Property of Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Reinach, Scarsdale, New York | architects: Kramer & Kramer

11/28/2025 09:20:00 PM

Neither the Anthony Reinachs nor their architects had a courtyard plan in mind when they first discussed the design of this house. The idea evolved as the Reinachs outlined "what kind of people they were" in voluminous notes to the architects and numerous conversations. And as interest grew in "a sheltered but sunny outdoor living area" a center court became the key to the design. It embodied many ideas they cherished. They "loved stone, wood, greenery" and the court introduced an excellent place for these materials. Their concept of beauty was a house with "warmth and a feeling of wholeness" and the court is indeed an inviting magnet which unites all elements of the house in a cheerful way.

It presents many other advantages. It relates the major rooms to each other practically, lets them be joined together for summertime parties. For entertaining, Mrs. Reinach says, "the house is flexible enough for any kind of party we've been able to dream up." Yet the court is a useful buffer area that definitely separates the living and children's rooms in a way few conventional one-story plans can equal. And it contributes many intangible, agreeable effects. One is the balance of light and the changing patterns of light which occur in rooms where daylight comes from two sides. Another is the elimination of any long, dark corridors. And especially desirable is the visual enlargement of the living and dining rooms, the study and the entrance hall. The dimensions of each of these rooms seem to be extended by the courtyard.

As you walk into the entrance hall, you get a full view of the courtyard and its planting. In spring, bulbs and a fruit tree bloom here. In winter, it may be cloaked, picturesquely, in snow. The living and dining rooms beyond form one great area effectively divided by a free-standing storage cabinet. But only a glass wall separates them from the court which provides a dramatic outlook and sky- high spaciousness. At the same time, the court clearly divides the whole living area and guest room-study from the kitchen and children's rooms-almost as if they were separate houses. Beyond the kitchen, the Reinach children, Barron, 4, and Alan. 2. have their own bedrooms adjacent to the playroom at one corner of the house; it opens to the south terrace. Storage facilities throughout the house are remarkably generous and well engineered. Cupboards, closets and cabinets representing one-third of the total floor area were carefully planned to keep everything readily available near the point of use.

AN INNER SANCTUM where the Reinachs can enjoy the outdoors in total privacy, the courtyard is linked by one sliding door to the living and dining rooms in back and by another to the study at left. (The illusion of a glass-roof interior is actually a reflection of the court in the upper glass of living room.) Behind solid wall at right is the kitchen, well lighted by ribbon windows under the roof. Because the courtyard is a sheltered "sun trap," Mr. and Mrs. Reinach can use it more than half the year, even in the Westchester County climate. They enjoy it in winter too. After they moved in and the first snow fell they were so entranced by the effect they sat up most of the night watching the white carpeted court and the fantastic shapes assumed by the shrubbery.

Like any woman who enjoys cooking, Mrs. Reinach had a host of ideas about how the kitchen in her courtyard house should work. Her very successful partnership with the architects produced a kitchen-breakfast area that is handsome but not opulent, efficient but not stark. Visually, the length is minimized by the two arms of the U-shaped working center, one of which contains a double sink, the other, a cooking counter. Above the burners is suspended an exhaust hood finished in soft blue, which assumes the clean form of a piece of contemporary sculpture. Storage facilities are abundant and beautifully paneled in walnut. Opposite the work center, there is a storage wall 21' long with two built-in refrigerators and ovens. Just off the kitchen is the children's playroom which has a barbecue fireplace, vinyl tile flooring and plastic-coated walls tough enough to withstand chalk and crayon scrawls.