Sewickley Heights Residence
Sewickley, PA
Size: 6,600 Square Feet (3,400 Square Foot Addition, 3,200 square feet of renovations)
Services: Architecture
The desire for a large timber framed “barn-like” family room, influenced the character of the building addition. The integration of such a space into the existing dwelling led to the development of an overall concept of a “house-and-barn”, similar to the New England connected barns.
The existing 30-year old, 4,308 square foot home was extensively remodeled on the interior and completely refaced on the exterior. The original two-story structure was brick veneer on the first floor, with a cedar shake mansard covering the second story. The mansard was completely removed in favor of two stories of new wood siding. The original roof of cedar shake was retained, as were two brick chimneys.
A new wood mantelpiece was added to the living room fireplace, while the brick chimneybreast of the breakfast room fireplace was refaced with new stone to match the exterior of the addition.
The existing kitchen was enlarged via a full-width octagonal window bay extending from the rear of the house. New cabinets, topped with honed slate counters and holding a slate sink, line the bay. A large commercial range occupies an alcove designed to match the farmhouse character of the room while concealing a large exhaust hood. The freestanding island has a full stainless steel countertop with an integral vegetable sink. New slate flooring was installed, extending through the kitchen and breakfast room.
The dining room now has banquette seating on two walls to better utilize the large table. The adjacent entry was partially rebuilt to accommodate the new front door installed as part of the exterior work.
A master suite was created on the second floor by combining the existing master bedroom with the former guest room. The new bedroom is at the rear of the house and has a walk-out deck over the new screened porch below. A dressing room and closet occupies the former bedroom, while the bath was completely rebuilt and somewhat enlarged to allow the installation of a pedestal tub.
One of the children’s bedrooms is now dominated by a cabinet bed, based on traditional European precedents and designed to maximize space in a small room. The bed, closet, bookshelves, and storage space fit within this new piece of “furniture”, and occupy less floor space than equivalent freestanding furniture.
The attached garage to the west of the house was removed and replaced with a 3,442 square foot addition. The basement level of the addition includes three garages, an entryway, office and powder room. A large family room, guest room and bath, and workroom are located on the first floor, and an exercise room occupies the partial second floor.
All new stonework, interior and exterior, is local sandstone ledgerock, set in its natural bedding plane. Mortar has been held back from the face and is not visible at normal viewing distances, so that its appearance is similar to a mortarless drystone wall. The exterior stonework consists of a large chimney at the south end of the family room and stone facing on the entire exposed portion of the basement. Interior stonework includes a two-story fireplace in the family room and a stone chimney breast in the basement office. Both fireboxes are large masonry Rumford-style log-burners.
The large family room, around which the addition was designed, is two stories tall and is defined by its exposed timber framing, infilled with rough-textured plaster. The frame is load-bearing, divided into three bays laterally and longitudinally, and mimics traditional Pennsylvania barn construction. The pattern of timber both enhances the appearance of the room and breaks up the potentially cavernous effect of such a voluminous space. A very large antique cabinet, which conceals modern electronics, was large enough to require installation before the French doors were hung, but fits very well with the scale of the room. Flooring in this room is Douglas Fir in wide boards, pegged to assure future flatness. Two roof lanterns allow daylight to flow in from above. The lanterns appear on the exterior as cupolas, normally used on barns as ventilation devices.
At the rear of the house, the new screened porch is set on a low stone wall, which along with the “L” of the new addition encloses a new terrace that is flagstone surfaced and separated from the rear yard by another low stone wall. This terrace forms a large outdoor room, elevated above the park-like yard, that is ideal for entertaining.
The exterior of the entire composition is wood-faced, with standard cedar lap siding on the original house to add a touch of formality, and board-and-batten siding, which is a traditional barn material, is used on the new addition. The same color of opaque stain wraps both portions of the house to provide a visual consistency. Other exterior work includes small front porch, replacement of all windows, and an automobile turnaround at the first floor level. New roofing is cedar shake to match the original roof of the existing house.
