Old North Bridge House
PROJECT DETAILS
This house is located in a historic district of Concord, Massachusetts close to the famous North Bridge where the Revolutionary War began. It is designed to complement the grandeur of the older and larger homes in the area without duplicating them.
The house has an X shaped floor plan that creates an entry courtyard, exterior rooms on the yard sides, and privacy from the street. The eave line at the entry was deliberately kept low so that the courtyard was not dwarfed by tall walls. The second floor is punctuated with dormers of differing sizes and styles that suggest the hierarchy of the spaces inside. Moving around the house the eave line varies and a balcony with decorative railing provides more complexity and interest to the garden façade.
Special trim details include the use of hoods over the windows, dentils under the eaves, columns, pilasters, and a change in siding from clapboards to tongue and groove siding to accentuate special areas including the entry porch and the conservatory. Cedar shingles were used on the roof to simulate the traditional architecture of the neighborhood.
A conservatory jutting into the garden serves as the heart of family life. The rest of the first floor is divided into separate entertainment areas for differing functions and ages. All of the spaces are comfortable and intimate, yet connected with a generous hallway. Long windows, patio doors and a grand staircase with curved balcony above also adds to the spacious feeling of this floor.
On the second floor, the parents’ bedroom has an attached sitting room. The study has a built in sewing area in a closet that can be closed off when not in use. The children’s bedrooms are arranged to allow for private access to a shared bathroom.All of the rooms in this house have spectacular views of the yard, yet each view is quite different because of the X shaped floor plan. The change in vistas also means a change in orientation and in light, thereby creating an exciting dynamic to life in this house. It is truly a comfortable, light filled home.
