Summer is drawing to a close, and I've been busy getting out to photograph some of my recently constructed projects, including this prairie style home.  Its 20+ acre site is located in the Town of Mazomanie and includes a pond and a marshy area adjacent to Dunlap Creek.  Coincidentally, the site sits across the valley from another home that I designed in 2013.  The property has beautiful views of neighboring hills and farms.  My clients have owned and camped on the property for years and have been planting trees and making other improvements in anticipation of building their new home.  

Interior characteristics of the home include light decks, bands of windows and an open plan with spaces that are visually connected yet maintain a separate identity due to the design of the ceiling and the walls.  The partial view of one space from another creates a sense of mystery, calling one to explore.

A special feature and focal point of the home is the masonry heater around which the living area, dining area and kitchen radiate.  This highly efficient fireplace includes a heated bench, firewood storage nook and a small cooking oven on the kitchen side of the masonry mass.

My clients desired a home that would be unobtrusive, and so it was designed to nestle into the gentle slope as much as possible, connecting to the outside with a breezeway between the home and garage, a series of patios and rock retaining walls.  Future plans include a stone stair connecting the sunset terrace to the west side of the property.

As is characteristic of the prairie style, there are hip roofs with broad overhangs and horizontal banding of windows and materials to emphasize the expansive nature of the prairie.

A lot of work has been going on in our garden since I posted in April.  John Pohl of Folly Afield has been busy weeding, grading, planting, transplanting and watering.  We now have most of the plants in place.  

We decided to build two stone paths with limestone pavers.  My husband Paul is at work on that.  He also ordered an arching cedar trellis, which will eventually support roses or some other vining flower.  

The garden is looking a bit sparse and messy right now.  For one thing, we're using a lot of plugs rather than full-grown plants, in order to save money, so there's quite a bit of bare space where the plants will eventually fill in.

For another thing, we've had a rainy and mosquitoey year so far, so I haven't been able to keep up with the weeding.  The thought is that the plants, once grown, will crowd out the weeds.

One of my current projects is an addition to a four-square style house near Monroe Street in Madison, which was built in 1924.  Like most homes of that era, the kitchen is small by today's standards, measuring a little more than 10' x 10'.  In addition, the paths to the basement, the 1/2 bathroom and the mud room run through the kitchen.  The homeowners enjoy cooking together and would like to have about 50% more workspace than they currently have.

In addition the homeowners would like to expand their very tiny 1/2 bath and replace the existing mud room with one which is more functional and safe for their visiting parents.   On the second floor, they would like to either expand the only bathroom on the second floor (which is very compact) or add an ensuite bathroom to the primary bedroom.

CONCEPT #1
​I came up with two main concepts:  Concept #1 keeps the kitchen in its current location but expands it with a 6' addition into the back yard.  The addition would include a larger mud room as well.  On the second floor, an ensuite bathroom would sit above the new mud room.  The addition looks fairly small due to the fact that the second story of the addition is substantially smaller than the first-story portion.

Below are floor plans and elevations showing Concept #1.  In the elevation drawings, the white part of the house is existing, and the blue part is the addition.

CONCEPT #2
Concept #2 moves the entire kitchen to the addition and repurposes the current kitchen as a mud room with new 1/2 bath.  The second floor primary bedroom moves to the addition, and the current primary bedroom is remodeled into a larger walk-in closet and ensuite bathroom.

Advantages of this concept are that the kitchen and primary bedroom are larger and can have windows on three sides for more natural light, and the homeowners gain a larger bedroom closet.  The primary disadvantages of this concept are that it is 60% larger than Concept #1, and it has a boxier, more imposing look on the outside.  

My clients are taking some time to decide which concept they'd like to go with.  It's looking like they'll go with Concept #2, with some modifications.

​

Last fall, my husband and I decided to remove several overgrown evergreen trees and bushes in our yard, leaving some large bare areas where weeds are happily sprouting up now.  We've decided to fill the gaps in our gardens primarily (although not exclusively) with native plants.  We're hopeful that native plants will provide a supportive habitat for birds, bees, butterflies and other animals.  We're also hoping that, once established, the native plants will require minimal maintenance and be resilient in the face of droughts and extreme heat.

I'd love to be able to achieve a look of abundance similar to the photo above (that photo is not of our yard.)

John Pohl, of Folly Afield LLC, located northwest of Spring Green, will be designing and installing our new beds.  We're excited to see what he comes up with!

Below are a couple of photos showing the two corners of the yard where the trees and bushes were removed.  I plan to post again to provide updates as things progress.

I'm currently working on a remodel and addition to a farmhouse built in 1936 in the Town of Brooklyn, south of Madison.  As is common in a home of this era, rooms are small by today's standards.  My clients have been gradually carrying out their long-term plan for bringing their home up to date.  Twenty years ago they added a new living room and primary bedroom suite.  They've also done a number of smaller projects over the years.  Now they are ready to remodel and expand the original kitchen.

To begin with, the existing kitchen is small.  Secondly, the path from the primary entry to the remainder of the house passes through the middle of the kitchen.  In addition, the range and refrigerator sit side by side with no counter space between them to use when cooking or to place items taken out of the refrigerator.

The alterations will include removing a stair and the non-bearing wall between the kitchen and dining room, giving the kitchen double the space that it has now.  An addition will make room for a walk-in pantry, 1/2 bath, laundry room, new primary entry with mud room and a garage.  The 3D floor plan below shows the enlarged kitchen on the right side and the addition at the bottom (garage not shown).  The new kitchen will be large enough to include wall ovens, a large island, coffee station and desk.  Circulation from the new entry to the rest of the house will pass behind the island stools rather than through the "working" side of the kitchen.

The 3D interior view below looks from the new dining room toward the door of the walk-in pantry.  The new larger window above the sink faces south and will bring in lots of natural light.

It's always satisfying to bring new life and functionality to an older home.

In late September we took a two-week trip to the northern half of Italy.  Needless to say, we saw more churches that you can shake a stick at.  In Italy, one can't go very far without running into a church.  I was less interested in the church interiors than in the many ways that stone was used as ornamentation on the facades of the buildings.  The church that amazed me the most was the Duomo (cathedral) in Milan, shown above and in the following two photos below.  I was so glad that our entry ticket included a visit to the top of the cathedral, where we were able to walk on the roof all the way around the building.  The amount of decorative detail and number of statues is overwhelming.  No wonder it took about 600 years to complete.

Another famous Duomo that we visited was the one in Florence, shown in the following two photos.  The photos don't really do justice to the colors of the facade, which are not painted on but are due to the different colors of marble that were used.  So much intricate detail carved into the stone - so many statues. . . .  The famous dome was engineered by Philippo Brunelleschi.  This cathedral took less than 150 years to complete.

The church in the three images below is the Cattedrale di Santa Maria Matricolare in fair Verona.  One could say that it's rather plain in comparison to the two duomos in the previous photos.  However, beautiful detail has been incorporated where it really matters:  at the entries and capping off the roofs.  The sides of the cathedral have less sculptural ornamentation but are still decorated with alternating stripes of stone.

The Basilica of Saint Anastasia, in the one photo below, is also located in Verona.  However most of its facade shows off the sculptural quality of brick rather than stone.

I'm fascinated by all of the different textures and patterns that were created with only minimal use of color in the facade of the Duomo of Siena, below.  The striped tower on the right looks like it belongs to a different building but is nonetheless beautiful to look at.  

Last is the Church of Saint John the Baptist in Monterosso Al Mare, one of the five towns of the Cinque Terre.  Although it is a relatively modest church, I still find its striped facade, gothic entry and simple rose window to be striking.

It has been a busy summer so far.  For a while it seemed that work was slowing down as I finished some projects, but then the phone started ringing again.  

My clients for the Richland County Farmhouse Addition project, which I wrote about in my post on March 17 of last year, were kind enough to send me some photos of their addition under construction.  As exciting as it is to design new projects, it's even more fulfilling to see them come to fruition.  Below are a couple of photos of the progress.  The project is being general contracted by Aaron Hubbs of Hubbs Construction Inc., who is located in Wonewoc, Wisconsin.  

Permits are needed for almost any kind of residential construction that involves a new structure (home or outbuilding), addition or significant alterations.  The number of permits needed and the time that it takes to get them (as well as the cost) can be quite significant and should be factored into the project.

A simple remodeling project may require only a building permit from the municipality, which may take a week or less to obtain.  A new home on an urban or suburban lot typically also requires a zoning permit from the municipality, which may add a couple of weeks or more.  However, certain factors can require more extensive permitting.  Waterfront properties or properties in flood plains, rural properties, properties in special scenic areas, or sites which require a lot of land disturbance may all require additional permits.   

The project discussed in my last blog post - "Town of Wyoming Family Home" - is requiring an unusually large number of approvals before construction can begin.  Part of the reason is that the homeowners are subdividing and rezoning their rural parcels, which are too small to comply with the current requirements for the zoning category that they are in.  Other factors:  the property is in a municipality which wants to maintain its rural character and is therefore careful about allowing homeowners to change zoning if it will potentially take farmland out of production.  The municipality also aims to reduce the visibility of new construction. Furthermore, the property is within the scenic Lower Wisconsin Riverway.  And finally, the amount of land that is being disturbed in order to build the home and the long driveway requires approval from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.  

Here are the permits and approvals required for this project:

• Approval from the town for land division, rezoning, driveway access, internal driveway design and building siting.  The driveway was required to be designed by an engineer because of the steepness of the site.
• Approval from the county highway department for the location of the private driveway/public road intersection, making certain that it is not too close to neighboring driveways or to major intersecting roads.
• A permit from the Lower Wisconsin Riverway Board:  because the property is within the Lower Wisconsin Riverway, the LWRB had to determine whether the home will be visible from the Wisconsin River (it won't be).
• A sanitary permit from the county:  any home which will have a septic system requires a sanitary permit from the county.  Because this home will have an at-grade system, it also requires approval from the state.
• Approval from the county for the land re-division and re-zoning.
• A zoning permit from the county
• A Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources construction stormwater permit:  this is because of the amount of ground that will be displaced during construction of the road and home
• Finally, a building permit from the town.

If the property had been adjoining a lake or river or if it had been in a floodplain, it would have needed additional approvals as part of the county zoning process.

Some of these permits cannot be obtained until previous ones have been granted.  For example, the county could not grant the re-zoning approval until the town had approved it.  The zoning permit cannot be obtained until a sanitary permit has been granted.  The town will not approve the building permit until the county zoning permit is in place.  

By working to obtain as many permits at the same time as possible, we should have them all in approximately 4 months from the start of the process.  Without the land re-division and re-zoning, it would have taken approximately 2 to 2-1/2 months, assuming that everything went smoothly. Providing inadequate information or not meeting the permit requirements can delay the process if the applicant needs to provide additional information or if parts of the project need to be re-designed. This is particularly true for those permits which are granted by a board which only meets once a month, as the board's decision will be delayed until the following month.  Processing times for permits may increase during particularly busy construction periods, such as in the spring.

If the time for permits is not factored into the process, it could result in an unexpected delay to the project.  Unfortunately, this can mean that construction anticipated to start in the fall may have to be delayed until the following spring, since our climate makes it difficult to start projects in December through March.

This project is currently in the final design stage.  Located in the rolling hills near Taliesin, it exhibits some of the characteristics of Frank Lloyd Wright's work:  low slung roofs, horizontal bands of windows, nature-inspired colors, and a combination of low and soaring ceilings to shape the space within.  

The combined kitchen / dining area / living room is large - 45' x 23' .  My clients value time spent with family and wanted a living and dining space that could accommodate up to 20 people.  A light deck that runs around the perimeter of the great room provides space for uplighting and downlighting.  The ceiling vaults from a height of 8' at the exterior wall to 12' at the interior wall.  A built-in window seat provides additional seating and a place to view the outdoors, while a wood-burning fireplace provides a cozy spot for colder days.

Not far from the great room is a den for when my clients desire a smaller social space.  The den could easily function as a fourth bedroom if desired.

A wrap-around deck connects the screen porch to the primary bedroom, providing ample space for outdoor living.

One of the books that I'm currently reading is "Pretty Good House:  A Guide to Creating Better Homes".    The title for the book came from one of the monthly get-togethers of a building science discussion group in Portland, Maine.  Frustrated by the complexity and questionable impact of the requirements of many home-rating systems that have been developed to make homes healthier and more environmentally friendly (for example, Passive House and LEED), they sought to create guidelines and a framework for determining which high-performance measures are practical and which aren't worth the additional expense.  The book describes it in this way:  "a Pretty Good House is a house that's as small as possible; it is simple, durable and well designed; it uses wood and other plant-derived products as construction materials (preferably local); it should be insulated and air-sealed well enough that heating and cooling systems can be minimal; and, above all, it is affordable, healthy, responsible and resilient." 

"Pretty Good House" explains the basics of building science in a way that is approachable for those without a background in construction, design or building science, and includes case studies showing how the principles were applied (with lots of beautiful home photos!) to both new homes and renovations.  I think that the authors have done a great job of explaining the basics of a good house, including plenty of photos, illustrations and bullet points so that it's enjoyable to read.