Here are some early shots of the finished interiors at the Akley Road project.  This is phase two, year two, of this project.  Phase one was exterior work which includes a new timber-frame barn, new entry porch, new screen porch, new exterior deck, new driveway and new landscaping.  Phase two has included work on most of the existing interiors including a new kitchen, new bathrooms and the removal of many interior walls to open up the plan.  The result of all this work is a greater sense of connection between the buildings and the site, open interior spaces filled with natural light, and a paring down of unnecessary interior partitions and finishes in a way that shows off the simple beauty of the timber frame.  Interior lighting design by Tim Mathiesen of Brilliant Lighting Design & Digital Imaging in Brattleboro, VT.

The Chase Street house has been completed.  We had a couple of open houses just prior to completion and the house was received with great enthusiasm.  Since then, the house has gotten some great local press thanks to Seven Days, the Burlington Free Press and the local NBC affiliate, WPTZ.  The house will be included in this years AIA VT Home Tours on September 11, from 10am to 3pm.  Additional photos will be posted shortly.

“A ‘Renegade’ House Rises in Burlington”

“A Home Clad in Metal”

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Exciting new details continue to be finalized at the Chase Street project.  Following are images of the custom handrail on the entry porch.  The gentle curve of the stainless steel handrail complements the curve of the steel stair stringer and creates a graceful and welcoming entry porch.  Kirk Williams fabricated the handrail and support posts which are beautifully hand-crafted.  The combination of simple, sophisticated design, a clean palette of materials and great craftsmanship result in a fitting entry for this unique project.

Getting settled back in Vermont after a great experience at the ICFF show in New York City.  Met some interesting fellow designers, saw some beautiful new designs, made some good contacts and were thrilled at the reception that our new designs received.  We featured the new sonoma series and the echo stools in the booth.  It was fun to see the seductive quality of the cork in the sonoma series pieces, people walking by the booth couldn’t resist coming over to touch it, and they were fascinated by the monolithic quality of the solid cork.  This has been our feeling all along, and it was great to see how much people are drawn to the cork, in particular when it is used in pieces with the strong visual lines and sophisticated designs of the sonoma series.  Here are a few shots of the booth during set-up.

Here are photos of the newest addition to the Sonoma Line of contemporary green furniture, the Sonoma Club Chair.  This chair features a solid cork seat, back and armrests along with a wood frame made from regionally-harvested maple.  The finish is a hand-rubbed VOC-free oil, clear on the cork and charcoal on the wood frame.  This distinctive chair is warm, inviting, and very comfortable.  The back rest and armrests are perfectly sized and proportioned to provide comfortable support, and the seat is angled slightly towards the back.  The seat is available in three depths to allow for sizing that best fits the user.  We will be launching this chair along with the rest of the Sonoma Line at the ICFF show in New York City this weekend!

Here are photographs of the latest set of Sonoma Tables, part of our expanding Sonoma Line of contemporary green furniture.  This set includes two tables that are 18″ x 18″ x 18″, and one table that is 18″ x 24″ x 18″.  The tables can be rearranged to create a variety of groupings.  Think of them as adult-sized building blocks that encourage creative interaction.  They are designed to be seat height, and may also be used as stools for extra seating at a dining table as needed.  The open space in the middle of the tables is a great place for storing magazines or books.  The tables may also be stacked.  The solid cork is a unique, compelling and durable material that is environmentally-friendly.  The solid black mdf is manufactured with no added formaldehyde and is moisture resistant.  The finish is a hand-rubbed VOC-free oil that is easy to maintain.

Exterior siding work is almost complete now.  The interior insulation work continues, plumbing and electrical rough-in work is complete, and sheetrock work begins this week.  Got some great photos of the front of the house this weekend.  The steel stair stringers have been installed on the front porch.  The web for these stringers is 1/2″ thick plate steel that was water-jet cut using digital files sent to the fabricator.  Kirk Williams then worked his magic to weld flanges on all sides of the web, following the profile of the steps.  Kirk then clamped this unit onto the main steel beams and field-welded the connection.  After some clean up work and paint, the connection is seamless.  The inside faces of the beams have steel tabs to anchor the wood deck framing.

The exterior work is wrapping up at the Akley Road project.  The barn has been stained and is now complete.  The front porch (on the west end of the house) is finished, and the screen porch (on the east end of the house) is nearing completion.  It is now possible to see how the project as a whole engages the site.  The barn and house are situated on axis, creating an entry court between them.  With the addition of the porches and stone retaining walls, the project is rooted in the site with a series of strong horizontal lines that follow the existing terrain and tree line.  Work on the interior phase of the project will begin this summer.

Exterior siding work continues, despite cold rainy weather.  The west elevation is nearing completion.  The horizontal band of mdo siding at the top of the wall is completed and the corrugated metal siding is completed.  The top band of mdo will wrap all the way around the house to create a strong horizontal line.  The lower band of siding on this face will wrap around the front under the front porch roof to visually anchor this corner of the house.  All of the metal flashing is being bent on site.  Electrical and plumbing rough-in work continues on the interior.

Great progress continues to be made on the Chase Street project.  The windows are in, exterior doors are in (except for the sliding barn door on the storage room), and siding will begin next week.  The roof membrane is done and the skylight is installed.  This week, some great exterior steel structural elements went up.  On the front entry porch there are two slender steel pipe columns that will support the front porch roof.  On the back side of the house, there are three steel pipe columns to support the second floor deck.  These sit on exposed hockey puck spacers to isolate the steel posts from moisture in the concrete piers (perfect size and material for this application, this time of year hockey pucks are not hard to come by in Vermont) .  At the top of these posts, the connection to the wood framing is exposed, creating another nice steel detail.  The last image gives a sense of the loft-like living space on the second floor, which is really one large space with two small rooms for closets, bathroom and laundry.  The proportions of this space are really great, with lots of natural light and interesting sight-lines.