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ORIGINAL COPY "Fitting
In" New England is long know for it's lovely traditional homes. However, as more people learn about the delights of year round living here, our population is becoming more and more varied. Families don't get much more diverse than Bengt and Catherine Karlsson. The Karlssons met in at the University of Illinois where both were getting PhDs. Bengt is Swedish and Catherine is a New Zealander. Amazingly, they have Social Security numbers five digits apart. Catherine is a specialist in teaching learning disabled children while Bengt, a civil engineer, founded his own software company. Bengt is avid cross country skier so when he and Catherine decided to retire, New Hampshire seemed an obvious choice. Having lived in southern New England, they had enjoyed vacations in New Hampshire for many years. After first trying a holiday home that was an hours' drive from skiing, it's not surprising that this year-round home is situated on a cross country trail. The site near Jackson, New Hampshire, is fairly small and the Karlssons wanted the house to look small from the street, too. But, with, seven children regularly visiting, often with their own children, spaciousness was a requirement. Add the wide ranging interests, cultural and otherwise, of the Karlsson's and you have a design project not for the faint of heart. Architects Frank Kennitt & Stephen Pullan succeeded in not only designing a modest frontage (in spite of it's nine thousand square feet) but also the more complex integration of the owners' varied requirements. Only yards from the gorgeous Wildcat Brook, the Karlsson home sits unobtrusively on a slopping lot and does not revel itself all at once. The first thing you see is its deep red siding and pale pink tile roof. The roof, made of authentic Scandinavian tile, came from Norway along with several trained Norwegian tile experts, in wooden shoes! Approaching the main entrance you might notice a playful sod roof (the architects' idea) but only when you enter the front hall does the architecture come spectacularly alive. Wide pine floors lead you through a forest of huge structural timbers and powerful natural stone work. An angular stair case spills upward to the bedroom area and down to a recreation oriented lower floor. The soaring two story living space is set off by huge beams and a massive center stone column. The latter reaching from the basement to the very top of the house and housing fireplaces on both lower floors. The beams were cut locally, shipped to New York for drying via microwave prior to installation. Their traditional joinery is based on New England's barns but many of the rest of this chateau's details are unique to this project. Just finished this past year, the Karlsson home is an architectural success with many sources. Not only the family's diverse cultural but their \ special relationship with the architects, Kennitt & Pullan, builders Steve & //// Weeder and unusually, their stone mason, Natt King. Over the two year life of the project, the group first became a team and then personal friends. King's stonework has an unrestrained, almost falling down sense of naturalness about it. Originally hired for a minor project, King captured the attention of both the architects and family with the whimsical and unique masonry style he calls "glumping". Natt was given almost free reign to create and his work became an epic part of the project. Throughout the house, the stone work has an ancient, tumbled down look, mimicking the aftermath of a tasteful archeological dig. Look closely and you see small, playful alcoves for Catherine's Scandinavia style "gnome" dolls (made from New Zealand sheep skins), a built-in stone "lamp", wine bar seating that grows out from the wall and a tiny kitchen office tucked into the backside of the huge central column. Speaking of the kitchen, it is designed for lots of family and visually dominated by a floor to ceiling white ceramic Scandinavia "kakelugn" wood stove. A second "kakelugn" warms Bengt's small office in the back of the house. Just off the kitchen is a brilliant riot of color, the dining room mural. Covering most of the walls, it was done by Ali Teo, an award winning New Zealand illustrator and nice of Catherine's. It is a startlingly and handsome tour-de-force of favorite Kiwi flora and fauna. The rear of the main floor includes an unusual "prow" room cantilevered over the gully bounding the property's rear. The "prow" provides three window walls of forest view and a cover for the lower level stone patios and exterior hot-tub. Inside the lower level are a wine bar/cellar, full sauna and several "recreational" spaces planned for the grandchildren's' diversions. Bengt expects to be able to reach the community sponsored cross-country ski path only a few yards from the back door at this level. The story of the home's design is as much about it's development as it is about a set of plans. It is eclectic, multi-cultural, bold and playful. The Karlssons expect it to be enjoyed by several generations of their growing clan. While the house is sparsely furnished, it exudes a warmth and creative intelligence, a reflection of the Karlsson's personalities and world views. It is certainly a welcome addition to New England's growing diversity. |
