday, July 14, 2012 10:00 am - 4:00 pm  

Camden Garden Club House and Garden Tour (Camden, ME) Thursday, July 19, 2011 9:30 am - 4:00 pm

Nantucket Annual House & Garden Tour (Nantucket, MA) Wednesday, August 8, 2012 11:00 am - 4:30 pm  

The Garden Conservancy’s Open Days 
 
by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast

Image excerpt from my Fine Homebuilding "Drawing Board" column about integral porches.

Click here for a PDF of the column. "Design an integral porch" by Katie Hutchison, Issue #227, Spring/Summer 2012. Reprinted with permission copyright 2012, The Taunton Press, Inc.

Visit the KHS publications page for other magazine columns and articles I've written.

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast

Broccoli I grew in last season's idjit, square-foot garden. (Who knew that broccoli blooms if not harvested in a timely fashion? Not this idjit gardener who thought the flowers were pretty.)

Inside Easy Edible Garden, I found a fount of accessible gardening information for the gardening-challenged (my term, and a more PC way to describe idjit gardeners such as myself). There's a section about different garden bed sizes and styles suitable for the urban, suburban, or rural gardener -- complete with basic, edible plant recommendations. And, best of all, there's a lengthy section which focuses on 20 of the "easiest veggies, fruits, and herbs you can grow -- and dozens of delicious ways to enjoy them." The recipes are the clincher. They're always my favorite part of Sunset magazine. (I know, I know, it's a west-coast magazine, and I'm a New Englander, but who couldn't benefit from a touch of the other coast? Plus, fresh edibles are fresh edibles.)

I'm looking forward to using some of this season's idjit-garden bounty in "Cilantro chicken," "Sauteed Swiss chard with pancetta," and "Spicy eggplant, pork, and tofu stir fry" -- among other Easy Edible Garden recipes. Pick up your copy on newsstands before May 18.

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast

Living room in a Greek Revival, double house on Chestnut Street

Stroll the street originally laid out in 1796 where well-to-do sea captains, ship builders, and merchants (among others) created their Federal and Greek Revival style dwellings, far removed from the workaday bustle of the wharves and counting houses. Explore homes, like the one shown in the photograph above built in 1845/46 for Reverend James W. Thompson. It’s the western half of a Greek Revival double house. (The eastern half was built for Captain Nathaniel West.) When Captain John B. Silsbee owned the western half (pictured) in the late 1850’s and 1860’s, 20 of his family members and servants resided there. They occupied four floors and a basement kitchen in the 5,500 square-foot home, while the Captain sailed to Zanzibar and Sumatra importing pepper. Today, the house has fewer inhabitants, but teems with a rich architectural and social history.

At 4:00 pm after perusing the participating homes, indulge in high tea at c. 1805 Hamilton Hall, designed by Salem’s renowned wood-carver architect Samuel McIntire. For more event information, visit the Hamilton Hall website. Reservations are required.
 
by Katie Hutchison House Enthusiast

photo by Michael Piazza, courtesy of edibleBoston (rotated by KHS)

Yup, those Necco Wafer colors are fantastic. I’d love to see them transformed into a paint palette of rich brown and stark white with accents of faux licorice and purple-blue. Or, maybe, tempting orange and stark white with accents of faux licorice and refreshing green. Or, perhaps, tangy yellow and stark white with accents of girlie pink and tempting orange.

In the edibleBoston article, Irene Costello writes that in 2009, NECCO “replaced the artificial colorings in the classic Necco Wafer with natural dyes. Their loyal customers hated the muted colors and vehemently demanded the vibrant albeit fake colored wafers back.” Sounds like the New Coke/Classic Coke debacle. Classic is generally best; it just depends what you mean by classic. I’m with the loyal customers. You?

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast

Rooster with a view. Follow the link to see this image on a KHS note card.

Many, over the years, have chosen to veer from the rooster weathervane tradition and embrace all manner of creature to signal wind direction. There’s the grasshopper by Shem Drowne atop Faneuil Hall, the dove of peace (originally) by Joseph Rakestraw at Mount Vernon, and the shark by Travis Tuck on Quint’s shanty in “Jaws”. Okay, the shark weathervane never made an actual appearance in the film, but it did get metal sculptor Travis Tuck designing and creating one-of-a-kind weather vanes. Tuck passed away in 2002, but the business he began thrives today as Tuck & Holand Metal Sculptors. What fun it would be to commission a custom weathervane, perhaps of a wire-haired Dachshund, or a Banks Dory, or a trowel. What type of weathervane would you commission? Let me know at the KHS Facebook Page.

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast

Wicker in my parents' summerhouse

Though Corman is the author of the novel Kramer vs. Kramer, he and his wife were happily married. She died in 2004. Corman “nearly remembers” where she acquired each piece of wicker furniture, quilt, and pillow. Each had a story, her and his story. Of course, we are more than our furniture and furnishings, but they do reflect the lives we’ve opted to embrace.

I remember when my husband and I were a young, unmarried couple, living together in Rhode Island. Money was tight and our budget for furniture and furnishings was minimal to non-existent. I had grown up with my mom’s favorite wicker furniture -- on the family porch in the summer and then in the family breakfast area off season. I’d taken a liking to the informality of wicker; plus, it was more economical than many other furniture options. When my then future-husband got wind of my intention to hunt for some wicker furniture, he informed me, in no uncertain terms, that there would be no wicker in our house. Since he was typically more concerned with boats and boat gear than domestic décor, and rarely one to declare a non-ironic rule, I found his no-wicker edict charming. It became one of our pet jokes. I would taunt him with catalogs depicting fussy white wicker dressed up with floral cushions, and tease that I was placing an order. But to this day, no wicker has darkened our home’s doorstep, and a reminder of its absence brings smiles to our faces.

Furniture and furnishings, those pieces we’ve intentionally selected or intentionally not selected, often reveal who we are.

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast