F I S H M A N R E S I D E N C E
Light, airiness, and whimsy
were objectives of the renovation-extension to this 1970s post and beam house
in Irvington, New York. The interior of the original house has an open floor
plan with low ceilings and knotty pine covering all floor, wall, and ceiling
surfaces. Enclosing this woodsy interior is a traditional façade made of clapboard
and wide trim, with gable roof brackets and a cupola to reflect the Victorian
style that dominates the neighborhood. In contrast to this, the owners’ stylistic
preferences were clean lines and modernist design sensibilities. The challenge for
the new extensions would be how to integrate the existing features of the house
with new and different design features that would result in a coherent overall aesthetic
for the house.
The owners’ goals were to enlarge the living and dining areas with well defined spaces, unlike the amorphous living/dining/kitchen area that existed, and to introduce high ceilings, glass and skylights to bring in natural light and southeast views of the wooded hillside. The new spaces would have light colored walls to reflect light and to display the owner’s photography.
The new living area, renamed the sun room, is designed with high sloping ceilings punctured by large skylights that flood the room with light. Square glass panes similar but much larger than the existing are used to blend old with new, but they are implemented in a more playful manner. A variety of 1.25, 2.5, and 5 foot square panes line the west and south walls of the extension. A column of stacked squares that project eight inches from the façade culminates in a large four-paned five-foot square at the roof peak. The same large square appears at the two skylights that flank the ridge. Delicate stainless steel rods act as collar ties to brace the rafters, which are crisscrossed by cable rail halogen track lighting suspended from the ceiling. These lights highlight the display walls that are located on the eastern side of the room, where needed privacy is provided. To counterbalance the symmetry of the gable, the square window units climb down the southeast corner of the room and then wrap around the southeast corner, providing the best views of the wooded property.
The new extension for the dining area is designed to have similar playful mix of square glass panes that asymmetrically wrap around the southwest corner of the room, interrupted by a projecting five foot bay. Like the sun room, the remaining solid walls are used to display artwork. The ceiling is nine feet high and features the same five-foot four-paned skylight as the other addition. Hanging below is a curvilinear track with three pendant fixtures to allow simultaneously illumination of the table space and up-lighting of ceiling surfaces.
Both extensions create a well of light that helps to brighten the dark wood interior of the original house through large openings into the existing library and kitchen. Wide heart pine flooring flows through these openings from old to new. Knotty pine is used only as trim material in the new spaces so that the solid walls and ceiling can reflect light.
The new architecture for the extensions introduces a more imaginative treatment of the façade. Panels of stucco and natural cedar clapboard are introduced to break the monotony of double hung windows and monochromatic clapboard. The asymmetrical arrangement of the glass squares varying in size and pattern breaks away from the contrived traditional veneer, giving the house a unique eclectic style of its own.
The owners’ goals were to enlarge the living and dining areas with well defined spaces, unlike the amorphous living/dining/kitchen area that existed, and to introduce high ceilings, glass and skylights to bring in natural light and southeast views of the wooded hillside. The new spaces would have light colored walls to reflect light and to display the owner’s photography.
The new living area, renamed the sun room, is designed with high sloping ceilings punctured by large skylights that flood the room with light. Square glass panes similar but much larger than the existing are used to blend old with new, but they are implemented in a more playful manner. A variety of 1.25, 2.5, and 5 foot square panes line the west and south walls of the extension. A column of stacked squares that project eight inches from the façade culminates in a large four-paned five-foot square at the roof peak. The same large square appears at the two skylights that flank the ridge. Delicate stainless steel rods act as collar ties to brace the rafters, which are crisscrossed by cable rail halogen track lighting suspended from the ceiling. These lights highlight the display walls that are located on the eastern side of the room, where needed privacy is provided. To counterbalance the symmetry of the gable, the square window units climb down the southeast corner of the room and then wrap around the southeast corner, providing the best views of the wooded property.
The new extension for the dining area is designed to have similar playful mix of square glass panes that asymmetrically wrap around the southwest corner of the room, interrupted by a projecting five foot bay. Like the sun room, the remaining solid walls are used to display artwork. The ceiling is nine feet high and features the same five-foot four-paned skylight as the other addition. Hanging below is a curvilinear track with three pendant fixtures to allow simultaneously illumination of the table space and up-lighting of ceiling surfaces.
Both extensions create a well of light that helps to brighten the dark wood interior of the original house through large openings into the existing library and kitchen. Wide heart pine flooring flows through these openings from old to new. Knotty pine is used only as trim material in the new spaces so that the solid walls and ceiling can reflect light.
The new architecture for the extensions introduces a more imaginative treatment of the façade. Panels of stucco and natural cedar clapboard are introduced to break the monotony of double hung windows and monochromatic clapboard. The asymmetrical arrangement of the glass squares varying in size and pattern breaks away from the contrived traditional veneer, giving the house a unique eclectic style of its own.
