Our Plan

It took five years for us to work out how we could interpret the plan of the original house from Friendship, NY to suit our needs and desires. We went through hundreds of alternatives and gave up several times, only to come back to it again and again.

The key elements of the original plan that we wanted to preserve were:

1. The cupola
2. The porch
3. The center stairway
4. The second floor 'hallway' around the central stair
5. The position of the master bedroom at the 'end' of the hall way

In addition to preserving certain key aspects of the original, we had, of course, many of our own requirements. Much of our thinking about what we wanted in a house was shaped by the work of Christopher Alexander, author of A Timeless Way of Building, A Pattern Language, and many other influential books on architecture and building (see Patterns for more on this). You can also read our complete Requirements Document, if you're so inclined.

Click here to see the original plan in a new window so you can compare the two versions.

First Floor

Note: North is to your left

Second Floor

Note: North is to your left