EYE ON DESIGN BY DAN GREGORY

Inaugurate the Imagination

With all eyes on new beginnings in Washington I started thinking about what an Obama house of the future might be — aside from the White House that is. It could be their vacation house. I note that their Chicago home is a handsome Georgian Revival structure: sturdy, traditional, generous, and neighborly in the straightforward way it fronts the street with ample windows, a porch, and simple classical proportions. But a Michelle and Barack House of Tomorrow might be something different. I think it would be warm and welcoming, a place of great conversation and connection between multiple generations, with areas to come together for intellectual discourse and play, and places apart for relaxing and recharging alone or with family. In short, a house of ideas and inspiration. Here are some of the features I would include, which are actually what any well designed home should provide.

Tansparency, Natural Light, and Connections to Nature

Thoughtfully oriented and carefully sized windows, as in this house in Wyoming by Arizona architect Will Bruder + Partners, make a house both a welcome to the world and a refuge from it.

The window wall brings the forest into the house during the day and then at dusk reverses the process, turning the house into a beacon. The design is really a two-way lens-in-the-landscape. (The image is from Sunset.)

Skylights are equally important. They help balance the light and give a lift to smaller spaces that might otherwise be dark and cramped. The master bathroom shown  below, by San Francisco architect Malcolm Davis, and masterfully photographed by Joe Fletcher, is a particularly beautiful example.

Here the skylight is artfully positioned along the top of the wall — not in the center of the room — so the eye is led up the vertical surface and into the sky as light bounces deep into the corners of the room.

Or consider a wonderfully luminous kitchen by San Francisco architect Mary Griffin of Turnbull Griffin Haesloop Architects, where the entire ceiling is a field of daylight, thanks to the use of translucent Kalwall panels.

The counter of green granite lends a cool tactile quality that seems to solidify the color of the light, making an eloquent counterweight — literally! — for the floating scrim of the ceiling. (Image is from architect’s website.)

Large openings between rooms along with inventive material choices — as illustrated here in a kitchen-family room by Balance Associates Architects of Seattle — make a big difference.

(The image is from the architect’s website.) Both spaces share the daylight but are visually distinct; each is open but well-defined. The stone-faced exterior wall extends into the family room through three stacked windows beside the fireplace, giving it an outdoor feeling and making it feel separate from the kitchen even though it’s only steps away. I can see a space like this giving the First Family a relaxed way to entertain family and friends — though I’m not sure they would need the furniture’s color scheme.

Perhaps the Obamas would like to include a little whimsy; say a hint of Hawaii and shave-ice and water sport in the choice of counter material.

Why not use a well lacquered surfboard, as in this remodeled house by Fernau + Hartman Architects of Berkeley, CA. (The image is from Sunset.)

And a spacious porch, breezeway, or lanai for easy indoor-outdoor living would be essential. Houseplan.com 433-4, shown below, is a perfect example.

And the plan would fit a family of four very well, with each floor connecting to a wide porch – an ideal spot for enjoying that shave-ice.

Here’s the upper floor:

It would suit most balmy climates, from Florida to Hawaii. We might even give them a discount!  Here at Houseplans.com we dwell in possibility, to steal a line from Emily Dickinson. And we are excited about the future.