Project: Residence, Bernardsville, NJ
Architect: WESKetch Architecture, Millington, NJ; Carmen Iuso, AIA, project architect; William E.S. Kaufman, AIA, principal
General Contractor: Brian Duffy, Duffy Construction, New Providence, NJ
Kitchen Designer: Canterbury Design, Morristown, NJ
Stone Supplier: Gladstone Masonry and Stonework, Gladstone, NJ
Masonry: Mar-Mac-Mar, Inc., Newark, NJ
Roof, Cedar Shingle, and Copper: Mark Sauer Contracting, Caldwell, NJ
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A Towering Addition
Sitting atop Bernardsville mountain in Bernardsville, N.J., this turn-of-the-century Dutch Colonial home was designed by Henry Hardenbergh, architect of New York City’s Plaza Hotel and Dakota Apartments. Over the years, however, it had lost most of its original intricate detail.
When the owners decided they needed additional space as well as an updated kitchen, they turned to WESKetch Architecture of Millington, N.J., to design an addition that would fulfill those needs and also bring back the home’s charm by embracing its original historic style.
The result was a three-story, 2,000-sq.ft. addition that evokes the original style of the home, blends seamlessly into the original structure, and embraces the landscape. This addition – achieved through generous use of stone, cedar roofing, and matching eave and rake details – provides a large family room, a new master-bedroom suite, and a two-car garage.
The project also included an enlarged and updated kitchen, which has now become the hub of the household.
“The site was incredibly challenging in terms of topography,” says William E.S. Kaufman, AIA, principal at WESKetch Architecture. “It was a very steep slope, so adding to the house in any direction was difficult. Also, the style and scale of the house was a challenge. We added quite a bit of volume and wanted to be sensitive to the scale of the original house.”
“The way we handled the terrain and the scale was by turning the addition on an angle,” Kaufman explains. “This allowed us to take advantage of the terrain by putting the garage under the building and capture more of the southern exposure for passive heat gain and for daylight for the interior spaces.”
“The original 100-year-old structure had gotten a little shabby over the years,” says Carmen Iuso, AIA, project architect, “but you could see the charm in it. We tried to add to the original charm through features such as the roof line and eave details. The hardest part was the site and the limitations of the zoning regulations,” he adds. “Those two factors practically shoehorned the addition into its location. The sloping terrain allowed us to put the garage under the house, making it almost hidden from the front of the house.”
The addition juts off from the original house at a 45-degree angle and is cleverly hinged to the house by a charming octagonal four-story tower that harkens back to the turn-of-the-century Dutch Colonial style. A porte cochere at the main entrance completes the picture. The addition adds 2,000 sq.ft. of floor space, including the two-car garage and balconies, or 900 sq.ft. of heated space, according to Iuso, with the original house measuring 4,800 sq.ft.
The interior and exterior detailing remain true to the spirit of the original residence, while drama is introduced with vaulted and cathedral ceilings in the master bedroom. Dutch Colonial features, such as the stone foundations for the porches, the double-hearth fireplace on the porch, and the cedar-shingle roof with its copper details, add to the house’s character.
WESKetch also duplicated the stone foundation and a balcony when rebuilding the original porch. “Located off the living/dining room, the old porch was the only outdoor space,” Kaufman notes, “and it was decayed. We rebuilt it using the same stone, columns, railings, and balcony treatment that we used on the addition.” The project adds four new outdoor balconies to the house: off the family room, the master bedroom, over the porte cochere, and over the original porch.
The building’s original asphalt roof was removed and replaced with hand-split cedar shakes, except for the octagonal tower, which has a standing-seam copper roof. Both were installed by Mark Sauer Contracting of Caldwell, N.J. “The copper roof was especially challenging because of its octagonal shape and because it’s high – 50 ft. above the ground,” Kaufman explains.
On the exterior, WESKetch utilized a brown fieldstone known as Modified Bernardsville for the addition’s foundation and for the chimney that serves both the family room and the master bedroom. An 8- to 10-in. veneer provides a more historic appearance, according to Iuso, and is thicker than the standard 4- to 6-in. veneer found in new construction. “When these houses were originally built, the stone was that thick because it was structural,” he says. “With the thick veneer, you get deep shade lines at the windows and doors and at the corners, so it looks like the stone is structural.”
One source of inspiration for WESKetch was American Country Houses of the Gilded Age by Arnold Lewis. The book provides numerous examples of Dutch Colonial and Shingle Style homes.
With its new historically correct addition, this house has been returned to its turn-of-the-century Dutch Colonial style. The sympathetic addition also provides the space and amenities the owners need for life in the 21st century.
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