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Large paintings by Richmond artist Judith Kowler are displayed against the backdrop of the garden. At the head of the bed, an early 20th- century Chinese folding screen is repurposed as a wall-hung headboard.
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The gently sloped ceiling rises to the south-facing clerestory, bathing the vanity, shower and toilet cabinet in natural light without sacrificing privacy. The single-pane 9-foot-long mirror bounces light throughout and furthers the depth of space.
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The roof eave contains an internal gutter box system, allowing for a thin, tapered edge like the brim of a hat. Shiplap siding creates a crisp, flat surface wrapping around corners without the break of a vertical edge cap.
When one West End Richmond homeowner began contemplating the inevitable vagaries of aging, she knew that those changes would affect her living space. Rather parting from her classic, two-story Cape Cod house, the answer was to find a way to stay put without changing the structure.
The home’s deep lot configuration provided an opportunity to literally and figuratively think outside the box.
“It’s a unique lot with a beautiful garden,” says Emma Fuller, a principal with New York-based Fuller/Overby Architecture. A native Richmonder, Fuller was recommended for the project by the late Edwin “Eddie” J. Slipek Jr., an old friend and mentor with ties to the homeowner, who was thrilled with Fuller’s vision for a one-level structure with clean lines, separate but connected to the original house.
“We call it a houselet,” Fuller says with a laugh. “It came from the British concept of a hamlet being a collection of little cottages.”
The addition’s distinctly modern design immediately distinguishes it from the original house. Separate except for a passageway that connects the old with the new, the 498-square-foot houselet includes a bedroom, bathroom, dressing area, laundry area and wet bar.
“It’s a wonderful moment to demonstrate that two different types of things can be happy companions,” Fuller says. “If you look at how they touch and what their materiality is, it’s apparent that one structure doesn’t necessarily dictate the look of another. Things can be paired in beautiful duets.”
The new build is tucked into the backyard’s lush gardens. The connecting passageway, accessed from a path along the north-facing side of the main house, provides a separate entrance to the addition and the home’s kitchen. A laundry area and sink, which does double duty as a wet bar and garden station for watering and cleanup, line the passageway. The passageway joins the kitchen with the new space under a cantilevered roof carefully resting beneath the Cape Cod’s eave.
The houselet is clad in white shiplap that speaks in modern language to the similar white clapboard dressing on the main home. Floor-to-ceiling windows, deftly built into a symmetrical framework on either side of the addition, offer sunlit garden views. Clerestory windows above the suite flood the entire space with indirect light.
“Light is always passing over and through the space,” Fuller notes.
Bright white paint covers the interior walls and cabinetry throughout, while Brazilian cherrywood flooring adds warmth. Large-format porcelain tile takes over in the bathroom, where an Italian terrazzo slab tops a double vanity.
“We wanted to simplify the materials we chose to be continuous,” Fuller says.
In addition to its current role securing the homeowner’s access to single-floor living, the houselet was designed for a future life as an accessory dwelling unit. Those plans replace the bedroom with a kitchenette and living space; the bedroom then moves to the dressing space that adjoins the bathroom now.
“In practice, this is a sustainable gesture,” Fuller says. “The idea is that if many people can use it in different ways, it remains in existence.”
