A HOUSE is the sum of at least a thousand parts. How well they mesh together depends largely on careful selection of architect, site, materials and equipment. Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Dretzin's house in Chappaqua, New York, is a case in point. They wanted charm, simplicity and ease of upkeep.
THEY MADE A POINT OF SITE: They realized that a truly satisfying country house is keyed to its surroundings. The property they finally selected is a lovely five-acre tract of woodland overlooking a small lake. There are great outcroppings of rock overgrown with minuscule mosses and ferns; wild laurel and dwarf evergreens cluster the slopes; tall oaks and beeches offer shade.
THEY MADE A POINT OF GOOD PLANNING: The success of a house is often in direct ratio to the understanding between the architect and client. Long before they were ready to build. Mr. and Mrs. Dretzin discussed the house with their architects (Katz-Waisman-Blumenkranz-Stein-Weber. Archi- tects Associated). By the time they were ready to build there existed a lively understanding that assured a sympathetic interpretation of their needs. They enumerated their requirements and preferences in answer to a questionnaire from the architects.
THEY MADE A POINT OF COLOR: Color is a very personal matter, especially in your own house. Here the pattern was set by the owners' enjoyment of vivid hues. In collaboration with the Rahr Color Clinic and using HOUSE & GARDEN colors, a coordinated scheme was worked out for everything from walls to hand towels. Each color is appropriate to its place and creates a sense of continuity from room to room. Thanks to the perfect match afforded by Martin-Senour's Nu-Hue system, there was no guesswork, no experimental mixing.
THEY MADE A POINT OF INDIVIDUALITY: Because they delight in the yeast of originality, the Dretzins specially commissioned some of the furniture and fabrics. Designed by Isamu Noguchi: the low coffee table of black Belgian marble, the dining room table in red-brown African cocobolo wood, the aluminum light fixture formed like drifting clouds. Woven by Trude Guermonprez: the living room curtains with bands of variant texture to diffuse the light in subtle patterns; coverings for the armchairs and corner couches which are almost three-dimensional in their depth.
TWICE IN YOUR LIFE you will want a small house: when you marry (this is likely to be a budgeted house); and again when your children marry (the budget probably won't matter so much as your tastes). Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Brock's house in Fairfield, Connecticut, is the second type, planned for easy maintenance, pleasant living and based on fine GE equipment. Victor Civkin was the architect. GE equipment is at Wanamaker's, New York, The Dayton Company, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
WIDE WINDOWS flood living area of this three-purpose (kitchen, laundry, dining) room with sun, filtered through light Citron yellow Fiberglas curtains. Work center is separated from it by bar and serving counters, over which it is practical to pass drinks and food. Door to outdoors makes it easy to eat out in summer. Stairs lead down to Mr. Brock's dark room and wood-working shop.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
source: House and Garden Magazine | April 1950
Mr. Rapson designed this house for Mr. and Mrs. J. G. Lopez, to be built on a wooded hilltop in the environs of Chicago. Winner of First Prize in the division for smaller houses (6 rooms or less) the structure covers a considerable area, giving the im- pression of being much larger than it is.
Referring to the first floor layout, the plan works as follows: From carport, which is simply an open shed, a covered passage leads along one side of the court to the entrance. Entrance hall, on the same level as the dining room, kitchen, etc., looks down into the high-ceilinged living room which is several steps below it. Stairs lead up from the entrance hall to the two bedrooms on the second floor. This unit is set at right angles to the lower floor and projects southward to cover a section of the terrace.
The property is richly wooded-more so than we could show without obscuring the house. As there was no glare problem, every effort was made to emphasize lightness and openness in the design, to take advantage of the view outside and to promote a feeling of simplicity and unity within the house.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
source: House and Garden Magazine | August 1945
A hilltop in Connecticut, with a wide view of Long Island Sound is the site for this house designed by the architect for himself, his wife and two children. It is a dramatic house, well-planned and thoroughly workable, but full of the unexpected and unusual-for example, the ramp which takes the place of a stairway.
The design is planned for large-scale entertaining. By placing the family living room on the second floor the whole area of the first floor becomes available for entertaining. The guest room may be used as a small sitting room or as a dressing room when the pool is in use. The arrangement of the master bedroom, bath and dressing room is interesting, as is the way in which the children's room, di- vided by a folding partition, may be opened up as a large daytime play space.
Besides the native stone used in the two chimney walls, and the broad expanses of glass, the exterior surfaces are mainly plywood and corrugated sheets of asbestos-cement; roof is slate-colored slag.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
source: House and Garden Magazine | August 1945
It has been said about this Northern Californian house that it has the merit of a well-made violin. Convenient in design and adapted to modern techniques of living, this house is nonetheless romantic and poetic in intent. In a landscape which is just beginning to develop an architecture of its own flavor, it is a translation of the spirit of the place into forms which are completely livable.
The house is built on a hilltop overlooking farmlands, forested hills, a distant city, an ocean bay. On the crest of the hill just above it, there is a small garden of native flowers and shrubs, sheltered by an encircling redwood grove. The outside of the house is redwood which has weathered to a silvery gray. There's little lost motion in the house and few decorative devices. Its beauty lies in its sheer proportions which coincidentally seem to be determined by the requirements of the design and the logics of the plan. Here is a house that seems part of the majestic countryside, yet is fluid enough in line to stand on its own merits.
The house was planned for year-round occupancy without servants. Halls are virtually eliminated-passages. being incorporated into the usable living area. The plan is open except where segregation and privacy are desired for the kitchen, the bedrooms and the library. The into-eachother dining room, living room and gallery are plotted along a diagonal axis connecting the garden and ocean views. This lengthening and fusion provide a spaciousness and sweep of interior vistas which optically doubles the size of the rooms and makes the whole house seem larger. Even though there is a great deal of space given to broad planes of windows, there are still many unbroken wall expanses. With the exception of the foundation and chimney, the house is constructed entirely of wood. It was built for the most part by unskilled labor. The flush doors are the only millwork in the house. A conjunction of extensive natural wood surfaces and painted surfaces changes the color scheme subtly and offers a charming variety with no hint of flatness or sameness. Doors, window frames, closet fronts are done in a variety of colors both in sequence and in contrast with adjacent woods.
Except in the baths and the kitchen, the ventilation is separate from the windows. The glass is fixed and the ventilation comes through louvred openings. Doors also add extra airiness. The elimination of large movable glass areas simplifies construction and insulation, reduces main- tenance and makes watertight windows possible in this stormy coastal area. Whatever else the house may be, it is fundamentally a pavilion for the enjoyment of the view, respectful of the landscape which contains it.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
source: House and Garden Magazine | July 1945
Lt. (i.g.) Morton D. May and Mrs. May wanted space but not a palatial coliseum. They gave Samuel Marx and his associates Noel L. Flint and C. W. Schonne free rein to design their home in Ladue, Missouri. Here is their excellent solution. The architects studied their land and followed its natural contours, even paralleling rocky formations in the stone-work on the house and in the garden. Walls were built of reclaimed, local, handmade brick. To satisfy Lt. May's color sense (he is one of the outstanding amateur color photographers), they lashed on an awning of cadmium yellow. The interior spaciousness, divided by leatherette folding walls, is matched by a plan to leave the grounds wild for the most part, keeping the man-made a meld with the natural. Franz Lipp landscaped it.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
source: House and Garden Magazine | January 1945
