Synopsis
Book by Samon Katherine
Extrait
adding on
a cook's paradise
It's a perfect match. First, the quiet, untouched farm and wine country of the North Fork of Long Island, New York, where tractors are more common than Range Rovers and where the signs for roadside flower and vegetable stands are often painted by hand. And second, the owners of Frog Hollow Hall, two men whose idea of a brilliant weekend afternoon is not about shopping-to-be-seen or celebrity spotting, but about poking through farm stands for the freshest locally grown produce and plumpest homemade breads, then heading home to create a satisfying meal.
Their 1979 house was a simple and small 850-square-foot ranch. Charles Morris Mount and Harold Gordon chose it because its three quarters of an acre, surrounded by untouched fields, leads down a slope to a large pond. "Because we loved the pond so much, we decided to call the whole place Frog Hollow Hall," says Gordon.
Mount, a New York interior designer with many restaurant clients, loves to cook. And both men prefer to socialize with friends and clients by hosting dinner parties rather than dining out. But this was barely possible in the house's cramped, closed-off kitchen, where a maximum of six sat knee to knee.
Inside the airy addition, half is the new kitchen pavilion and half is the new living room. The kitchen ceiling peaks at eighteen feet; the living room 's, at twenty. But it is clearly the dramatically lit kitchen that is the crown jewel. "When you get right down to it, preparing dinner for people is a bit theatrical," Gordon admits. "It's like a performance. And these days, guests want to be a part of it."
So the practical, carefully laid-out kitchen also has generous space for guests to join in the preparation as well as gather around the island. "I love that I can cook and be among my guests instead of cut off in a separate room," says Mount. "Now it's a shared experience for everyone."
Ranch Style entrances
The artful presence of this house's front came about through problem solving. To the right of the front door is a large bathroom window that needed to provide privacy and also to admit light. The owners installed a three-sided lattice screen that shields the window while filtering in light and adding texture and dimension. A planter built into the top of the screen secures cascading vines that suggest the gardening efforts in back of the house. The undrilled bowling balls are a sculptural, planetary play on glass gazing balls often used as garden ornaments.
Ranch Style textures
In the addition, the chimney, corner piers, and low terrace columns repeat the materials of the living room's fireplace, with textures coming from bricks and split-face concrete blocks tinted a desert-sand color. The effect mimics expensive stone, creating a layered, patterned support structure that is carried into the interior.
Ranch Style kitchen pleasures
The ranch house kitchen has always offered an abundance of pleasures and conveniences for cooking, from the first dishwashers in the 1950s to the more advanced accoutrements of today. Mount had the burners configured in a single row to avoid burns from reaching over a flame or pot; generous four-foot-wide paths lead around the island; a small island sink has a built-in rinsing colander; an open shelf of dish towels stands ready between stove and sink; ample electrical sockets are hidden on the underside of upper cabinets; and dimmers control every light in the kitchen, even those in the hood.
Ranch Style dining areas
The open dining area is a ranch-house hallmark. Here, the focus is the twelve-foot-tall custom ash bookshelf, most of which houses cookbooks. For the raised fir ceiling, custom plates, in black steel, act as anchors for the king-post trusses. Poised above the table, a custom copper-and-glass chandelier brings the eye downward to the table; it holds candles but also provides optional electric lighting. The Rais stove once heated the entire house and now has been refitted as a pizza oven.
secret in the neighborhood
In this Austin, Texas, suburb full of ranches, it would be possible to car-pool right by this house and take it for granted, and the owners appreciate that. "It fits in very well with the neighborhood," says owner Chris Berry. But here and there is clear evidence that the owners think outside the box.
Chris and Celia Berry had been very specific about what they desired. "We have prejudice toward ranches," Chris acknowledges. "We think it's more important to live in an older, smaller house that feels good rather than a large one that's a bit generic." Celia, a mosaic artist, agrees from a design point of view:
"I love houses that are spread out into interesting shapes and are more in touch with the ground. I'm not a fan of two-story homes." And they actually wanted a house that needed updating. "We're both happiest when we have a project to work on," says Chris.
The area was once considered north of town, but it is now central to the city, with easy passage to downtown and Lake Austin and Lake Travis. Untouched since it was built in 1952, the house seemed ideal, with good structure and old trees on three quarters of an acre. But it was too small-at only eleven-hundred square feet, it needed to accommodate their young daughter, Madeline, two home offices, and frequent visitors.
So the rectangular two-bedroom was expanded with an L-shaped addition, forming a U. A new family room joins the original structure, with a master suite beyond. Matching the 1952-vintage exterior brick allowed a seamless transition to the addition. The new house is 2,050 square feet and creates a classic courtyard, inspired by the couple's love for Mexico. The new rooms and the renovated dining room all have glass doors that open onto the courtyard with its Canterra stone fountain.
Celia and Chris renovated and did the building themselves, which was doable thanks to the combination of Celia's creativity and Chris's abilities-a software engineer, he also has degrees in civil and structural engineering. They drew their own blueprints, got their own permits, and "did ninety percent of the work with friends," says Chris. They contracted out jobs such as tile, cement, and Sheetrock. "Although it took us two years, by doing it this way we could make the money go further. And we could concentrate on details to get a true hand-built quality."
The house thus became a gracious Mexican-influenced home, with the hallmarks of easy, natural flow and exuberant materials and colors. "It's the courtyard that makes the house unusual and so hospitable," Chris comments as he opens all the glass doors. "We can hear the fountain from practically every room in the house. The best thing is that because we installed it between our wing and our daughter's, at night we can all listen to the water from our bedrooms."
Ranch Style vintage
An uninhibited mix of detailing-celebrated rather than eradicated by the owners-is a hallmark of much 1950s design. On this porch, the treatments of those details give them new energy. The wood door is painted an electric indigo-violet. In contrast, the screen's overlay of metal bird and curlicue foliage-highlighting a mid-century love of motion-appear to be etched as a result of delicate pink paint. Geometric themes are seen in a lighthearted metal support that replays the rectangular cutouts on the door. Sidelights, repaired with matching rippled glass, carry through the theme and afford privacy and light. The bonnetlike metal awning is finished in the same cream as the house's trim.
Ranch Style porches
The porch owes much of its vibrant mood to a careful use of color. Previously plain concrete, the porch was relaid with pink Canterra tile to make a soft, flowing transition from the sidewalk. A mosaic urn, made by Celia, anchors the space, lending artistry and a starting point for the Mexican-inspired theme indoors. Leading from the porch, flat sun-bleached stones fill paths through the yard, adding dimension. Party lights, chosen for their straightforwardness, go off when the party ends.
Ranch Style doors
All of the doors and fixed-glass panels in the courtyard have uniform styling. "Rather than French doors, we wanted the more traditional look of separate, classic patio doors," says Celia. "In the family room, the center support that runs between the doors and up through the clerestory window gives that wall a feeling of strength." The doors admit full light and views, making the courtyard immediately present.
Ranch Style courtyards
An open arch, recurrent over many Mexican patios, gives the space a larger, more expansive feeling than a flat pergola would have. Chris and a friend welded the pieces themselves, then rested the structure on carved wood columns shipped from Oaxaca, Mexico. Plantings of wisteria, cross vine, star jasmine, and native grapes add fragrance and cover. The outdoor floor, like the porch, is pink Canterra tile. In original ranch style, the family traverses the patio to go from one room to another year-round. The classic tiered fountain comes from Mexico.
Ranch Style
opening up
The owners removed two walls of the kitchen, opening it to the rest of the house. The backsplash tile, seemingly Mexican in mood, "came with the house," Celia explains; on top, the couple built a counter with identical tile found locally. For dimension, she inserted a blue-rimmed tile pictorial, a memento of a trip to Portugal. They stripped and pickled the wood cabinets for a lighter effect and to save on expenses. The raised ceiling in the dining room defines and enlarges a separate area and expands the open feeling of the kitchen. Celia and Chris removed a small window and a door on the exterior wall, replacing them with a glass door centered between the two fixed-glass panels. This same three-piece glass system repeats in the mast...
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