Urban Cottage
“Here, protected by a majestic elm, reposes this little home, defying classification but claiming a character all its own,” wrote the editors of Better Homes and Gardens of this Brookline house in July 1933. The modest abode, praised for its economy of scale, clever siting, and unique detailing, had just won first place in the Better Homes in America Small House Competition.
“Here, protected by a majestic elm, reposes this little home, defying classification but claiming a character all its own,” wrote the editors of Better Homes and Gardens of this Brookline house in July 1933. The modest abode, praised for its economy of scale, clever siting, and unique detailing, had just won first place in the Better Homes in America Small House Competition.
Before: As a testament to its intelligent.jpg)
layout, the house, designed by Royal Barry Willis, remained relatively unchanged decades later when Geoffrey and Deborah Hirsowitz bought it in 1997. Unchanged, that is, except for the kitchen—redone sometime in the ’70s, but still dark and sad, and oddly isolated from the rest of the house. “Since this house was designed, lifestyles have changed,” said architect David Amory of Amory Architects P.C., who was called in by the Hirsowitzes to revamp the space. “In the ’30s, one person did the cooking, usually the wife, and the husband would sit in the study reading the paper, smoking a pipe. Now cooking is welcomed and connected with the other activities of the home.”
His charge: Open up the kitchen without adding lots of square footage, while carefully retaining the character and details of the original cabinetry.
After: Amory combined the kitchen and adjacent study by removing the walls between them, creating a sitting room open to the expanded eating and food prep areas. The powder room remains in the middle of this larger room, its walls providing a place for the refrigerator and pantry. Two tiny additions—75-square feet to the north, and 60-square feet to the west—became a dining area and a pocket-sized office.
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Combined with clever space planning, great attention to detail helped retain the home’s original prizewinning allure. The direction of the floorboards mirrors the ceiling beadboard—an example of surfaces working in tandem to subtly delineate rooms without using walls. The double-hung windows in the new eating and office area are divided into 15 individual panes, complementing the delicate scale of the house. Custom cabinets feature a small window, so decorative serving-ware can be displayed on the lower shelves (with less aesthetically pleasing items stowed above). Like the original cabinetry in the adjacent pantry, the drawer and cabinet fronts sit inside their frames and some use H-hinged hardware and classic cup pulls.
The Hirsowitzes fell in love with Jerusalem stone, so Amory used it for the island countertop, painted all the millwork and ceilings a shade of ivory, and used similarly hued glazed ceramic tiles on the back wall. To save energy, they avoided the typical lighting grid, only placing recessed and pendant fixtures near windows and workspaces. “We lit the surfaces that require light—like the sinks and counters. Illuminating a floor is pointless,” said Amory. (For more information on lighting, see page 29.)
The owners are delighted with their renovation. “I’m proud to finally have a kitchen that people want to spend time in,” says Deborah Hirsowitz.