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By Dylan Roche
Photography by Tony J. Photography
“Something as forward and revolutionary as LEED Platinum doesn’t necessarily have to look like the home of the future. It could look very traditional.”
– Fred Sieracki, Architect
It’s not a house you would expect to find on a quiet cul-de-sac in an Annapolis suburb. But over a small stone bridge, on the edge of a serene woodland, sits a modern cottage that could come straight out of a fantasy tale such as The Hobbit. Its architecture by Fred Sieracki cleverly blends contemporary and rustic elements with wood tones and stone enveloped by lush greenery. Secluded and embraced by the forest and surrounded by native plantings that will mature over time, this home seems to hug the earth. Curved rooflines, intimate outdoor decks that appear to float in the middle branches of trees, and an outdoor fireplace and gables add a touch of whimsy and charm.
Yet, what makes this home exceptional is its reverence for nature. The house has a Platinum LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, indicating it’s as close to net zero as possible. This means that both the home’s effect on the natural site it disrupts and its dependence on fossil fuels are minimal.
Advances in green building technologies and design make this possible, explains Sieracki. Solar panels are cleverly integrated into roof panels. Geothermal wells are hidden below ground. Eco-friendly cladding, building materials, and appliances blend with the overall design. Even its rain garden is disguised by a quaint stone bridge.
No one would know that its forward-thinking, environmentally friendly features make this rustic home nearly futuristic concerning its carbon footprint. “Something as forward and revolutionary as LEED Platinum doesn’t necessarily have to look like the home of the future,” Sieracki says. “It could look very traditional.”
He was fortunate to have a client who is a yoga instructor in tune with nature. When Sieracki first met with her about designing this house, he understood there were two priorities: The first was that it had to be a comfortable, quiet place, “kind of like a hobbit house,” said the homeowner. The other was that it had to fit organically with the natural setting, surrounded by trees and foliage at the mouth of the South River. That meant the house needed a balance of naturalness and polish but not too much of one or the other.
“When you mix things, the result can be really good,” he explains. “It’s a little more interesting than if a rustic cabin is a rustic cabin or if a
highly polished house is perfect. When you put them together, it’s a little more interesting.”
Sieracki collaborated with builder David Edinberg, civil engineer Mike Drum and landscape architect Heike Nolke. to design a home that would fit within the natural setting and could provide plenty of living space without looking overwhelming or intimidating.
Accomplishing this, Sieracki says, meant building the house to “human scale.” “It didn’t need to tower over the trees as a multi-story mansion with columns. Instead, when you approach the house, it looks like a simple cottage,” he explains. The low hang of the eve disguises the bulk of the second story, giving the impression that the house is a single-story cottage. This illusion is furthered by the large double-hung windows in front, about seven feet tall by three feet wide. “From a distance, it makes it look like a cottage,” Sieracki says. “People like a house that’s human scale. They feel comfortable with it.”
But once through the front door, the house opens up. The two-story entryway and expansive open-plan living space are bathed in natural light thanks to the many windows. Oak floors complemented by fir and cedar framing on the doors and windows lend natural charm, as does the rubbed bronze hardware. Rounded windows and doorways give a playful character to the spaces, and the interior décor—which the homeowner did herself, displaying a lifetime collection of art and possessions of personal significance—gives the home its sense
of comfort.
The house itself has 3,260 square feet of living space, plus more when the outdoor spaces are accounted for. A screened-in porch, a wrap-around deck, and a small rooftop balcony blend the inside and outside. Fireplaces and heaters make the outdoor spaces comfortable three seasons out of the year. Along with the yoga studio over the garage, the home is a little over 5,000 square feet. On the energy conservation front, there is much interest in the phenomena of “tiny homes” and “eco-restorative” homes. Many are less than 500 square feet. The fact that this much larger residence is almost net zero in its energy consumption, yet designed in a traditional style, is a testimony to the unity of architecture, design, sustainable building, and future possibilities.
ARCHITECT: Fred Sieracki, Fred Sieracki Architect, Annapolis, Maryland. CUSTOM BUILDER: Dave Edinberg, Edinberg Carpentry, Annapolis, Maryland. KITCHEN DESIGN: Sandy Payne, Sandy Payne Design, Annapolis, Maryland. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT: Heike Nolker, ASLA, Landscape Architect, Annapolis, Maryland.
Geothermal HVAC – Coastal Heating & Air Conditioning Co., Inc.
Solar – Circa Energy
Staircase – Warren’s Wood Works, Inc.
Windows and Doors – Marvin Windows & Doors