In Goldilocks’ terms, this addition is “not too big, not too small, but just right”; however, the details make this addition grand.
Stone, used to face the chimney’s exterior, was salvaged from a local barn foundation; it matches the house’s stone. Random width, ship lapped, wood siding; every piece scribed to fit the irregularities of the abutting stone chimney and the house walls. The porch roof replicates, in every detail, one found on a not-too-distant mill.
Inside, vintage wood ceiling joists, including a massive summer beam, that were salvaged from the historic but now demolished Mountain Springs Hotel in Ephrata. Real plaster walls. Vintage oak flooring; many boards measuring 15″ wide. Vintage brick fireplace hearth. And the piéce de resistance; a new fireplace surround with doors, custom-made and painted to appear 200 years old, including vintage wrought-iron hinges.
This new kitchen addition was designed to appear as a natural extension of the original c. 1817 stone house which reflects the transitional period between Georgian and Federal architecture. The construction of the addition also reflects an indigenous trend from that period: The façade is constructed of stone, but the sides and rear are framed and sheathed with wood siding.
The large country-style kitchen features granite counter tops, custom wrought-iron rat-tail hinges and drawer pulls, deep-drawer storage for bulky pots and pans, random-width vintage flooring, and separate pantry and foyer rooms (not seen in photo). The work spaces, cabinetry, hardware, appliances, and fixtures were selected or designed with the client’s arthritic condition in mind, thereby minimizing the impact on stiff, sore joints. The cabinets beneath the sink and the stove top each have provision for pulling up a stool so the owner can sit at either. All of which goes to show you don’t have to sacrifice style for comfort.
The owners’ plans for their project included not only restoration of the circa 1810-1815 stone house – a genuine diamond in the rough – but also period-style or sympathetic additions to accommodate a growing family. The intent was to make the major addition appear almost as a mirror image of the original house, joined by a period-style central connecting wing. Every detail, from the wall stones to the window trims, mimic or match the 1800’s house.
This addition’s construction is a blend of traditional and high-tech methods. We assembled the frame with salvaged timbers in the historic timber-framing method; constructed roof trusses from vintage lumber using age-old mortise-&-tenon joinery; sheathed the ceiling with weathered barn siding; installed re-sawn vintage heart pine flooring secured with hand-wrought nails; and installed period hardware on all the doors.
The custom cabinetry incorporates every modern convenience, yet the hand-rubbed “distressed” finish gives it that old-world look. High-tech lighting, energy-saving appliances, and stress-skin insulating panels combine to provide the best of both worlds. And what really brings a warm glow to this “old” room is the thoroughly modern remote-control gas-log fireplace. Designed to mirror the cook top’s enclosure, the fireplace can trick the most seasoned “wood-splitter” into pulling up a chair and propping his feet in front of the fire.
The remarkable design of this post-&-beam kitchen addition was tremendously successful because of all the proper elements being in place: The owners, whose vision and open-mindedness and enthusiasm inspired everyone involved in their project; the architects, who not only heard what the owners wanted but were able to communicate it through their design; and the craftsmen who skillfully executed the vision and design down to the smallest details.
Sometimes an “addition” consists of taking what is there already and bumping out or even going up. In this case, we did some of each. In order to add bedroom space to the second floor, we went up, adding a full second floor above a former garage. And, in order to enlarge a cramped older kitchen, we bumped out the first-floor rear. To regain the lost garage space, a true “addition” was built – a spacious garage with guest quarters on the upper level – cleverly disguised as a Lancaster County-red barn.
The interior – the family room – is a wonderful blend of traditional and contemporary design. The fireplace surround is copied from an early 1800’s design book. The flanking cabinetry, designed and built on-site, draws from the styles of that period but is put to much more modern use housing TV, video, and stereo equipment.
One unique exterior detail on this addition is the random-width cedar siding. Although random-width siding is not an unusual choice of material for the RESTORE ‘N MORE craftsmen, the clients requested that it be applied randomly. Random widths applied randomly is considered historically accurate, and the asymmetric mix of board widths is pleasing to the eye.