ARTS & CRAFTS COTTAGE ADDITION, BELLE TERRE, NY

The owners of this lovely English cottage wanted to reconcile the character of the front to the rear of the house, thereby erasing the inappropriate Mansard roof which was part of a misguided 1970s addition. The new addition includes a library, guest bedroom, and mud room/laundry on the first floor;, and master suite on the second floor. A new back stair connects to the new master suite. FS Architects also designed a new detached three-car garage in the same style.

Sophisticated details,—the deep, open eave and eyebrow dormers—extend around from the original house to the addition and new rear facade. The roof has a distinctive shingle pattern where every fourth row of shingles is doubled up to create a stronger horizontal line. We used the episodic nature of the front facade to match the new side and rear elevations seamlessly with the original house.

Although this Arts & Crafts Cottage is whimsical in it's asymmetry, the continuity of the detailing is the key to this successful addition. By removing the jarring and incongruous additions, FS Architects returned the client’s house to its original, classic elegance.