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Decatur Residence
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Establishing a recognizable style, whether designing a new home or undertaking a renovation, is, for an architect, a principal concern. It is through this method that rules are established to guide all of the decisions made throughout the design process and leads to a strong “message” about what the owner feels for the house, and what the house can do for its surroundings. Selecting a style is therefore not just a matter of personal taste but of practicality. Our phrase for this balance is “standing out while fitting in.”
Although not as easily defined as “Georgian” or “Tudor”, the English vernacular style nevertheless has a language that is recognized by a successful blending of these preceding styles that solidified in the Arts and Crafts Movement in the last quarter of the 19th century. As a reaction to the cluttered compositions of their Victorian neighbors, these homes had no pretense, and sought harmony with the landscape as did the Medieval cottages which were their model. The American bungalow is a direct benefactor of these ideas and it became our ambition to create a high-style example that would celebrate these English origins for a like-minded family in a neighborhood they loved.
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At the center of a long street in the historic Clairemont-Great Lakes Neighborhood consisting primarily of small, pre-war brick bungalows, this major renovation which would virtually double the size of the existing house for a modern family meant keeping the massing low and the details simple. A wider-than-normal lot, which the original home exploited by spreading horizontally along the street, cued us to distribute new second floor space through a series of gables and dormers, keeping the overall effect of a one-story house without dramatically changing the impervious footprint on the land. A recessed, protected entry, protecting roofs that “hug” the house, and eaves that swoop down to engage window heads impart a subliminal feeling of security. Angled eaves and simulated – but structure-correct – halftimbering show the “bones” of the house and blend with genuine timber framing at the front door lintel and bracketed overhang where the materials can be fully appreciated, lower to the ground. A firmly-established, parged masonry foundation completes the effect of permanence and veracity.
An emphasis on community life is recognizable when approaching the house by its strong connections to the street. The property was perfect for establishing a long, lateral axis beginning with a walkway from the sidewalk straight to the front door, straight through the house and an elevated screened porch, to a deep rear lawn anchored by a lushly-fringed creek which acts as a unifying greenspace across many of the neighboring properties. A secondary axis begins at the arched, brick-fronted porch off the driveway, intended as a “delivery entrance”, and through the mudroom to a rear deck.
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Once inside, a uniquely stylistic double-entry staircase shows a pragmatic solution for interior circulation. The stair is naturally lit by one of the two oval windows which balance the front elevation. One passes from the foyer through a panelized portal – containing on its side a quirky hidden door – to a rear parlor filled with light from the window-wall to the screened porch. Outside are the places made for the garden, the barbeque parties, even the future wedding reception tent. It is here at the porch, and the patio and lawn that it oversees, that the owners and visitors alike find the best expression of the house: the merging of interior and exterior, of family and community.
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