Shingle Style | Vanderhorn Architects

Tour Our Contemporary Shingle Home

Introducing our recently completed Contemporary Shingle home, a modern adaptation of the 19th century shingle-style. This stunning waterfront home dramatically manipulates scale and form in a timeless design.

The home’s eye-catching exterior features bold gestures of monolithic granite chimneys, sweeping overhangs – inspired by both shingle-style and pagoda roofs of the client’s heritage – and gable-end peaks that complement one another perfectly. The welcoming large portico draws in visitors.

There are many playful elements to this design, including the prominent three-floor stair tower at the façade.

At our Contemporary Shingle home’s rear, there are a variety of outdoor spaces, including a terrace, round porch, and uncovered and covered balconies. The backyard also features an infinity edge pool that visually flows into the sound.

Moving to the interior, the nautically-themed mudroom nods to the waterfront location of the home. The barrel-shaped ceiling with curved white oak beams and beadboard infill takes inspiration from the bottom of a wooden boat.

As people tend to spend most of their time in the kitchen and family room, our designs focus around an open floor plan that links these spaces, while also creating visual boundaries that make these rooms feel individual. The family room is a dramatic two-story space with clean and crisp detailing. The attic to basement staircase creates diagonal lines of circulation that allow it to be experienced from multiple floors.

Highlights of the kitchen include stained white oak ceiling, floor, and island with a natural tone contrasted by cooler tones on the custom soft blue painted cabinets and white stone tile backsplash and counters.⁣

In the L-shaped breakfast banquette area, the white oak and upholstered built-in seating uses a neutral tone that compliments the coastal color palette.

Situated off of the kitchen is the elegant serving pantry featuring polished brass hardware, in-cabinet LED lighting and marble slab backsplash to match the countertops.

As we move upstairs via the three-story stair tower, the design is light and playful, with an open tread staircase floating off of three glazed walls.

In the primary bathroom, a rich variety of material and visual complexity balances the space. Eye-catching contrasting elements include warm white oak vanities against cool-toned bookmatched stone slabs, grey painted walls and white flower tile mosaic floors. The space features an inviting freestanding soaking tub and exposed freestanding shower plumbing.

Our Contemporary Shingle project features a dramatic mix of traditional and modern materials and styles that combine beautifully. We’re proud to have created this timeless design that we’re confident will endure for generations.⁣

Thanks for coming along for a tour of our Contemporary Shingle home! To see more of our work, check out our Residences page and make sure to follow us on your favorite social media platforms: Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, Facebook, TikTok and Twitter.

VHA Honored With A 2024 Alice Washburn Award for Seaside Shingle Project

We’re pleased to share that VHA has been awarded a 2024 Alice Washburn Excellence Award from AIA Connecticut for our Seaside Shingle design. The Alice Washburn Awards are named for the distinguished, self-taught Connecticut designer and builder of the 1920s, whose work is known for her thoughtful, stylistic, and programmatic invention.

Focusing on style, this program acknowledges excellence in traditional house design through the thoughtful adaptation of tradition to address 21st-century needs.

Our Seaside Shingle home, awarded an Alice Washburn Excellence Award in the category of New Construction, is situated along the Greenwich harbor. While the interior is all modern conveniences and technologies, the exterior matches the classic styling of its neighboring 19th and early 20th century waterfront estates.

The goal was to design a waterfront summer home for our clients with generous entertaining space for family gatherings. An extensive program required efficient use of almost every square foot allowed on the site. The design optimizes water views while comfortably moderating a sloping site.

The flag lot driveway reveals the classic double-gable front elevation, while paired Tuscan columns add formality. Naturally weathered yellow cedar is displayed between cheerful sea-foam shuttered windows, following a traditional proportion of wall to window that contrasts the informal rear elevation.

Unique features like a four-story tower and breakfast room bay add on to the double-gable form for an approachable eclecticism.

Moving to the interior, the entry features a grand stair and open plan great room. Eyes are drawn up to the beam and beadboard ceiling, then to the four paired French doors with custom transom pattern flowing out to the upper terrace.

The open kitchen and family room feature subtle nautical styling with matching interior transoms over openings that continue the style of the great room doors. In the kitchen, V-groove board ceiling with smaller beams ties the cabinetry together with metallic accent panels.

Light floods in from the Palladian window and breakfast area bay windows to the Sound.

At the second floor, the primary bedroom has the best views, including from a sitting alcove in the tower element. The rest of the primary suite is a sophisticated getaway with a gracious study, paneled bathroom, and two private rooftop balconies tucked into the side porch roof above the breakfast room.

The lower level entertaining space is a comfortable gathering area for multiple generations. It features a nautical play space with a play ship and bunks for the children, and a wine walled billiards room, bar and lounge area for the adults.

We welcome you to take a full tour of the home’s impressive rec space here.

We’d like to thank AIA Connecticut and its esteemed judges for recognizing our work on this wonderful project. Learn more about the Alice Washburn Awards program here.

Hampton Cottages III

The third and final Hampton Cottage stands out with its dramatic stair tower, but also complements its neighbors with its thoughtful design.

VHA Honored with two 2023 Alice Washburn Awards from AIA CT

We’re proud to announce that VHA is the recipient of two 2023 Alice Washburn Awards from The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Connecticut.

The Alice Washburn Award

The Alice Washburn Award is named for the distinguished Connecticut designer and builder of the 1920s, whose work is known for her thoughtful stylistic and programmatic invention. The program acknowledges excellence in traditional home design through the thoughtful adaptation of tradition to address 21st-century needs. Learn more about The Alice Washburn Award program here.

Mid-Country Manor Excellence Award

Our Mid-Country Manor has been selected for an Alice Washburn Excellence Award in the category of New Construction.

The architectural detailing and brickwork of this Greenwich CT English Arts & Crafts manor take center stage, highlighting its beautiful masonry with elegant proportion. The project began with a hundred-year old carriage house previously converted to a 3,600-square foot home. The clients happily raised their family there but always dreamed of expanding to a full estate, with room to entertain and welcome back now grown children and their families.

The manor now stands at over 12,000 square feet. Carefully detailed materials and forms merge seamlessly with the historic carriage house and stylistically follow the client’s favorite Edwin Lutyens designs and Edwardian English Arts and Crafts precedents.

The Alice Washburn Award jury comments for our Mid-Country Manor included, “Alice Washburn’s spirit raised to the nth power. Superb, beautiful, classic design with nice, and sometimes surprising, detailing.”

Interested in seeing more of our Mid-Country Manor? Check out a tour of the project here.

Connecticut River Shingle Merit Award

AIA Connecticut also awarded our Connecticut River Shingle project with a 2023 Alice Washburn Merit Award in the category of New Construction.

Just beyond one of the lower Connecticut River Valley’s most charming historic villages is this new 8,500 square feet shingle-style home, designed to take advantage of its challenging site and river views. The house is situated on a steep hillside, and between it and the river is an expanse of lowland with ponds.

The jury comments for this project included, “Faithful shingle-style creation, well executed inside and out.”

To see more, we welcome you to take a tour of our Connecticut River Shingle home.

We’d like to thank AIA Connecticut and its distinguished panel of jurors for recognizing our work on these two wonderful homes.

Click here to learn more about what our firm is working on this year.

Tour Our Connecticut River Shingle Home

Just beyond one of the lower Connecticut River Valley’s most charming historic villages is this shingle-style home, designed to take advantage of its challenging site and panoramic river views. Let’s take a tour of this charming waterfront home.

Situated on a steep hillside along the Connecticut River, the rear of the property features a large expanse of lowland with an existing pond and fields leading to the shore. The 8,500 square feet home is spread gracefully across the site, anchored by a base of local fieldstone foundation walls and multi tiered living spaces. The lower level takes advantage of the sloping site with full height french doors opening to a lower green terrace and pool deck.

Unique steel blue trim, columns, and entablatures add a lively contrast to the sweeping shingle rooflines and walls below.

There are a number of special touches incorporated in the cedar shingle walls of the residence, including curved inset windows at the double gable, diamond patterns at the second floor, and fish scale coursing on the upper level of the octagonal stair tower.

From the interior, the octagonal tower impresses as a nautically-themed work of art. The detailing at the ceiling inspired the lighthouse design of the newel post in the foreground. The home features cohesive nautical detailing throughout.

The primary stair off the reception hall features a more formal stair with turned newel posts and paneled wainscoting. The entry hall features floor to ceiling paneling with herringbone oak floors and clean, yet elegant decor.

In the living room, the fireplace and mirrored paneling welcome guests during the evening, but the expansive water views steal the show during the day. Custom windows feature meeting rails that have been raised above eye level to not obstruct the view, while the upper sashes maintain some traditional visual interest and detail with curved diamond muntins.

The interiors are traditional but gently detailed with simple classic mouldings. The primary rooms are arranged along the rear of the house to access the river views.

The bright, functional kitchen ties into the rest of the first floor seamlessly, taking advantage of some small repeated details. Glazed diamond upper cabinets compliment the first floor windows and bead board adds subtle texture to the ceiling, similarly to the covered porches. Book matched granite backsplash and countertops add even more elegance. The kitchen sink is located in the island, so again, the owners can enjoy the coastal views that make this property so attractive.

All of the bedrooms in the home are located on the waterfront side of the home with service spaces (secondary bathrooms and closets) facing the rear.

Moving to the primary bathroom, a spacious layout with soaking tub and walk-in shower afford a resort-like experience. Marble accents in the basketweave mosaic floor are carried up to the top band of the tile wainscoting.

Stand-alone bathroom vanities make cleaning and maintenance a dream, but as for storage? Don’t worry, we’ve covered those bases with adjacent built in cabinetry and open niche for all of the bath necessities.

The formal library features stain grade paneling throughout, serving as a great place to take a meeting, or to just enjoy a good book in a quiet corner of the home.

The primary bedroom balcony gets the best spot in the house with enough space for a few rocking chairs and more. If we could wake up with coffee here, we’re not sure that we’d ever want to leave! On a clear day, visibility stretches for miles down the river.

The rear of the house continues the theme of outdoor living with wrap around porches. The bay windows lightly separate larger spaces from smaller nooks to provide more intimate entertainment areas.

A backyard pergola and beautiful landscaping surround the ideally located pool. During the months when the pool cover is on, the lower level location keeps it out of the primary sight lines. The walk out basement, however, makes it extremely convenient to access during the summer months.

The home was designed in collaboration with builder Bogaert Construction and landscape architect Kent + Frost Landscape Architecture.

We welcome you to take virtual tours of some of our other projects:

You can also click here to browse through our portfolio of recently designed homes.

Rhode Island Shingle

A classic coastal design, tailor-made for a special waterfront site with focused views.

Hampton Cottages II

Similar to Hampton Cottage #1, but designed for sale, this home is its own unique adaptation of a classic American style.

Hampton Cottages 1

A suburban adaptation of a classic American style, this home packs a generous program onto an elongated waterfront parcel.

Coastal Bluff Shingle

Perched on one of the highest points overlooking the Block Island Sound, this lighter iteration of the shingle style takes full advantage of its lofty position and broad exposure to the sea.

Three Nautically-Themed Home Designs

As an architecture firm based in coastal Greenwich, our clients often make nautical themes a priority in the creation of their dream homes. Whether the home is sited locally or further afield in expanding markets like NY, RI, or NJ, we never turn down the opportunity to borrow inspiration from the vast neighboring Atlantic and the vessels that sail her.

Overall styles can vary from French Eclectic to Shingle, but nautical gestures can be used across the spectrum to create a cohesive look. Shown below, clam shell built-ins provide a fresh and elegant way to bring the calm of the beach indoors.

Our Darien Colonial project’s living room fireplace is surrounded by honed absolute black granite and custom Federal-Style wood mantel. The paneled wall features cabinets, display shelves, and a curved niche with shell decoration made famous in the 1934 renovation of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Oval Office.

Three recently completed nautical projects of ours include:

The Rye Beach Shingle

Sited in Rye and recently featured in the hit Netflix show The Watcher, this idyllic home features diamond patterned windows and swept front bays that mimic the stern of a ship. The exterior invokes importance and elegance, without overwhelming formality.

The design also affords the opportunity for a bit of fun. Small nautical gestures reveal themselves as observers get to know the home, like the silhouette of a striped bass carved into the gable end as shown below. The adjacent platform with decorative wood railing and portlights also has nautical roots, as wives of whalers in 19th century Nantucket used the rooftop platforms to search for their spouses’ ships in the harbor. Unfortunately many ships did not return, and the platforms became aptly known as Widow’s Walks.

Moving to the interior, the lower level recreation space includes shiplap paneling with v-groove profile and barn doors that open to reveal a double bunk niche. Dock cleat handles and stain-grade cap rails further emphasize the theme and are a lot of fun for young guests and residents.

After a good night’s rest in the bunks, it’s time for some exercise in the sport court or liquid refreshment at the stain-grade cherry wet bar. The bead board paneling, mirrored backsplashes, brass lighting, and curved bar corners would look just as appropriate on a luxurious ocean liner as they do in this bright recreation space.

Of course, the interior furnishings and color pallet help support the cohesive nautical theme.

The home’s library includes American Cherry paneling, built-in bookcases, a hidden doorway, and mantel with the abstracted lapstrake hull of a wooden sailboat.

Our Rye Beach Shingle’s third floor office suite features the ‘ribs’ of a ship along the ceiling, with vaulted widow’s walk ceiling, portlights and shiplap wainscoting.

See more of our Rye Beach Shingle project here. You can also learn more about how the home was featured as the set for the Netflix series The Watcher here.

Next up is our:

Connecticut River Shingle

One of our newer projects that features lovely nautically-themed detailing is our Connecticut River Shingle. Just beyond one of the lower Connecticut River Valley’s most charming historic villages is this shingle-style home, designed to take advantage of its challenging site and river views.

The main staircase located in the octagonal tower is a work of art that reaches all floors in the home. The detailing at the ceiling inspired the design of the newel post in the foreground.

The library is paneled in white oak and finished with a light color palette to keep the space welcoming. River views and an abundance of natural light provide a nice contrast to the libraries of the past that were often more like cigar dens than functional high use spaces.

Interested in seeing more of this residence? Check out our Connecticut River Shingle project page.

Last but not least is our:

Seaside Shingle

After traveling down a long winding driveway, this private dockside paradise welcomes guests with swept double gables and an elaborate entertainment focused backyard program.

Designed to maximize waterfront views and natural light, the spacious, open living areas feature some subtle and some overt nautical styling.

The watch tower and yacht club style entertainment spaces are revealed in the rear.

Perhaps the most impressive nautical space in the home is the lower level entertaining space – where broad openings separate activity zones for kids and adults. A custom-designed pool table in the recreation space mimics a tender on stands waiting to be launched. Red and green lighting reference navigation lights that guide ships back to harbor.

*The rec room’s custom made nautical billiards table*

The children’s play space features a mock tall ship with functional crows nest, wheel, and even cargo hold for young adventurers to explore. When the lights are dim, the curved ceiling reveals an LED fiber optic constellation map that twinkles and displays the occasional shooting star. Adjacent ‘harborside’ bunks complete an imaginative nautical dream world that will surely be a sleepover destination for multiple generations.

Four comfy bunk beds enclose the play area. The paneled bunks feature stained cherry rails and custom ship ladders.

Additional highlights of the recreation space include a 200-bottle wine cellar wall, teak wet bar and gaming space.

See more of our Seaside Shingle project here. You can also learn more about our Seaside Shingle’s nautically themed rec space here.

Our Rye Beach Shingle Takes On a Starring Role in Netflix Show ‘The Watcher’

One of our most beloved projects has gotten quite a bit of attention lately. Our Rye Beach Shingle home has taken on a starring role in the new Netflix series The Watcher!

While the show is inspired by true events that took place in a home in Westfield, NJ, our shingle project is located in Rye, NY. The design combines classical influence and complexity of form with naturalistic informality and eclectic detailing. The exterior of this idyllic home features four gables that intersect a central hipped-roof, matching front and rear shed dormers at the attic level that culminate in a widow’s walk with Chippendale balustrade, and a handsome pair of brick chimneys.

Our design’s exterior plays the part of the infamous residence in The Watcher, and the show utilizes a set for its interior scenes.

As reported in Dirt, “Where the [real] property is rather traditional in style with clapboard siding and a mansard roofline, its television counterpart, which towers four stories, is fronted with Cedar shake, handsomely valenced windows and a stone staircase that spills out onto a generous grassy expanse below.”

House Beautiful also points out some of the differences between the home that the story is based on and our shingle design, stating, “Like 657 Boulevard, it’s a shingle-style house, but the New York home is much grander than its real-life counterpart. It features six bedrooms and seven bathrooms that span 10,166 square feet, according to Zillow, whereas the New Jersey home has six bedrooms, four bathrooms, and spans 3,869 square feet.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HDkw100sXQ

The official trailer for The Watcher

In its debut weekend, The Watcher rose to be the No. 1 Netflix show in 20 countries. Visit our Rye Beach Shingle project page to see more of the home.

Coastal Gambrel Shingle

Contemporary Shingle

A modern adaptation of the 19^th century shingle style, this stunning waterfront home uses the dramatic manipulation of scale and form to create a timeless design that will endure for generations.

Defining Characteristics of Shingle Style Architecture

Our firm designs homes in a wide variety of architectural styles, from Colonial and Contemporary, to French Country and Tudor. However, Shingle Style is by far the top requested home style at our firm. After all, nothing says “New England Charm” quite like a Shingle Style residence.

Originally dating from the late 19^th to early 20^th century, in an “anything goes” era in architecture, the Shingle Style has many unique features. So what are the defining characteristics of Shingle Style homes? Today we’ll explain the top five:

5 Features of Shingle Style Architecture

The wall and roof shingles at our Seaside Shingle home gracefully flow together and wrap into accent window openings.

#1: Wood Shingles

While other materials are used in Shingle Style homes (such as brick or stone on the first floor and slate or tile on the roof), the material that tends to predominate are wood shingles. Nothing gives a façade or roof more depth and character than 5/8″ thick wood shingle shakes, especially when formed into special shapes. After all, there are some things that just can’t be replicated in plastic or fiber cement.

A simpler roof would diminish the charismatic charm of our New England Shingle project.

#2: An Attention to Roofs

Some architectural styles emphasize roofs, while others strive to make them blend in. Shingle Style homes exemplify the former, as the roof lines are a dominating feature. When designed properly, the myriad of roof shapes combined with complex plan forms create a level of interest and beauty that is hard to beat.

The welcoming front porch at our Greenwich Waterfront Shingle

#3: Porches

Most of the original Shingle Style homes were located in seaside or mountain towns and served as weekend or vacation homes, designed to take advantage of views and prevailing breezes. In the days before air conditioning, porches not only provided outdoor entertainment spaces, but also as a more comfortable place to sleep in the summer months. Adjoining rooms could also be kept cool by opening large French doors onto porches, connecting the home to the outdoors. Other than perhaps certain farmhouse and Victorian-era styles, porches predominate Shingle Style homes more than any other.

Heavily studied when designed, the melding of window types at our Classical Revival form an exciting and complimentary group.

#4: An Abundance of Varied Windows and Doors

Shingle Style homes tend to have windows and doors with a lot of variety. Unlike the formality of other styles, it’s common to see several different window sizes and shapes in the same Shingle Style home. As available glass pane sizes became larger and more affordable in the late 19^th century, architects took advantage by making windows and doors larger, more numerous, and more varied. Starting with Colonial precedent and reworking elements and shapes, the windows and doors in Shingle Style homes add another unique element of interest.

Sometimes you want to take in a lot of sun, and that’s okay with the Shingle Style, too. The backyard of our Seaside Shingle is one of our favorite outdoor spaces.

#5: Exceptions… and Plenty of Them!

The expression, “Rules are meant to be broken” is particularly true with the Shingle Style. There are many exceptions to every characteristic above, with both interiors and exteriors, and that is what makes the style so unique to work with.

No matter what your requirements, if the Shingle Style is for you, we can make it your one-of-a-kind dream home! Check out more of our Shingle Style designs here, and schedule a consultation by calling us at (203)622-7000 or emailing us at info@vanderhornarchitects.com.

Shorefront Shingle

With sprawling outdoor living spaces and water views from nearly every room, this double gable shingle style combines traditional geometry with a crisp and contemporary attitude.

A Tour of Our Seaside Shingle Home’s Nautical Recreation Space

2020 has been a year full of the unexpected. Given the challenging circumstances of mandatory quarantines, telecommuting, and keeping our our kids busy at home amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, we can all agree that a recreation room would be a beneficial home feature to have through it all.

A great entertainment space is stocked with amenities that each person in the family can appreciate, as the lower level space in our Seaside Shingle Cottage boasts. From a nautical-themed play ship area for the kids and a tech savvy wine cellar for the adults, to a game room for the whole family to enjoy, this rec room is undoubtedly a stay-at-home haven. Let’s take a tour!

Featuring interior design by Cindy Rinfret, a playful nautical theme resonates throughout the space as broad openings separate inspired activity zones.

The living area features a teak wet bar complete with glass upper cabinets, open shelving, and a grouping of pendant fixtures that echo naval lighting.

Broad French doors open to the pool terrace and prime views of the Long Island Sound. Above, bowed beams and v-groove board wainscoting define the lengthy entertainment area with its stone mantel, large television and curved sofa seating.

Next up is the impressive kids’ play haven, which features a play ship complete with a fiber optic constellation ceiling. When the lights are dimmed, it reveals a twinkling night sky and even the occasional shooting star.

The ship fabricator, Sono Skunk, used a number of 3D modeling techniques to create the intricate structural design of the ship’s hull, decks and ceiling vault.

Wood and rope pilings topped with salvaged navigational lights mark the ship area entrance. The play area also includes four paneled bunk beds that feature tapered seat backs, reading lights, stained mahogany rails, and custom ship ladders to the top bunks.

The bunk beds frame the open space that beckons a view of the play ship on one side, and the real water view through French doors at the other. The kids’ area is an amazing place for young adventurers to cultivate an imaginative nautical dream world!

Another fun aspect of this entertainment space is the collection of games that it houses – from antique pinball and baseball arcade games, to table tennis and the below pictured custom nautical billiards table.

A modern wine cellar is the focal point in the table tennis table area of the entertainment space. Holding 200 bottles on slender brackets, the wine wall features special illumination to show off its impressive display of bottles.

Additionally, the wine cellar is programmed to open only with the owner’s thumbprint.

All in all, we had a lot of fun designing this wonderful, one-of-a-kind lower level retreat.

Interested in seeing more? Click here for additional photos of our Seaside Shingle Cottage.

4 Stylish Bunk Bed Designs

While bunk beds are sometimes thought of simply as a space-efficient way to organize a kid’s room, they can also be designed to be both a beautiful and functional element of a space.

Today we’re sharing four of our clients’ homes that include bunk beds in their lower level entertaining areas. Whether they’re the centerpiece of a children’s play room or part of an elegant adult loft, bunk beds can infuse a playful, cozy element into any space.

Bunk Bed Design #1 at Our Seaside Shingle Cottage

At our Seaside Shingle Cottage, the owners requested a lower level entertainment space where their growing family could gather. Featuring fun activities for children and adults alike, the area includes table tennis, game machines, a wine cellar, wet bar, and a kids’ play space.

The children’s play area is nautically themed – complete with a play ship, ‘harborside’ storage cabinets, and ‘officers’ quarters that create an imaginative nautical dream world for young adventurers. Complementing the nautical theme are the pictured four comfy bunk beds.

The paneled bunks feature tapered seat backs, reading lights, stained mahogany rails, and custom ship ladders to the top bunk. The bunk beds beckon a view of the play ship on one side, and the real water view of the Long Island Sound through French doors at the other.

Bunk Bed Design #2 at Our French Eclectic Project

In the basement rec room at our Waterfront French Eclectic home, our clients’ grandchildren have the perfect sleepover nook. Four twin-size bunks and two trundle beds hideaway behind a pair of paneled doors. Each archtop bunk alcove features scroll brackets, reading lights and a ship ladder.

The area features practical durable carpeting, while paneled wainscoting and hand-hewn timber and oak plank ceiling really dress up the space.

Bunk Bed Design #3 at Our Mead Point Shingle Style Home

At our Greenwich Waterfront Shingle home, the basement was developed into a functional kids’ space for the family’s teenage children. The wood-clad lower level recreational space provides a casual chic departure from the upper levels, complete with built-in bunk beds, table tennis, and a banquette and bar for snacking.

The hidden bunk beds continue the home’s waterfront aesthetic and make sleepover parties a breeze. Ship-lap walls and sliding barn doors add a rustic flair to this kid-friendly space.

Bunk Bed Design #4 at Our Rye Beach Shingle

At our Rye Beach Shingle home, the bright nautically themed basement recreation room features shiplap paneling with v-groove board accents, richly stained hardwood flooring, millwork pieces and moulded accents.

The area’s barn doors reveal a double bunk-bed niche with shelf space and trundle – making for a great relaxation area after practicing table tennis skills or playing basketball or lacrosse in the space’s sport court.

To check out more of our designs, please visit our residences page.

Early 2020 DVHA Project Updates

While winter weather can sometimes be a hindrance to construction in our profession, the DVHA team has been very fortunate to have seen a lot of progress on many of our projects over the last few months. Today we’re sharing some peeks at both our recently completed homes and projects under construction.

A couple of our marquee projects, including our Oceanfront Shingle and Greenwich Mid-Country Manor, are now complete and occupied!

Our newly completed Oceanfront Shingle

Our Mid-Country Manor project

As soon as Spring is in all its glory, we’ll be taking plenty of photos of these projects to share with you!

Additionally, our Colonial Manor home here in Greenwich (pictured below) is near completion.

Both our Suburban Shingle in Ridgewood, NJ, and Rye Colonial projects are well underway and literally beginning to take shape. In just a couple of weeks at our Rye Colonial home, framing progressed from this…

…to this:

It’s always exciting to see the shape of the building take form, and we look forward to sharing more updates on these projects with you later this year.

We also have a number of new projects on the boards, as always. Two in particular are quite special: a new shingle style home in Old Greenwich, and a sprawling estate in the Catskills.

A peek at our plans for the Old Greenwich shingle home

You’ll be hearing a lot more about these new projects in the coming months. Stay tuned for updates!

And of course, make sure to follow us on Instagram @dvharchitects and subscribe to our newsletter to stay in-the-know on the latest happenings at DVHA.

DVHA Wins 3 A-List Awards

Regional luxury lifestyle publisher athome Magazine celebrates the best in home design with its annual competition, the A-List Awards. We’re excited to have been honored with three awards at this year’s A-List Awards!

Our Classical Revival project took home two awards: one for Traditional Architecture Greater Than 7,000 Square Feet, and the other in the Dining Room category.

This new shingle style home strikes a buoyant pose to capture the harbor views despite challenging grading and floodway constraints.

The home features an array of intriguing window shapes and patterns, white decorative railings, columns, casings, cornices, and modillions, delivering fluent styling. It also boasts an impressive promenade of lawn, gardens, terraces, pool, spa, cabana and sport court.

The third A-List award that we received was for our Seaside Shingle Cottage project, which won for Best Play Space. The nautical themed play room features a custom built ship that kids and adults alike can appreciate:

Thanks again to athome Magazine for the recognition on these two wonderful projects!

3 Renovations that will WOW you!

Many of our projects are home renovations, which sometimes means updating an entire home, and other times means revamping just a part of a house. We love creating a client’s dream kitchen, making a bathroom luxurious and new, or redoing a home in its entirety to give it an updated look and feel.

Here’s a look at three of our renovation projects that boast dramatic results.

1. French Manor Estate Complete Renovation:

Originally built in 1958 in a Neo-French style with a Mansard roof, the house was composed of a central portion flanked by matching wings. Over the years the Greenwich house was added to and so extensively modified that the original charm had all but disappeared.

The owner of the house wanted to improve its appearance by giving it a distinctly French look with fine detailing and a strong presence. The entire house was gutted, portions removed, and everything in the central block, above the second floor line, was demolished. From this arose the stately and elegant main body appropriate for a classic French manor estate. Here are some looks at before and after the renovation:

2. Master Bath Transformation:

Inspired by the luxurious Claridge’s hotel in London, the architects set out to transform a large outdated bathroom into a sophisticated spa retreat. Stone tiled walls and an overpowering tub deck made way for a simple plan with timeless elements and generous storage. The main space features a soaking tub and vanity, while the sauna, shower and toilet rooms are arranged along one side of the room.

Classic detailing defines the spaces, with a marble chair rail extended from the vanity countertop and wood wainscoting below. The wood paneled vanity and tall glass fronted cabinets provide storage, along with a polished nickel medicine cabinet framed in black marble. Radiant heat flooring keeps the basket weave Carrera mosaic warm underfoot. The glass door on the red cedar sauna allows light to enter from the large picture window facing the Long Island Sound.

Here are a few peeks at the before:

And a look at the dramatic transformation after:

3. Shingle Style Home Renovation:

This project called for nothing short of a complete transformation. The home was once a gracious 1890s shingle style house but during the 1950s, the second floor of the home burned. Two subsequent renovations led to awful design results.

The goal here was not to enlarge the home, but to reclaim the stone first floor and its beautiful original interiors. As part of the process, all second floor facades have been re-arranged while keeping the floor plan in place. A steeply pitched slate roof and traditional cornice was added. A front porch and rear balcony were added to help connect the home to its landscape and capture the water view. A variety of shingle style window types and details are used to enliven the façade and bring more light to the interior. A finely detailed new chimney tops off the roof line. The final result is a gracious home that did not need to get bigger to get better.

Here’s a look at the before and after of the front of the home:

And here’s a look at the transformation from the rear of the home:

Visit our Renovations tab on our website to view more projects!

5 Most Requested Architectural Styles

The VanderHorn Architects team lives to see our architectural creations come to life as we cater to our clients’ individual tastes and needs. While we’ve created homes in a wide variety of architectural styles and find that each project is unique, there are a few styles that have proven to be the most popular in our recent custom renovations and new home builds. Today, we’re sharing our 5 top requested architectural styles.

SHINGLE STYLE

Our most requested style over the past five years, the shingle style is known for its broad expanses of shingle and roof, generous porches, and creative use of design elements inside and out.

Originally prevalent between 1880 and 1920, with earlier work being an offshoot of Queen Anne architecture, this style was increasingly influenced by early American and classical precedents. Our shingle style projects work particularly well with their settings, taking advantage of their topography, view aspects, and available sunlight.

COLONIAL/FEDERAL

A perennial favorite with many regional variations, the colonial style has an adaptable and elegant simplicity, ranging from rambling rustic cottages to symmetrically dignified homes in town that work well with today’s sensibilities.

The federal style is generally considered to be a more formal variation. This is a style that always has broad appeal and works with virtually any property.

Vanderhorn Architects | North Country Colonial

CLASSICAL REVIVAL

A varied offshoot of classical styles such as Georgian and Neoclassical, and from a time when architectural styles were less compartmentalized than they are today, classical revival homes exude a dignified and elegant presence.

Some examples are textbook studies in classical design, while others are an amalgamation of styles generally considered colonial or even Victorian.

TRANSITIONAL/MODERN(ist)

These styles have made their presence known in the local market. Transitional can be most simply described as a blurring of traditional and modernist elements. While everything created today is modern by definition, the style of Modernism’s direct lineage can be traced to the likes of LeCorbusier and the Bauhaus.

We have used a transitional design palate to create updated classical homes, and have even been asked to design full-on modernist homes for clients.

ENGLISH VERNACULAR

Perhaps because we are known for specializing in this style, we have had the privilege to work on a number of English homes over the years.

Our Mid Country English Tudor project provides a rich palette of architectural features, including a graduated slate roof with octagonal brick chimney flues on the stone base, as well as brick infill laid in a variety of patterns.

Ranging from tudor to Arts and Crafts and numerous regional variations, this grouping of styles in America is known for its dramatic rooflines in tile or slate, generous use of masonry and timberwork, and layouts that afford surprising amounts of light and cross-ventilation.

New England Shingle

The charismatic charm of a shingle style home is well-suited to maximize natural light and sublime views as it complements the natural features of a stunning waterfront property on the Long Island Sound.

Classical Revival

Striking geometry and bright detailing smoothly combine the splendor of a classic home with the cool elegance of open contemporary styling.

Connecticut River Shingle

Just beyond one of the lower Connecticut River Valley’s most charming historic villages is this shingle-style home, designed to take advantage of its challenging site and river views.

Oceanfront Shingle

Nestled on the edge of the dunes, this shingle and fieldstone estate enjoys unobstructed panoramic views of the Atlantic.

Seaside Shingle

This welcoming double-gable shingle style home glamorously swings into a private dockside paradise above the harbor.

Riverside Shingle

This stunning home was recently renovated following a number of poor renovations since the 1950’s. By reclaiming the stone first floor and adding a slate roof and traditional cornice, the home was transformed from a once gracious 1890’s shingle style home without enlarging the footprint.