Design snapshot: Lighthouse window hoodie

Few of us will ever have the opportunity to live in a lighthouse. Nevertheless, we can translate some simple lighthouse window design lessons to our own humble abodes.

The gabled hood on this arched-topped louvered window is a beautiful bevy of contrasts: angled/curved, black/white, and opaque/porous. It's also a harmonious pair of elements working in concert to control the elements: roof for shelter, louvers for ventilation.

Keep contrasts and complements in mind when designing your own windows. Make them lighthouse worthy.

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast

Desgin snapshot: When hedging helps

Hedges have a bit of a bad rap in the residential-architecture world. They're often employed to hide things: condensers, vents, trash enclosures, and other unsightly appurtenances. Or they're used to shield private life from prying eyes. But hedges can augment, even enhance, design attributes, rather than merely mitigate design challenges.

This tight, neatly-trimmed hedge cozies up to the porch rail it wraps. It helps to nest the porch without overwhelming it. The trick is to keep a hedge like this from brimming the rail, or worse, topping it. At this height, it offers security, a pillowed embrace.

All hail the hedge.

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast

Design snapshot: Sunken front garden

In a village setting like this one, the distance from the front sidewalk to the front entry is often shallow. In this example, there's approximately twenty feet between the public way and the entry door. Here, a slightly sunken, formal garden orchestrates the transition from public to private with the aid of an elegant brick and granite geometric design.

Centered on the front door, a hardscape pattern suggesting a compass dial is set within a larger square layout, slightly recessed from the public way and the entry stoop. Quadrants of plantings, including tightly spaced boxwood accented with splashes of white and purple flowers make for an intimate yet structured room-like outdoor space -- which feels quite separate from the granite-edged brick parking pads at street level off to either side of the garden.

This landscape design elegantly finesses an entry sequence and parking in tight quarters.

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast

Design snapshot: Bodacious barge and eave boards

If you've ever been to the West Tisbury Farmers' Market on Martha's Vineyard, then you're familiar with the Grange Hall. Saturday, while others were browsing the Market's fresh produce, herbs, flowers, and artisan fare, I was snapping photos of the Market's mainstay, the Grange Hall.

The c. 1859 timber-frame Hall boasts bold, carved, rake and eave boards. The simple cut-out pattern casts a strong geometric shadow, calling attention to and celebrating the roof's edge. I was taken by a similarly dynamic carved roof treatment on another agrarian building in this earlier Design snapshot. In fact, I'm often attracted to decorative roof detailing, as in the lead photo for my upcoming fine-art photography exhibit.

Thoughtful accents like these team with natural light to great design effect.

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast