house on crystal lake

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Info: Project Details

The pastoral site and picturesque gardens suggested English Arts and Crafts cottages to us, and this was an image the client liked very much. We topped the efficient rectangular form with double gables that subtly curve to extend their lines gently toward the landscape.

Porches leading to terraces are placed on both sides of the house to provide both lake and garden-oriented outdoor living spaces. A large screened-in porch is the dominant space, at the center of the elevation, on the lakefront side.

A budget-driven need for efficiency allowed little room for dramatic spaces, but we were able to design an opening between the two floors so the second-floor hall has a balcony overlooking the kitchen. This occurs at a critical node in the plan: the small but central space in the house, between the kitchen and screened porch. The living room has a shallow peaked ceiling to give it a center and to set it off from the adjacent dining space to which it is completely open.