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The design is simple to understand and elegant in its efficient enclosure of space. Most of these designs are nearly perfect squares, with a foot print ranging from 28 ft to 34 ft and are two stories in height.They are typically crowned with a pyramid- shaped roof detailed with dormers.

The window-to-wall ratio is typically sparse, yet each room in the house has at least two windows on at least two sides of the house. This concept means that quality daylight is available in every room during most daylight hours. The windows' location on different sides of each room also promotes natural ventilation.

This 1915 house never had any system upgrades, and still had its original wiring, plumbing and oilfired boiler. But it had beautiful plaster, interior wood trim and maple flooring that was in good shape and ready for another 100 years.

While the original house enclosed 3,600 ft2, only 2,000 ft2 were intentionally conditioned. The nonconditioned space included 1,000 ft2 in the basement and an additional 600 ft2 in the vented attic. We replaced the bathroom and kitchen, which were in bad shape. One of the second-floor bedrooms was changed into a bathroom and laundry room in anticipation of future occupants.

Another full bath was added in the now-conditioned attic. In the end, what was a four-bedroom, 1.5-bath house became a four-bedroom, 3.5-bath house with a fully conditioned basement to be used as an exercise and family room. Long-range plans called for four to five occupants.