Paul Kahn and Cathy Iino, residents of New Haven, Connecticut, bought a cottage in Rhode Island. It was a little cramped for their small family (two daughters), especially if they invited along any guests for the weekend. We were hired to design an addition and renovation to add a master bedroom, a children's bedroom, and a full bath. Our design incorporated a screened dining area and new family room, and enlarged the existing kitchen.

Although the clients were not adverse to adding substantial square footage to the residence, they wanted to retain the cottage feel of the house. Most importantly, they didn't want something that was recognizably contemporary in design. This was what moved us to hide the second floor behind the continuation of the existing roof angle, so that it was revealed from the street as only two small balconys recessed into the slope of shingles. Context and continuity became important factors in our design, which the clients say is very successful.