Design snapshot: Petite, yellow house

“Adorable,” I kept marveling after discovering this little, yellow house. I found myself using the same animated tone of voice as I use when discussing my parents’ miniature, wire-haired dachshund. I suppose it’s my tone of voice for all things miniature and adorable.

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

Design snapshot: Wrap it to go

This is a porch, yet a room. Outdoors, yet in. It’s a great example of a deep, wrap-round porch which invites use. I’d estimate that it’s twelve-feet deep – twice the minimum recommended depth in A Pattern Language pattern #167: Six-foot balcony.

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

Summer 2012 garden tours

 

Recommended upcoming New England tours

 

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

Vineyard Haven House Tour (Vineyard Haven, MA) Saturday, June 23, 2012 12:30 pm -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 

The Maine Home + Design Cape Elizabeth Garden Tour (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) Saturday, July 14, 2012 10:00 am - 4:00 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

An entrée to integral, entry porches

Image excerpt from my Fine Homebuilding "Drawing Board" column about integral porches.Start your spring home-planning with Fine Homebuilding's annual HOUSES issue, on newsstands now. Inside, find my latest "Drawing Board" column. This one focuses on designing integral, entry porches. Learn to differentiate an applied, entry porch from an integral one, and explore four examples of successful integral, entry 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

Reading musings: Easy Edible Garden

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.)I picked up Sunset's Easy Edible Garden special-interest-publication at my local supermarket when I was shopping hungry. You probably know better than to shop hungry, but, sometimes, it can't be helped. The Easy Edible Garden title and cover shot of a breezy, mozzarella, mixed-tomato, and basil salad appealed to both my appetite and my idjit gardening skills.

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