Becky over at Hatch (Design Public blog) recently got to stay at her friend Sophie and Kent's cottage, which has just completed a modern and sustainable upgrade. Take a look, after the jump!
after
Says Becky: A very small addition that accommodates a new bathroom was added to the house’s original 840 square feet (it’s on the right side of the exterior “AFTER” photo). The floors are reclaimed heart pine, and all of the poplar siding and trim came from the Appalchian Sustainable Development mills in southwest Virginia, all of it harvested from certified-sustainable wood lots in the southern Appalachians.
Formerly an unused attic, Sophie and Kent opened up to the roofline and created an upstairs loft.
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Comments (13)
if you go to the full article, there is a shot of the kitchen but I don't see a fridge...?
Otherwise, it's very impressive. Love the idea of opening up the unused attic.
that's pretty much my dream house, right there.
i love small houses, and this one is just so cute. i love the change in the windows too, making them all the same, it made a huge difference in the exterior. i just want to run around all over that lawn!
Hi Guys, and thanks Sally! ENAMORADA, the fridge is right around the corner, in its own little nook in the small hallway that leads to the bathroom (on the left past the end of the counter). Across from it there is room for a pantry or as they plan for future years, the area where a door to a potential addition could go if they need it.
ANGXANNETTE, this house really showed me the huge difference the right windows can make. They are never worth cheaping out on, in my opinion (god knows I cheap out on a lot of other things :)).
STEPH309, it is a total dream. The drive out there is absolutely dreamy as well - you drive in between the smaller foothill mountains and rolling Virigina farm fields, woods vineyards, and grazing cows and horses after you pass Monticello on the way to Ash Lawn. It's one of the prettiest drives I've ever taken in my life!
becky
The after is less accessible than the before. (They removed the ugly railing at the front entrance but didn't replace it with anything.) What a pity - inaccessible always looks unwelcoming to me. But visually it is nice.
So beautiful and tasteful. I would love to have a place like this.
"The after is less accessible than the before."
How so? There are pathways on the terraced garden that never existed before...
..so it's actually more accessible.
I do like the way it turned out and the rationalization of the facade with the matching windows - but I miss the color of the old window frames adding a little punctuation to the exterior - I think I'd have painted them and the new sashes a nice medium green color.
JoanneM, just to clarify, this is the back. from where the picture begins there is a stone path from the parking area, and then you cross the tape vert (sp? oh lord, I am a disgrace to my education!) and there are stairs right there in front of the door, they are hard to see in the photo. It's the part that's not white, in between the two boxwoods. When those grow larger, it will make the entrance much more clear, even from this distance.
Cute house, but lawn does not seem very "green" to me and I like the multi-pane before windows. The new floors are really pretty.
Too bad they didn't show the "before" interior.
Oh, I love how this house turned out! It's absolutely beautiful.
Monarda, I know. Sophie deleted them by accident; imagine the main room being four small dark rooms with very low ceilings!
becky
The landscaping is really beautiful now! I love it!