This couple’s program for their new home offered many fun and unique challenges. We were asked to design primarily for extensive entertaining – the homeowners wanted a large bar and a piano niche in the foyer for parties – but to create natural separation for private family spaces. The back yard pool, fire pit, spa, and two-story terrace maximize the frontage along the river. However, the layout necessitated extensive 3D modeling to determine both how best to locate the pool to create an infinity edge, and how to arrange and screen these popular areas from adjacent neighbors.

In addition, the lot was surrounded by traditional and transitional homes in a neighborhood with extensive architectural covenants. Refreshingly, the design guidelines required adherence to a framework of approved details, materials, footprints, massing, and setbacks, but were flexible enough to give us the freedom to provide a unique contemporary home. Executing a custom design for the etched glass entrance bay involved a search for the right artist, whom we eventually found and commissioned from California. This entry feature, curved window bays, a “hipped barrel” roof, and glazed garage doors give the home a distinctive contemporary look, but the careful balance with traditional materials such as EIFS, stone veneer, and standing seam metal roof help the home intermingle with its traditional, stately neighbors.

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