Modern Arts & Crafts

UPDATE: 2024 Expansion (new photos to come)

Coming to MMA with an existing “Deck House” on a wooded two-acre lot, our client wished to begin anew and take advantage of a dramatic 25-foot grade difference that culminates with a 15-foot drop-off. With an appreciation of the Arts & Crafts style, our client desired an open-plan and contemporary look, yet wished for a house that fit the site and expressed the character of an older style.

MMA presented a design that created a union between the client’s lives, the house, and the dramatic site. Due to a narrow lot width, the plan jogs out to allow views of the wetlands as the layers of space step away from the drop-off. The Master Suite was built as a pavilion outside the main volume of the house with access provided by a glazed link. The glass walls afforded some of the best views from the Master Suite. Another enhancing feature of this location was that it is nestled into the existing canopy of trees. As the entire end of the master suite is glazed, it has the effect of being in a tree-house, as the canopy of foliage envelops the eye as a natural wallpaper.

The house sits on a plinth of Pennsylvania fieldstone, which in turn rests atop the existing ledge outcroppings. This serves to anchor the house to the site, as well as giving the appearance that the house grows organically from the site’s ledge. The success of this design is represented in the harmony of structure and nature.