There’s a lot to like about this house: the porch, massing, materials, palette, chimney, etc. But there’s one repeated element that doesn’t always ring true, the shutters. To be authentic, they need to be plausible. If closed, they should completely cover the opening that they serve. So, if they’re used in pairs, each should be wide enough to cover half of an opening. If only a single shutter serves an opening, it should either be the full opening width or unfold from a bifold to become the full opening width. The shutters on the little gable-top windows look like they’ve been sized appropriately. The single shutters on the double-hung windows below and to the right don’t pass the smell test. The closed pair on the first floor demonstrates how they all should work. If you’re going to use shutters, the sizing may seem like a small detail, but it’s worth getting right.

by Katie Hutchison for the House Enthusiast

Click on this photo to see it in the note cards/prints gallery.This casually stacked old, field-stone wall ambles across a classic New England farm demarcating fields. The stone selection and placement appears somewhat ad hoc, but beautifully so. Gaps, between smaller rocks toward the top of this jumble and larger rocks beneath them, let daylight penetrate the upper courses, almost cheerfully defying the mass of the wall. It lumbers along performing its function while inspiring awe. It reflects an artful intervention of human will on a weighty natural material. The appeal is almost visceral. For more insight into the art of working with stone take a look at Dan Snow’s In the Company of Stone and Lew French’s Stone by Design.

by Katie Hutchison for the House Enthusiast

At the Addison Gallery of American Art until April 13, 2008

Where have I been? I only discovered the Addison Gallery at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass. a couple of weeks ago. According to their website, it was established in 1931 as an “academic museum dedicated to collecting American Art.” It boasts a collection of 16,000 works, including 6000 photographs, some by Walker Evans. Apparently he was an Andover alum. Who knew? Not me.

It was the “Birth of Cool” exhibit that brought me to the museum for the first time. The exhibit title was borrowed from a 1957 Miles Davis jazz album by the same name. The featured work spans many media: painting, music, animation, architecture, photography, and furniture. The introductory signage announces, “This exhibition takes a retrospective look at the distinctive fusion of high modernism and a ‘cool’ aesthetic that were a defining aspect of Southern California culture in the 1950’s.” It’s a fun idea for a show, exhibiting a variety of artifacts ranging from the first Barbie, to abstract “Hard-edge” paintings, to Charles and Ray Eames molded plywood chairs.

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One-story elements, on the front and both sides of this sweet one-and-one-half-story house, nestle it in the landscape. Though the central gable and side wing are modestly sized, the windows are generously oversized. The first-floor double-hung windows are wider than the entry door and nearly align with the top of it. Their sills are not much above floor level. Even the arch-topped second-floor window maximizes available height. Relatively large windows such as these can create a sense of spaciousness from within small spaces. They can also bring big personality to the curb view.

by Katie Hutchison for the House Enthusiast

Choosing the best path despite ourselves

Two recent articles about the role of human nature in economic decision-making got my attention. The lessons of each could very easily be applied to the residential design process.

“The Advantages of Closing a Few Doors” by John Tierney in The New York Times (Feb. 26, 2008) expounds on our all-too-human desire to preserve our options and limit our exposure to perceived loss, despite the costs.

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