shannon taylor scarlett architects

Working with a very narrow corner lot with a brook at one corner, the foot print of this house was pretty much set by these restrictions. But constraints can be a good thing—with a blank slate it takes longer to hone in on the best solution. The goal of this design was to flood the house with light, create an open plan that allowed for a lot of flexible uses.

Barn doors and floor plan arrangements made it possible to close off particular rooms (where kids might be messy or noisy), but open the interior fully for entertaining.

Mud room desk adjacent to the kitchen, with a window seat, becomes a quiet retreat, while also providing a functional collection/organizing center for the comings and goings from the house.

Kids bedrooms take advantage of roof slopes for lofts and secret hideaway spaces.

Removed wall to open two rooms into a large family room

This raised Cape renovation/ addition project was to designed to create something modern, while still being sensitive to the existing neighborhood. The client wanted a big front sitting porch with modern detailing.

The concept behind this design was to add a modern look with the addition, without detracting from the traditional lines of the existing house. The additions included a new kitchen open to the family room, with a screened porch that opens up to the family room with a set of 4 folding glass doors.

The second floor of the addition included a master bedroom with a large dormer gable, and a small master bath.

Pergola, deck, bluestone terrace, fieldstone walls, fencing, and planting beds are used to organize the yard into distinct “rooms” for outside play, relaxing, dining and entertaining.

second floor addition over sunporch

To expand the existing bedroom and add a large new bath and walk in closet, we added a small second story addition over an existing single story sunporch.

We maximized the space by creating a small desk and reading area at the entry to the room, and a small balcony and french doors off the bedroom, facing the backyard.

A large tile shower and soaking tub, a double vanity and a wall of built-in shelving finished off the master bathroom.

upper viewing balcony

back deck & screened porch

front door and canopy

kitchen and entry

open stair, kitchen to living room

outdoor shower

This modern new beach house consisted of two parts—a main house and guest house, connected by a small breezeway and an outdoor catwalk. The client wanted a connection to the natural wooded site, and to capture distant water views from the second floor.

Natural materials were left to weather naturally in the sea air. Upper balcony, decks, screened porch and outdoor shower all were supportive of the indoor-outdoor concept.

mezzanine looking out bay window

sitting area in bay

reed glass stair rail

bookshelf, stair and fireplace

gas river stone fireplace

walk in closets

w.i.c and stair

bedroom from dressing area

bed headboard built-ins

Originally the extra large bedroom had only one adjacent closet that consisted of a 7x14 room with a single door.

The clients were not happy with the vast open space that lacked detail and character, and felt the room was not intimate or family friendly. They wanted a room where they could have their small kids hang out in the bedroom with them.

To reduce the height of the room we added a small balcony for a study, with access to an adjacent train room.

The television, fireplace and book shelves all added a hangout feeling to the space.

The dressing area, behind the bed and adjacent to the master bath, was beautifully handcrafted with inlayed wood and glass.

new screened porch

kitchen back entry mudroom

breakfast bay

Using small bay expansions to either end of the kitchen we were able to both expand and rearrange a very small galley kitchen into a fully functioning kitchen.

A new screened room for outside dining was added off the family room. The additions were all designed to fit with the existing house such that it would be hard to distinguish old and new.

garage side

front from driveway

terraced path

porch detail

foyer to livingroom

By adding a partial second floor we were able to accommodate a master suite and a second bedroom upstairs.

The entry sequence was a challenge because we needed to get to the front entrance from the driveway, which had several feet of elevation change.

To reduce the sense of climbing to the entry, we terraced the front walk and dropped both the porch and foyer a couple feet. A large mudroom was concealed behind panels off the front entry foyer.

The clients came back a year later to renovate the kitchen to match the rest of the house. (A project that seemed to be too much as part of the original scope of work.) To bring more light into the kitchen we added a raised ceiling and a skylight.

exterior new porch & garage/family room

new family room

enclosed front porch

gas fireplace & built-ins

video editing studio

new elementary school

new high school

high school renovation addition

dental office reception

hills branch library & fells branch library renovations

new campus athletics building including nursing program