Design snapshot: A view with windows

dssessexbarn2.jpgI’m captivated by a beautiful barn. It’s the rhythm of the windows and doors, along with the rich red-and-white color palette, that caught my eye on this one in Essex, Mass. at Cogswell’s Grant.

The small white windows march along a little higgledy-piggledy. They’re mounted in the stables at horse-scale, meaning the horses have a great view, but my nose would only barely clear the sill. The doors in between are sized for people, of course. So both those tending the stables and their charges are represented in the architecture. This supports the theory that the best elevations express something about those within.

The little wooden visors with brackets over the windows and doors provide shade and shadow, as well as visual interest. Part of their appeal it the hint of formality that they suggest, something we don’t generally expect from an outbuilding. Such contrast is often vital to an engaging design. The large expanse of red clapboards beautifully offsets the line of dancing windows and doors, trimmed in white. The resulting elevation makes for a happy building. How lucky those horses are.

by Katie Hutchison for the House Enthusiast

DVD recommendation: Kitchen Stories

Swedish film directed by Bent Hamer

Set in the post-war 1940’s, Folke, a Swedish efficiency expert, observes the kitchen habits of Isak, a Norwegian bachelor farmer, as part of a study run by Sweden’s Home Research Institute. Malmberg, the scientist left in charge of the study, explains to his charges that the goal is to “rationalize the kitchen and the placement of the stations” to suit Norwegian bachelors. The rules of the study require that the observers live in trailers outside their subjects’ homes. They are to conduct their research (each atop a tall, pedestal chair) in their hosts’ kitchens for a period of days/weeks without interacting with their subjects. Such is the quirky premise of this delightful film.

Hamer, the director, is well aware of his audience as yet another observer in the mix, and creates a film that rewards the attentive.

Read more

Late summer/early fall 2007 special events

Recommended upcoming New England film festivals

Woods Hole Film Festival (Woods Hole, MA) July 28-August 4, 2007 www.woodsholefilmfestival.org/

Rhode Island International Film Festival (Providence, RI) August 7-12, 2007 www.film-festival.org/

Martha’s Vineyard International Film Festival (Vineyard Haven, MA) Sept. 13-16, 2007 www.mvfilmfest.com/

Newburyport Documentary Film Festival (Newburyport, MA) Sept. 28-30, 2007 www.newburyportfilmfestival.org/

Camden International Film Festival (documentary films shown in Camden, Rockport, and Rockland, ME) Sept. 27-30, 2007 www.camdenfilmfest.org/

Primer: House Garden

Intertwine house and garden so that each contributes to the other

As an architect, I’m a house person, but I’m also a garden fan. What I really pine for is a house garden. My mother has one. She also has a garden house, another thing that I pine for. She has created an exquisite house garden at her village property in Connecticut. She describes it as small, a bunch of pockets, and nothing to get worked-up about, but that’s just it; it’s an imaginative series of connected, small gardens that beautifully weave between and among building elements. The pocket spaces are formed thanks to the intricate relationship between her house, her garden shed (or “summer house” as she calls it), her garage, fencing, a gateway arbor, and the surrounding streets on her privet-edged corner lot. Her gardens within those pockets are a delight in large part because of the very things that keep them small and intricate. For her, house and garden are intrinsically intertwined.housegardenplan2.jpg

The garden shed is one of the greatest enablers of my mother’s gardens. It

Read more

Ask Katie: Thoughts on an outdoor dining space

Q: I recently received a huge single plank table (probably from the late 1800’s) that would make a wonderful large outdoor dining table. I would like to construct some kind of outdoor eating space in my large yard, separate from the house, that includes some architectural elements to make it feel more permanent. Can you make any suggestions?

Katherine from Brookville, MD

A: What a dreamy project. Since your yard is large, evaluate a few possible locations for you outdoor dining space first. Is there a large tree that might provide shade or a feeling of semi-enclosure overhead? Is there a nearby outbuilding, fence, or stone wall that might help to define its borders? Is there a rock outcropping or other feature that might be incorporated into the space? Is there a particular view or approach to take into account?

Once you’ve identified the sweet spot for your dining space, you’ll want to

Read more