used to make huge olive-oil barrels. The character of this wood, silky and almost glistening, was a joy to look at, and any skeptic of its prominent use was won over when oil-infused scraps of the wood were tossed into the fireplace and perfumed the otherwise cold and dusty job site. B E L O W L E F T : The chimney appears in and
out of the house at the same time thanks to a tall window that runs up the chimney’s length and is set into the stones, no more than inch. The clerestory window above makes this a preferred place to sit. B E L O W R I G H T : The bent-brass staircase
balusters overlap to create a pleasing and unique form. This landing looks out onto the apple tree in the backyard.
We repaired an old chimney and added a new one. The new chimney grew out of the foundation and climbed one and a half stories above the new third floor. It was long and narrow and it became the new dominant shape of the house, a rectilinear form that was repeated again with clerestory windows, tall sidelights, new half-story façades, and the vertical redwood siding, as pleasant to look at as it was to smell. We wrapped the chimney in a second material—stone veneer—that was also used on two low-slung walls in the new front yard. The stone chimney protruded beyond all other façades but slipped back into the house as well, framing part of the new entryway
and continuing into the house as part of a one-and-a-half-story fireplace off the new dining room. Wood, glass, stucco, and stone became the new face of the house and transformed it from a stark, monolithic box into a warm and varied collection of rooms and shapes that seemed to pinwheel out from the now prominent chimney. The interior design called for very little trim; just a narrow, quarter-inch-wide channel around the windows and doors, making for austere, almost sharp corners. The design also called for the new oak doors to be stained black and for a new staircase, made with exposed steel stringers and cold brass balusters, to be built, aggressively dominating the house’s entryway. The combination of all these chilly materials had me
A B O V E : This is one
of the largest rooms in the house but is broken into three distinct spaces: two seating areas and a dining room. Different ceiling heights, lighting, and control of the interior and exterior views make it feel like separate rooms.
thinking “unlivable.” It also had me wondering if I’d ever warm up to the modern style. Before our Cambridge project, I wasn’t a big fan of modern homes. I found some designs interesting and appreciated the fact that their free form allowed for open spaces and expansive views not often found in more traditional houses. But I never found the modern style very livable, and as work progressed on the interior of George’s house—with all those cold materials—my skepticism persisted.
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