The House of Arden, Part 5 - Design, A mid-winter dream

The tour of the House of Arden began with a quick look at the exterior and then a walk through the upper level. The visitor was left standing at the top of the stairs, as the hostess hurried down stairs to check on lunch preparations.

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As my hostess disappears down the stairs, I notice the stairs going to the attic. Knowing full well that my curiosity will eventually be my undoing, I dash up the stairway for a quick peek. Opening the attic door, I see, a large well-insulated attic. It is mostly empty, with just a few storage boxes in one corner. Across the large open space I see a door, through which I discover the air handling equipment, used for fresh air circulation and living space cooling in the summer time. Most HVAC contractors prefer dumping cool air into rooms from above. Having the air handling equipment in the attic makes a lot of sense. This is a lot more efficient then pumping the heavier, cooler air up from below. 

Having satisfied my curiosity, I hurry down to the main level of the house. When I arrive, I am in the front hallway facing the living room. (Click on image 1 of 2 to enlarge.) There I discover that the people who were in the screen porch when I first arrived were now gathered in the transition between the living room and dining room. To my left I hear the clatter of food preparation in the kitchen. Then, someone from the living room comes over and greets me, introduces himself and guides me to come and meet the other guests. As we enter the living room, I notice the fireplace flanked by two windows, on the north wall with a freestanding stove set in front. The stove sits on quarry tile pad imbedded into the maple plank flooring used throughout the living room and dining room. The trim around the fireplace, as well as in the rest of the living room and dining room, is finished in antique cherry.

The living room is furnished comfortably in a theme of blue, mauve, and burgundy in harmony with an accent rug centered in the room. Table lamps, floor lamps, wall sconces on either side of the fireplace, and two open-bulb fixtures provide lighting. The bay windows and the two on either side of the fireplace, connect the room with the outdoors.

Just then, lunch is announced and we are invited into the dining room. The transition between the living room and dining room is a broad passageway, anchored on the north side with an open bookcase and on the south side with a built-in cabinet.

The centerpiece of the dining room is a tavern table painted with soldier blue milk paint underneath with Windsor chairs painted to match. These sit on an accent rug that complements the one in the living room. The table is accented with a simple candelabra-style chandelier.

A built-in buffet fills in the east end of the dining room, with an under the counter wine cooler and a room temperature rack above. On the south wall is a pass-through window into the kitchen that can be closed off with double cabinet doors.

The hostess directs me to on the south side of the table facing the French doors into the screen porch. Sitting here I am able to see the landscape toward the Cannon River to the north where sunlight is seen glistening off the water through the swelling spring buds of the black walnut and maple trees of the flood plain down below. The lunch consists of Greens with Raspberry Dressing, Buttermilk Rye Bread; and Swiss Lentil, Ham, and Vegetable Soup. The conversation is lively, focusing on the morning bicycle adventure on the Cannon Valley Trail and the plans for an afternoon adventure of antique shopping. Then, as if on cue, napkins are placed on the table, and everyone is stacking dishes, grabbing glassware, and silverware and bringing them to the pass through to the kitchen. I start to pitch in, but am intercepted by the hostess. "We need to continue on our tour."

We leave the dining room through the door to the kitchen and dinette. Both are tied together with a common ceramic tile floor but are separated by a peninsula, lit by two small hanging school globes, and adorned with two aromatic pies cooling on racks. The dinette is furnished with a drop-leaf table centered under a larger school globe and surrounded by four bentwood chairs. Under the south facing windows is a set of bookshelves. With a telephone on the wall at the base of the peninsula, this makes the dinette table an ideal place for planning meals and other household activities. Also, the dinette is roomy enough to serve as a gathering place for guests during a house party.

The kitchen is compact and efficient with two hot preparation areas straddling the peninsula – the oven and microwave stacked at the end of the peninsula and the stovetop to the right of the base of the peninsula. Next to the oven is the wet area, consisting of the dishwasher and sink. At the west end of the kitchen is the dry preparation area, where a lower counter top is at just the right height for the mixing and kneading of bread. The refrigerator stands in the southwest corner. The refrigerator, along with a counter top to its left, make up the cold preparation area of the kitchen. Four distinct preparation areas, hot, wet, dry and cold, nicely segment the kitchen so that two or more cooks can easily work simultaneously without getting in each other's way.

From the kitchen we enter the pantry, (Click on image 2 of 2 to enlarge.) where there is a string of cabinets under the south-facing window with an over-sized sink used for washing large pots and pans and for washing and preparing fresh produce and flowers from the gardens. Across from the counter and sink is an area designed to accept a washer and dryer – "For when we start living only on the first floor."

Next to the pantry is the mudroom with the same quarry tile and bead board wainscot as the front entry. This is a place where someone coming from the garage or from outdoors can remove dirty boots, shoes and work clothing before entering the rest of the house. A coat closet, some open hooks, and a bench are provided – with boot storage under the bench. One can then wash up in the pantry or go down to the lower-level bathroom to shower.

At the west end of the mudroom is the back stairs to the lower level and at the east end is the entry to the guest bedroom and bath. This bedroom suite is designed to be handicap accessible. The bedroom, closet (lite by a glass-block window), and bath are large enough to easily manipulate a wheel chair and the bathroom has grab bars and a wheel-in shower.

Leaving the bedroom we head back through the mudroom into the garage. It is a two-car garage with plenty of space around the cars to give a person with mobility challenges plenty of room. At the front end of the garage are some work benches/cabinets and a double door leading to the workroom. The workroom is relatively small, but the major power tools are all on wheeled cabinets making the space very flexible. The double doors into the garage and out to the patio also make this space easily expandable. Then, in the northwest corner I'm surprised to see a stairway going down….

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The Mid-Winter Dream continues with a tour of the lower level.

© 2006, Gary L. Engstrom