An Architect's House Full Of Ideas

Inspiring Ideas
Louis and Gaye may have found it challenging to whittle down their wish list; nonetheless, they achieved great results. Here are six of our favorite ideas found in their new home.

1. The orientation of the Joyners' house was initially difficult. "This was an unusual site for I'On," Louis says. "It's a corner lot with wetlands along the back and a park along one side. Eventually, we determined that orienting the house to face the wetland preserve and putting the garage on the front corner near the street worked best for privacy and parking."

2. Creating a home to appear as though it was built in stages requires well-thought decisions about overall design and materials. "The original house, so to speak, is the front portion with a center hall, which was typical of homes built in this area during the late 18th century," Louis explains. "The wing perpendicular to the front sector, which contains the kitchen and family room on the first floor and the master suite above, hints at being an add-on."

While these portions are covered with siding, builder Tim Hager stuccoed the garage and home office to mimic an early kitchen outbuilding. To tie together the garage and living quarters, Miles designed a connecting mudroom. Here exterior siding and stucco continue for an authentic touch.

3. This house functions well inside and outside because all of the main rooms lead to a porch, stoop, or other outdoor area. In particular, the lower side porch is one of the couple's favorite places to eat meals or relax--and they made sure that everything was just right. "I kept thinking that our side porch needed to be deeper [from 10 feet to 12 feet], and early in the process, I mentioned this to our builder," Gaye says. "That extra 2 feet makes all the difference."

4. There are no upper cabinets in the kitchen. "Because the space is such a visible part of the family room, we didn't want it to look too much like a kitchen," explains Louis. A large walk-in pantry nearby holds dishware, food, and utensils.

A built-in armoire that incorporates the refrigerator lines one wall. An island, topped with granite, contains a cooktop and provides storage.

5. Placing the front rooms four steps up from the family room makes the house look as if it were expanded over time. "Our goal was that the front part of the house would be more formal," Louis points out. "Then things would get progressively more casual as we moved to the family room, mudroom, and garage."

6. Expanding the corridor wall thickness made the built-in nooks in each room possible. "Louis and I asked Miles to design a pair of recessed nooks in the dining room and study but to make them different," Gaye says. "The curved shelves in the dining room soften the room and provide display space."