Informal Shingle-Style

Location: Haymarket, VA

Influenced by memories of simple, coastal New England architecture, the owner’s of this heavily wooded 10-acre site wanted an informal, shingle-style home for entertaining and relaxing after a day of golf or horseback riding. The four-bedroom house includes a great room, dining room, study, kitchen, sunroom, laundry room and master suite on the first floor. The second floor features two guest rooms and a play area, while a home office with separate entrance sits over the attached three-car garage. To accommodate a walk-out basement, countless loads of fill dirt were needed to build up the grade on the otherwise flat site.

The covered front porch, with its mahogany doors, beveled glass, abundant windows, white columns, recessed lighting, and shingle façade is warm and inviting. Inside, the informal foyer with four foot tall wainscoting opens to the great room where a row of French doors bathes the room with light and views of the forest. Generous moldings, neutral walls, high ceilings and honey-colored oak floors run throughout, but the focal point is clearly the octagonal sunroom. With no collar ties or cross supports, careful engineering and steel brackets were needed to erect walls of glass and create a cathedral ceiling.

The use of stone, cedar shingles, steep roofs and dormers reinforce the homes shingle-style inspiration. Custom lighting highlights the homes many architectural features, including the kitchens clerestory, where halogen fixtures are suspended from cables. As with most homes of this size, careful consideration was given to systems engineering. The multi-zone solution can be customized to condition the entire home or selected spaces.