Design snapshot: Captivated by 17th century craft

Click on this photo to see it in the note cards/prints gallery. In today’s era of mass production, the hand-hewn clapboards, trim, and windows of the Narbonne House c. 1675 of Salem, Mass. are striking. It’s a slanting, bulging beauty of a building in a pleasing putty color. The soft textures of its skin and the rugged simplicity of its windows are increasingly rare. Sometimes in the bustle of everyday commitments, I start to breeze by it without much attention; then I catch myself, and pause to pay it respect. I’m grateful for such a treasure. Visit an historic neighborhood near you; reconnect with time-worn handiwork.

by Katie Hutchison for the House Enthusiast

Design snapshot: Bay dormers

These two bracketed bay dormers are uniquely distinctive hybrids. Like more traditional dormers within a larger sloping roof, they introduce vertical relief which provides daylight and headroom. Yet by breaking the plane of the surrounding exterior wall they also provide additional lateral relief, the way a bay does. The brackets beneath highlight the depth of the bay dormers while transitioning back to the main wall. By interrupting the eave line and projecting forward like bug eyes, the bay dormers call attention to themselves, challenging the usual hierarchy of the primary roof’s dominance. They are two upstarts with personality worth noticing.

For additional dormer commentary click here to see a PDF of a Drawing Board column I wrote and illustrated for Fine Homebuilding about shed dormers.

by Katie Hutchison for the House Enthusiast

Design snapshot: Procession pointers

Here, what might otherwise have been a utilitarian connection between driveway and lawn is instead a celebrated passage. Landscape elements team with a clear-finished arbor to create a gateway between an upper-level driveway and a lower-level lawn. Bluestone treads carved into dry-laid, stone planters elegantly invite yard access. The narrow arbor overhead announces the yard entrance for those approaching from the driveway. Climbing vines integrate the arbor architecture with the garden below.

When designing the procession from car to house, or car to garden, allow for imaginative gateways along the path to enhance the journey.

by Katie Hutchison for the House Enthusiast

Design snapshot: Driveway do's

Nestled against an enormous rock outcropping, this brick driveway seems to grow organically from its site. The low, canted, boulder wall snakes along the edge of the outcropping and perimeter plantings to delineate two edges of the driveway. Three rows of Belgian block, laid flush with grade in lieu of a more containing wall, comprise the third, thick edge. Within the stone borders, old bricks intermingle with moss to provide a loosely defined car pad that could just as easily function as a modest, pocket patio. For versatile, appealing results, think of the driveway as part of the garden design.

by Katie Hutchison for the House Enthusiast

Design snapshot: Tobacco barn truth & beauty

I spotted this old tobacco barn en route to a friend’s house in rural Connecticut. I immediately pulled over to admire it -- too bad if I was running late. It’s a practical, yet artful, vernacular building type that has survived a waning New England industry. The hinged vertical boards open to ventilate drying cigar leaf tobacco. The crisp, standing-seam roof nicely contrasts the aging, red exterior, crowning the old with the new. Check out Connecticut Valley Vernacular by James F. O’Gorman for more information about these impressive work buildings and the industry that created them.

Also, (since it never hurts to ask) if you’re in the market to respectfully adapt an obsolete tobacco barn to a residential or creative use, let me know. It would be a dream project.

by Katie Hutchison for the House Enthusiast