gknee As an artist I'd kill for a studio that size however is it just me or do the stucco cubes look completely out of place next to that lovely home??? It's plain wrong.

ckirbygagne I agree with gknee completely.

umbarra I had to move my studio into the main living space of my house, which has it definite advantages (and yes some disadvantages) as my son needed a place to live. I have no trouble with the mix of architecture, but what's with the lawn!?? As artists I would think they would be cognizant of the environmental impact and the "waste is what the wealthy can do" underlying meaning of the lawn. Just let it go back to an area that supports wildlife and the structures will stop looking like sore thumbs.

umbarra Here's a section of a 3 part painting in a section of the studio. It's not perfect but sometimes you just make do with what you have. I like having to constantly walk through my studio since its central to my life and to my house. It's not ideal from a toxic materials standpoint though but the living side of the house is all upwind and the living room is now outside but under cover.

winstondog Love the lawn!! Umbarra, it's a free (thank God) country.

numbnuts If you attend to questions of scale and rhythm you may find the juxtaposition more pleasing. Subtle but present and over time persistent and credible.

katydidit The coolest house ever~~~~

steinertbarbara The garage looks like it was stuck onto the house with no thought about how it would look with the existing house.

Fine Art & Portraits by Laurel gknee: ditto every word

artzi Oh,1000 sq ft studio is my dream too! However, it's exterior would reflect the integrity of the architecture of my existing house. Also, I would have painted the stucco in one of the colors of the house to integrate it further. That is my taste. I respect the artists' choice of design- it is her space. The article wasn't clear on what intent of design was, i.e. perhaps it was to delineate it not only as a work space, but also indicate the art made within?

meanderson This house and studio are genius. Too bad so many readers don't appreciate true art. The fact that the two structures don't "match" is out of this world fabulous. So refreshing to see people think in creative ways. One of my favorite posts--thank you for sharing your killer studio. I'm jealous!!

Architectrunnerguy Looks like a POD container's parked in the driveway.

julie77goulding I'm an artist and I think the two buildings don't harmonize,old buildings have a human- size scale and fine hand-crafted details. Modern architecture is big, bold, and boxy. Unfortunately this addition looks brutal and sanitised next to the twee aesthetic.

deborahj1 Absolutely fabulous space BUT VERY CURIOUS, It seems that there is NO relationship with the old house and the new "sculpture". They feel seperate. Was this intentional and curious as to why.

addisonsteel ditto on the POD container look... I agree with most here... just looks wrong

Stevie Yes, wonderful work space but I don't care for the modern addition.

deborahj1 As a designer and artist, I like all the comments
Some of us feel the harmony in the disharmony. I belive our bodies,mind and spirit feel harmony when things are in relationship to one another. Peacefulness often is not noticed with hte eye but felt. This home and studio casues me to stop in my tracks and wonder putting myself at a distance instead of being invited in, I guess that is art!

cmalovrh Sorry, have to agree with most commenters. While I do like the interior as a creative space for the artist, the exterior was done with no consideration for the style of the home, nor of the neighbors (hopefully there are no neighbors). There is no relationship between the structures. Looks like someone plopped a Meineke on the property.

lindanr I'm in agreement with the majority here. The overall space is great - I wish my own studio was this large ! However, for my personal taste, I would have pulled some small elements of the color and design details from the house to carry over to the addition. My first impression was the initial photo was the "before" picture.

tishbet While I appreciate concepts of both old world and modern design this to me is a very jarring, poorly designed juxaposition. The interior of the studio is lovely, but the exterior looks cheap and badly made while the house had a lot of thought put into the aesthetics and design.
It has the appearance of an auto body shop outfit...ugly and utilitarian.
There is no harmony between the two structures, neither in shape or colour.
10/10 interior.
0/10 exterior.

paul_n on this house the addition just looks wrong. The stucco cubes should have been a stand alone structure, not tied to the house, and/or put in back of the house.

txky2 I feel sorry for the neighbors who have to look at this each day -- and who will probably have their own property values negatively impacted by this.

hillonthehouse I have to say I don't get it. Wonderful on the interior, but brutal juxtaposition on the outside. And it looks like there's a neighbor close by - wonder what they think? Each to his own, but I prefer some continuity in the architecture. The addition at the back that bridges with the studio is in keeping with the cottage style, so why couldn't they have continued with that look? And what's with the two-tone paint colors on the front?

SELARL cabinet d'architecture Vlemmings Fine result. Only the house is disturbing the image. A good reason to demolish the old house ......

4155 SELARL your comment makes me cringe

Vanessa Brunner These additions always seem to be a bit controversial :) Such interesting comments and reactions here! While it may not be to every one's taste, I wouldn't go as far to say that it's bad design. This is exactly what the homeowners wanted — they told Bergin from the get-go that they wanted stucco cubes, something very different from the existing house. That was their perfect vision. Sometimes, making the client's dream come true is what makes a design successful!

kirb The addition is FABULOUS but not attached to that house! Sorry but the two look just wrong together.

tishbet In addition to my earlier comment, I think barn-style doors, a rooftop garden and some landscaping using large pots around the cube would soften the appearance, tie it into the house more and provide some curb appeal.

thomcat Not only is the design completely out of sync aesthetically with the house and landscaping (the scale is ok), to my eye it already looks dated. It is starting to remind me of the many hideous apartment buildings designed in the 70s. Also, the physical connection between the studio/garage and the existing home simply doesn't work. It doesn't visually connect the two structures at all and only reinforces their division. If that is what the homeowners want, then fine. I hope they are happy with it for a long time as it will be a hard sell should they ever decide to move.

CAROLE MEYER What a beautiful studio. I guess perhaps I would choose to bring the two contrasting parts of the house together with the paint colors. For me it is not that the two parts of the house, new and old are so different, I like that contrast. However, it would unify the look if the paint of the new addition was extended to the old house. Again, the studio is grand!!

Annie Thornton This is one of my favorite additions on Houzz. I think there is a perfect balance between the main house and studio which is really apparent in the first image. I think projects like this show real vision and understanding of the past while aimed firmly forward. Thanks for sharing.

(My newest addition addiction)

http://daniel-libeskind.com/projects/military-history-museum/images

superalf82 That is one awesome working space! Good job!

alsenas I'm less bothered by the contrasting styles than I am by the bizarre paint scheme of the house facade. Why not emphasize the details?

kirb Looking again I have to say that what really throughs me off the most here is the color of the garage doors. I think that that painting them the same red as the house doors would have a unifying effect. I still say I am envious about this shop!

Dodie Shoemaker That is an enviable studio. Wow. Especially to this garage artist that has taken years to achieve the perfect functional space with storage. Speaking of..where is that storage? My studio has a split personality. A woodworking side, and a painter side with table saw, and work tables in the middle. Its interesting to see the traditional work bench in there - as I know even the smallest amount of sawing or chopping creates airborne dust that oil paint does not like at all. As a work space this is amazing - I would need a big hidden cabinet wall with vertical canvas filing. That would be awesome. Really nice space. Congrats.
As for the exterior, I think the modern juxtaposition could still be successful by changing the traditional house color and having a modern landscape plan. It looks incomplete. There is no way that gabled house is going to look "modern", so tone her down with color.

Whisker Prints This a fun thread about studios: http://www.reddit.com/r/Art/comments/13fm8j/if_you_could_have_your_own_dedicated_art_studio/

msvickilynn Did you ever consider painting it one of the awesome colors of the home it is attached to? The bluish white color looks so institutional. I would love to see inside the beautiful home!

msvickilynn On another note, we just bought a new home. I need to decide if my "creative space" is going to share the spare bedroom, the great room, the living room or the sun room.
Things that make you go "hmmmmm".