Here’s a Winter Remedy: A Gothic-style Orangery
By Margaret Gilmour
It’s the end of February and it’s cold, snowing again. Winter lingers. My enthusiasm for the season withers as my hopes for spring swell.
What to do? Hide out in a warm and welcoming citrus grove of course.
Well, that’s what local Interior and Landscape Decorator Vincent Smith Durham does at his home in Embreeville: he finds shelter in his orangery. He’s taken to sipping his morning coffee in this slightly tropical room where he can gaze at winter—which is clearly happening outdoors—while he stays cozy inside surrounded by fragrant and lush vegetation including Philippine oranges (Citrus x sinensis), Persian limes (Citrus x latifolia) and Ponderosa lemons (Citrus limon ‘Ponderosa’).
Imagine having ripe and ready fruits available for picking year-round just a few steps from your kitchen.
Vincent indulged my curiosity about his orangery by inviting Leslie and I to stop over. He designed the addition over eight years ago with the help of friend and architect Peter Archer of Archer and Buchanan. Together the two created an artful, Gothic-style structure attached to Vincent’s 18th-century house. “I always liked Gothic architecture and Italianate farmhouses,” Vincent says. “The orangery is my folly.”
It certainly is a conversation piece, one you want to explore to discover its lively details—like the crenellation (perforated/cut-out openings) often found on castle walls and towers, the copper bells dangling from the tin roof, and the blue and red accents braided above the deep purple siding. All this playing against the dark, “Paris-mud” colored house.
The roof is topped with a small tower—adding that touch of Italianate–and the expansive, large windows are typical Gothic-style offering great views of Vincent’s (more…)
All-Natural Ice Pool
By Margaret Gilmour
Five months after visiting Nancy Adler’s all-natural swimming pool, I called Nancy to see if I could go back and walk around the icy water and witness its frigid presence.
I wondered: would it be frozen solid?
Nancy welcomed us once again, always eager to share her love for the chemical-free oasis. Even if she wasn’t home, she said, please stop by.
Leslie and I chose a bitter-cold morning in early January to visit. Turns out, Nancy wasn’t in, so the two of us shivered in the biting wind and made our way up the hillside to the pool.
There, thin streams spilled from water-spouts not totally iced-over. Even with the gusting wind, though, the sound of the cascades drenched the landscape. The only other noise came from the neighing horse trotting in our direction, perhaps to check us out. Or maybe just to add to the symphony.
We both stood a moment taking in the tranquil winter scene, then set about shooting pictures before our hands begged for the warmth of our mittens again.
The pool wasn’t frozen over. Glacial patches floated in the moving waters of the blue-green lagoon, while thick blocks of ice swelled from the surrounding stonewalls. Nancy chose to leave the regeneration zones flowing this winter, so there will be no ice-skating this year.
When it’s this cold, Nancy says, she doesn’t stay out by the water for long. I can see why, as we stand in the chill, unprotected from the wind.
In the fall, however, the Adler’s stay warm close to the flames of their portable fire pit, and enjoy the scenic bliss from the stone patio. Plans are to build an in-ground pit next season. (more…)
A Glass Cube Blends Old with New for Award-Winning Design
By Margaret Gilmour
A contemporary glass cube joins an 18th-century schoolhouse to a 19th-century barn as a geometrical centerpiece linking old and new.
When artist Clayton Bright takes you into his Chester County home, right away you notice how the palette of clean-lines and high ceilings are softened by the use of natural materials like the locust tree salvaged from the yard and made into a post, or the banisters retrieved and reused after the battered corn crib was torn down.
Even in the conservatory, a light-filled breezeway that connects the barn to the house, a cross section of a 282-year old white oak is built into the wall.
When Clayton bought the property just across the road from his Pennsylvania farmhouse in the mid-1990s, he intended to make it into a studio. In fact, he planned his renovation for years before construction began by collecting fallen trees, rescuing old doors from Lancaster County and recycling barn wood as he came upon it. “I began layering in the wares while I had the chance,” Clayton says.
Imagined additions came and went. The worn out 1750s bank barn and 1800s stone schoolhouse sitting for six years before Clayton contacted architect and neighbor Richard Buchanan of Archer & Buchanan Architecture Ltd.
Clayton wanted a plan to marry old with new. “I didn’t have the visual vocabulary to come up with the skin of the new building,” he says. “I knew I wanted the addition to be glass, and that I wanted a modern part to vibrate against the old part. But I had no idea how to put it all together.”
The two began collaborating on a design that was honored in October 2009 by the Pennsylvania Council, Society of American Registered Architects (SARA) Design Awards, for the addition and renovation.
“The scheme allowed us to knit the old house and the barn together at the first floor,” says Richard Buchanan. “As a consequence you only see the level changes inside the barn where the transitions are made.”
Outside, the rustic v-shaped timer brace and bold, contemporary gestures of the glass wall blends ancient Chester County buildings with sculptural expressions suited to the homeowner’s passion for the three-dimensional art form.
The design intentionally exaggerated the views to the valley below from both the conservatory and the glass great-room.
In the conservatory this is achieved with telescoped elevations receding away from the glass windows and upward into the hillside. As a result, you step downward from the guest room at the back, and into the conservatory’s front edge of the barn. Here, high ceilings accentuate the space while natural materials and colors subdue it.
“It’s a cascade of landscape from inside to outside,” Richards says. “And all of this is concealed in the restored skin of the old barn.”
The great-room addition, a two-story, geometric, ceiling-to-floor glass structure, was designed to meet Clayton’s goal of “creating the appealing and startling juxtaposition of ancient and modern,” says Richard.
The ample space also serves Clayton’s desire for a room alongside the kitchen where everyone always congregates. The first floor of the stone schoolhouse becomes a cozy, tavern-like dining room when more space is needed for family gatherings.
“There is a nice balance to be had when you make an adaptation to a house with respect for the old and yet express the new. We try to do this in a way that it can on some level be timeless,” says Richard. “You don’t want the new elements to be trendy and promptly fall out of favor, nor do you want the old to get swept away.”
No, the old doesn’t get swept away. Instead the history of the old dairy farm and stone schoolhouse are underscored by contemporary details that compliment the setting.
And, just as Clayton was in no hurry to jump-start construction, he is taking his time completing his renovation. It is still a work in progress. He admits to being “a solution oriented person,” tackling one project at a time. He does much of the interior work himself, engineering details like a sconce system that lights up an entire artery of the house so you can walk from one area to the next without flipping on a switch or being left in the dark.
Outside, because the house sat so close to the road, Clayton designed a walled sound barrier made of stone and bordered by a small, Japanese water garden he could view from the kitchen window.
“Clayton treats his house like one of his paintings or sculptures he keeps returning to,” Richard says. “He is enjoying polishing the details as he progresses. It’s an ongoing expression of his artistic talent.”
Time line:
Mid-1990s: Bought the property
2001: Sketch/concept made:
2002-2003: Basic structure/framework for additions completed by Jack Young General Contracting.
Glass cube addition includes:
• downstairs: great room, kitchen, laundry/mud room area, powder room.
• upstairs: Master Bedroom, misc. elements of the background addition, 3 bedrooms + 2 baths
Restored barn includes:
conservatory-
•lower level: three tier Conservatory and Library with guest room, bath + storage area
• upper level: remains barn storage loft
apartment -
• above garage to the west
ECO-FRIENDLY DETAILS
• Hydronic radiant flooring throughout
• Double-glazed windows and Kawneer curtain glass systems
• Recycled wood + barn doors, hardware and fittings from old buildings/barns
• Reused architectural elements from older barns/buildings throughout the house (like doors, beams, salvaged stone, window sashes)
• Use of wood from the property for structural and sculptural pieces (at the stair)
• Collected architectural elements throughout the years to use later in the house
• Reuses water from pond to water plants, landscaping, garden pond feature
• The steel trellis is not only structurally integral but shades the glass façade in the summer (with grape vine); and when it dies in the winter it allows the sun to warm the interior clay tiles
• Saved existing structures for new use vs. tear down and new building
• Future planning of solar panel for natural energy
• Wherever possible materials locally obtained to reduce eco impact from travel
RESOURCES
Archer & Buchanan Architecture Ltd.
West Chester, PA
610-692-9112
John Young General Contracting
West Chester, PA
610-269-4296
The Restoration of a 19th-Century Barn
By Margaret Gilmour
By taking their time and creating a ten-year renovation plan, these homeowners overhauled a 1860s barn they now call home. Details include a geothermal system, radiant flooring and making use of architectural details they happened upon during rehab, or collected over the years.
If you’ve dreamed of living in a barn-turned-house, here’s a little inspiration from Kennett Square residents Traci and Bruce Jameson.
The couple says it was the description of the property that lured them to the old barn back in 1998. They had no idea the outbuilding was the part of the original Bayard Taylor estate.
The paper read: “For Sale: Barn home with stable yard and a secret garden.”
The Jameson’s had been searching over two years for an old house to restore, and as soon as they pulled into the driveway, they knew they’d found their project. They discovered the secret garden around back in the paddock. It had potential.
“We knew we could move in and live in it while we did the work,” Bruce Jameson says. “I calculated it would take about ten years to complete.”
It turns out, he was dead on.
It’s hard to believe that when the two moved in with their young children a decade ago that the previous owners had transformed the three-level, 1860s barn to a ‘60s contemporary. Details included wall-to-wall carpeting throughout, grid-less aluminum frame windows and one skinny metal front door painted turquoise. It was hardly a dream house then, but the two knew it could be in time.
With the goal of reverting the structure back to a barn, the Jameson’s started their rehab by hiring Pennland Contractors.
Bruce took on role of General Manager. Traci, with her background in graphic arts and design, became interior designer. Though this was their first remodel together, both grew up in old houses with families that took to restoring and repairing without question.
So they were well prepared, and they knew to proceed at brake speed.
“We weren’t independently wealthy. We needed to plan and save,” Bruce says. “We planned every detail out from the second we bought the house.” (more…)
Order & Structure Simplify A Garden
By Margaret Gilmour
Rather than impede her garden’s wild side, this gardener simply contained it enough to give it the space and rhythm it needed to flourish.
In 1996, when Terri Steinberg and her family relocated to West Chester from Long Island, NY, she left behind sandy soil and a small shade garden.
Her new home, by contrast, came with a sun-filled, grassy backyard lined with lofty trees. The new landscape puzzled Steinberg for several years, so she chose to just let it be. She needed time to figure out how to organize the space and grow full-sun, drought-tolerant perennials.
It was ten years before she returned to the small garden concept she’d left behind. Now, what replaces her once unruly space is a cottage-style garden with a series of raised stone beds that free her from bending and simplify maintenance.
A profusion of night-flowering, fragrant annuals bloom at day’s end when she is ready to enjoy them.
“The key to my garden is that it’s self-contained and controllable,” Steinberg says. “I can do a little every day to keep it looking good.”
Before the new garden took shape, though, Steinberg almost admitted horticultural defeat.
Several years after her move to Chester County, she tackled her large backyard by drinking in as much knowledge as she could about basic gardening and soil amendment. (more…)
So Cool: An All-Natural Swimming Pool
By Margaret Gilmour
Cooling off in this eco-pool includes communing with an occasional turtle, but don’t worry, there’s no muddy bottom or algae you’ll need to avoid––all that is alongside the swimming zone where ruin walls separate water gardens that are alive with nutrient-friendly plantings. And trust us, once you’ve seen this chemical-free swimming hole, you may never want to dive into any other.
Artist Nancy Adler wasn’t in a hurry to build a conventional pool at her weekend retreat in Chadds Ford. Like her paintings, which she describes as “realism with a twist,” she wanted a swimming pool that looked like a pond, but with crystal-clear water where she could either take a dip, or swim some laps.
“We didn’t want a swimming pond, and even if we did, we didn’t have a sandy area or a spring to feed it,” Adler says. “And we really didn’t want a pool with a bottom that turns to muck.” (more…)
Sculpting out a Woodland Garden
By Margaret Gilmour
The backyard used to be a dense forest, but that was over 30-years ago, before Inta Krombolz and her family moved in their West Chester home.
Unlike other new homes wrapped in vacant lawns screaming for plantings, Krombolz’s landscape loomed large right from her back steps where huge trees swelled above her.
Undaunted, Krombolz’s “fairly monumental” affair with her garden is an evolution the sculptor embraced just as she does her metal work: with energy and insight, and plenty of time for “accidental happenings.”
“I love surprises in my life,” Krombolz says. “I don’t always plan everything out. That way I have ‘open time’ for things to evolve.” (more…)
A Hillside Garden Adds to Outdoor Living
By Margaret Gilmour
For Edythe Joines, eight years retired, and Ronal Fenstermacher, an interior designer who will undoubtedly never retire, expanding their living quarters meant adding 600 square-feet.
That gave them a total of 1,200 square-feet of interior space.
Building small made sense to Joines and Fenstermacher, whose children had left the nest years ago. What the couple needed more than square footage, they decided, was to take their tiny house and give it some character. Knock down walls to create an open living area, and spend as much time possible outdoors where they were cultivating a garden with rooms of its own.
“We tried to make a silk purse from a sow’s ear,” Joines says. “And we’ve been working on this house for over twenty years, completing projects as money became available.”
Originally a modest tenant residence for a larger house up the road, the couple’s twenty-two year evolution transformed the ho-hum structure into a light-filled, contemporary dwelling. For them, small-scale living makes for less stress and less work, and leaves plenty of time for travel.
“It’s a great size for a couple on the go,” Joines says, adding that bigger isn’t necessarily better. “I’ve lived in bigger homes. And there were rooms I didn’t even visit.” (more…)
A Great Greenhouse
By Margaret Gilmour
With its glass-covering that offers a view of the tropics no matter what the season, this greenhouse will inspire a green thumb no matter what your gardening experience.
It began as a hobby before tuning into habit, a familiar evolution many novice gardeners undergo.
In fact, when they moved into their home 26 years ago, the two-room greenhouse was a mere curiosity.
Still, while the young homeowners had little experience in plant-growing, they did have a growing interest in plants, especially the scented type. (more…)
An Enchanted Home
By Margaret Gilmour
We were under the spell of architect Helena van Vliet’s charming house and simple lifestyle integrating village life with contemporary technology. The home’s curving architectural details add shape and texture to the open interior spaces colored in calm, earthy hues.
Green of A Different Color
By Margaret Gilmour
We love how the serene landscape is carried indoors with light-filled rooms and how bold colors add subtle flair to green interior design. A farm-like setting provides the ideal backdrop for this family’s eco-friendly ideals.
Getting Back to Basics
By Margaret Gilmour
We loved this home because innovative design decisions took the house’s original character and intimate scale into consideration. Walk into the addition, and it feels as if it’s part of the older structure. Yet, the well-conceived space is constructed with lasting materials and incorporates sophisticated energy-conservation strategies, as well as the basics: topography, sunlight and window placement.
