Property of Mr. John D. Atkin | Noroton, Connecticut | Architect Atkin Naval Architecture | Photographer Rodney McKay Morgan

MODERN house for the nautical-minded is this Connecticut naval architect's home. An unusual combination that results in a comfortable home for living and a cheerful place in which to work. The north side of the house is devoted to the study-drafting room and experimental shop which, until equipped, was used as a storeroom. The white walls, bright red floor and the mellow pine workbench in the shop provide an attractive setting for the more serious work of making test models of yacht hulls as well as for work on Mr. Atkin's hobby, model railroading. The large room on the second floor (not shown on the plans) was especially designed to house the "O" gauge railway system. A special entrance into the study leaves the rest of the house free for family activities.

Front door enters the U-shaped living room which is large enough for entertaining friends and for comfortable and informal living. The living room is finished in yellow painted plywood and natural knotty pine; ceilings are of composition board painted soft blue. The master bedroom has a built-in bureau flanked by closets. A tiny 7'4" by 11' bedroom has built-in cabinets all along the south wall and double-decker bunks are placed on the west wall.

Space-saving, built-in furniture is also used in the living room and the ship's saloon. A comfortable seat, with cushions of foam rub- per covered with durable dark red duck material, runs along the west wall of the living room. A similar seat is built around two sides of the unique sea-fixed, white pine table in the ship's saloon. No one need sit with a leg in his lap at this spacious table. Walls in the ship's saloon are of plywood painted soft gray.

A two-car garage is attached to the west side of the house. Heat is supplied by a hot-air furnace in a partial basement beneath the living room. The house is insulated with reflective type aluminum foil material.

The trim, horizontal lines of the exterior are accentuated by the use of 10" novelty siding. Vertical lines, for balance, are supplied by the delicate pipe supports under sun deck and by vertical batten roof. The many windows are carefully placed to take full advantage of the sun and prevailing breezes. Window treatment is one example of how simplicity in design can reduce building costs. No unnecessary mouldings or trim on these windows; even dust-catching sills have been eliminated. Similar savings were made throughout the house by the honest use of materials.