Details

As I mentioned last month, the detailing of your house is extremely important because the details of your project can tie your rooms, site, and overall design together. The goal is to design the details to reinforce the overall concept of the project; to create a whole that is greater than the sum of the parts. To accomplish this you want to have a consistency of materials and language throughout the house. Whether your house is traditional or contemporary, use regionally appropriate building materials and respect the natural qualities of the materials. In the Lowcountry, a stacked stone fireplace and chimney look out of place because there is no local stone. Likewise, materials that try to be something that they are not scream at you. An example of a confused material that is often seen in fast food restaurants, is a brick shaped floor tile with a wood grain pattern.

A holistic approach to detailing also simplifies your design decisions. When choosing your hardware, decide on a finish that will be carried throughout the house. You might choose oil rubbed bronze or stainless steel, but you should almost always use the same finish on your door hardware, bathroom faucets, bathroom accessories, metallic finishes on light fixtures, window hardware and cabinet hardware. Similarly, you will want the door and window trim to be the same throughout your house.

Staircases, both interior and exterior, present an opportunity to create a sculptural focal point in your house. In one project the clients’ had a collection of Pacific Island art, objects and furniture, to build on the island concept we used bamboo flooring and designed a custom stair rail out of bamboo with leather lashing at the newel posts. In another project with a grand exterior entry staircase, we designed a custom iron railing with a cascading fountain along one side. The glass tile surface on the fountain sparkles with the water.

Fireplaces are another major sculptural element in many houses. Consideration should include not only the form but the materials of the chimney, the height and width of the firebox, the height of the hearth, whether there is to be a mantel and what is it’s material. The interior firebrick is a material that is often left to happenchance. All fireplaces have to have noncombustible material around the firebox; stone slabs, brick, and tile are common choices.

The exterior and interior detailing of your house should be harmonious in order to bridge the connection. For example, exposed rafters in an interior room should continue to the exterior as exposed rafter tails.

The details are what make a house a exceptional place. The best description of the importance of details was by the architect, Jeremiah Eck, “Details transmit an enduring sense of quality, warmth, and character.”

Kamel Meattle's Ted talk on Growing your on Fresh Air

http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/490

This is a facinating talk on three houseplants impact on indoor air quality

Lowcountry Weekly

Check out the article about our house in Lowcountry Weekly...http://www.lcweekly.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1012&Itemid=1&ed=39

Making Your House Work for You

Is this economy making you think that your starter home will be your retirement home? Or maybe you bought your house because you have a great view but not a great house. Many of our clients come to us because they are unhappy with their current house but are unsure of what to do to make it better.

Before we start considering the design of the house, you need to rethink the spaces in your house. Ask yourself, what would I change in this house to improve my quality of life? Consider all the problem areas in your house; is the work triangle in your kitchen too big; does the washer and dryer in your kitchen cause noise and moisture problems; or does the pink bathroom tile and plumbing fixtures give you a headache? Write down all the activities that currently occur or that you want to occur in your house. Categorize the activities as formal/informal and public/private. This list will be different for every household. One family might have an artist who likes to paint in the same room while the children are doing their homework as opposed to a painter who wants a very private atelier. Include the typical time of day for the activities and how often you engage in them (daily, monthly, quarterly, or annually).

There are five essential characteristics in creating a good house. 1) The relationship of the house to the site and neighbors; 2) The appropriate size, mass, proportion, and scale of the spaces for the intended activities; 3) The flow of the spaces in conjunction with the time of day and the transitions or links between the spaces; 4) Exterior and interior openings; and 5) the detailing of the house.

In existing houses, the relationship of the house to the site and neighbors can be improved in many ways. Upgrade the entry sequence with new paving, plantings, and replace the front door. Create outdoor rooms with terraces, decks or courtyards, add plantings or fencing to provide privacy from neighbors and open the interior to the outside.

The size and location of the spaces in an existing house need to reflect how you live; not how the house forces you to live. It might be as simple as adding bookcases and changing the formal living room into an office. Or you might remove interior walls to create a great room. Often small additions can dramatically change how a room functions, giving elbow room to a bathroom or creating an eat-in kitchen with a bay window.

Changing the flow of the spaces in an existing house usually occurs in more extensive renovations. But minor changes can also make a big impact. In one project, we moved the door into the dining room six feet. Previously, the circulation path from the breakfast area into the dining room cut though the kitchen work triangle. By changing the circulation, the cook was much happier. Flow is also controlled by ceiling height, lighting and the placement of interior windows that entice you to round the corner.

Many people move to coastal South Carolina because of the natural environment, yet many houses don’t take advantage of the views. Adding or enlarging windows creates the most dramatic change. Consideration should also be given to getting natural light into all interior rooms. In one project we added two light tubes and the dark interior was flooded with natural light.

Because the detailing of the house is the most critical and extensive; I am going to devote the entire next article on details.