Key Steps
Resembling a piano,
the dramatic staircase
is a prominent
design element.
window that wraps around a corner,
also reflects an eccentric symmetry. Off
the living room is a reading nook and a
triangular balcony; in the nearby westernmost wing is a study and a guest suite, also
built on an angle, which opens the space.
"There are many traditional elements,
but they're deployed very unconventionally," the architect says. "There's a lot of
dynamic movement but it's subtle."
Everywhere are pockets of architectural details that seem more like art. The
dining room shines with light floating
through the dramatic staircase, constructed in black and white boxes that
seem to float in air, animating the space.
A frieze near the ceiling intersects with
the colonnettes that screen the staircase
from the dining room. "It was important
for the staircase to be a feature," Titt-
mann says. "We didn't want to isolate
the two floors; the staircase had to be an
important element, so you're drawn down
and drawn up."
At the top of the stairs are the family
bedrooms, including a master suite to the
east, on the water side, and the children's
bedrooms nearby. The basement level is
one large finished room—identified on
the exterior by the large masonry arch.
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