Rendering of a dark timber-clad house with a tall glass gable, autumn trees and a rain-wet drive

Chadds Ford House

Chadds Ford, PA · Proposed design

Custom homes & renovations

A proposed woodland home organized around a soaring glazed gable, with shared living spaces below and a separate bedroom wing.

Location: Chadds Ford, PA
Status: Proposed design
Project: New home
Our role: Architect — concept design, renderings and a pricing set, with the structural engineering coordinated

Line drawing looking back toward the kitchen: the island under the wood ceiling, the stair and glass to the trees — From the February 2023 sketches: looking back from the dining table to the kitchen island and the stair.

The brief called for a modern home on a wooded Chadds Ford lot, with generous living spaces, four bedrooms upstairs including the primary suite, a guest suite on the main floor, an office and a studio. Views of the trees and a direct connection to the landscape guided the design.

We explored several arrangements before developing two intersecting wings: a tall, glazed gable containing the kitchen, dining and living spaces, and a two-story wing accommodating bedrooms and other private rooms. A glazed passage connects them.

Working closely with the owners, we refined the proportions and developed a coordinated pricing set for builders. The project remains unbuilt.

Line drawing of the living room: sofas around the stone chimney, with the glass gable end to the woods — From the February 2023 sketches: the living room around the stone chimney, with the gable end open to the woods.

A frame from the animation of the Chadds Ford House design: the glass gable and the dark two-story wing behind it, low sun through the trees — Walk through the Chadds Ford design. The house has not been built.

How the house took shape

Start with the finished design, then see the options the family chose between, round by round, and the drawings the house was priced from.

Rendering of the rear: a glass gable living room over a stone fireplace and deck, lit at dusk — The finished design, from the back of the house.November 2022, first round, option 1.November 2022, first round, option 2.December 2022, second round, option 1.December 2022, second round, option 2: the direction chosen.January 2023.February 2023: the dining and living room.First-floor plan from the pricing set, October 2023.Sections through the gabled wing, pricing set, October 2023.

Line drawing from the first-round concept: a timber gable with a glass end and a fireplace beside a white two-story block — The finished design, from the back of the house.November 2022, first round, option 1.November 2022, first round, option 2.December 2022, second round, option 1.December 2022, second round, option 2: the direction chosen.January 2023.February 2023: the dining and living room.First-floor plan from the pricing set, October 2023.Sections through the gabled wing, pricing set, October 2023.

The finished design

A tall glass gable for the rooms the family shares, crossed by a two-story wing of bedrooms, set among the trees. The design developed through several rounds of options and refinements before we prepared the pricing drawings.

A gable beside a box

The first round tested the brief in two forms. In this one, a dark timber gable with a glass end and a fireplace holds the living rooms, and a white two-story block beside it holds the bedrooms and the garage.

One long, low house

The other option stretched the whole house along the slope under flat roofs, so the lower level could open to the yard. It sat quietly in the trees, but it gave up the tall rooms the family had asked for.

A barn on a stone base

The second round took the gable further: a barn-like house under a red metal roof, set on a stone base, with the rooms gathered under one roof.

The cross plan

The other second-round option split the house in two. The rooms the family shares go in a tall gable with glass at its end; the bedrooms, office and garage go in a long wing that crosses it. This is the direction they chose.

Refining the cross plan

Through January and February the cross plan was worked out in plans, elevations and a sketch of every room. The owners chose to narrow the main living wing from 28 to 24 feet, retaining the vaulted ceiling while making the room more intimate.

Under the gable

Kitchen, dining and living share a single room under a wood ceiling, with glass along both sides and a stone chimney at the end. A glazed passage links it to the other wing.

The main floor

By October 2023 the house was drawn as a pricing set for builders, with the structural engineering coordinated. The bedrooms are upstairs, and the lower level walks out to the yard at the back.

1: Garage and mudroom
2: Kitchen, dining and living, under the gable
3: Guest suite, studio and office

A room open to the roof

Cut through the gabled wing, the main room rises to the ridge, with the lower level below it opening to the yard.

Talk about a new house

Line drawing of the glazed passage between the two wings, with the stair beyond — From the February 2023 sketches: the glazed passage between the two wings.

Line drawing of the library at the top of the stair, with a long window to the trees — From the February 2023 sketches: the library at the top of the stair.

Line drawing from the January 2023 concept: the back of the house, with a long deck along the living wing — From the January 2023 concept: the long deck along the back of the gabled wing.

Project facts

Site: A wooded lot of about 2.4 acres
Size: About 5,300 sq ft on two floors, over a walkout lower level
Rooms: Four bedrooms upstairs, including the primary suite; a guest suite, studio and office on the main floor
Design: Concepts November 2022 to March 2023; pricing set October 2023

Services behind this project