PROJECT: Residence, Bernardsville, N.J.
ARCHITECT: WESKetch Architecture, Millington, N.J.; Carmen Iuso, AIA, project architect; William E.S. Kaufman, AIA, principal
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Brian Duffy, Duffy Construction, New Providence, N.J.
KITCHEN DESIGNER: Canterbury Design, Morristown, N.J.
STONE SUPPLIER: Gladstone Masonry and Stonework, Gladstone, N.J.
MASONRY: Mar-Mac-Mar, Inc., Newark, N.J.
ROOF, CEDAR SHINGLE, AND COPPER: Mark Sauer Contracting, Caldwell, N.J.
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A TOWERING ADDITION
This side of the original house, with its gambrel roof (left photo),
was opened to make way for the addition, while the opposite elevation
(right), with its lattice-windows, was kept intact. Designed
by Henry Hardenbergh, the turn-of-the century 4,800-sq.ft.
Dutch Colonial house offered expansive views but had lost almost
all of its original detail over the years. The steeply sloping site
was a challenge for both the design and construction of the addition.
(All photographs courtesy of WESketch Architecture)
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 view of the back of the house shows the new addition, starting with the four-story tower and moving left. The new addition lends considerable
volume to the house, providing a new family room, two-car garage, and master-bedroom suite. The tower serves as a demarcation
between the old and the new, uniting them into a singular style. The original porch (far right) was rebuilt with a stone foundation, columns,
and balcony to replicate the work done on the addition.
“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.”
The original gambrel roof line was repeated to maintain the style of the house, as shown in this view of the front entrance, with the addition
to the right. The porte cochere features a balcony above and to the far right, the family-room and master-bedroom balconies are visible.
The copper roof and weathervane on the tower are also visible over the roof.
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.
See details about the restoration in the Summer 2002 issue of
Period Homes Magazine.
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