Living in a Work of Art

A Concord Couple Revel in Their 1964 House of Glass and Gardens

By Eve Isenberg

One of the lovely things about living in Concord is the view. From Monument Street overlooking fields of grass to views of Warner’s Pond in West Concord to the dappled light of the forests on ORNAC, the viewer only needs to stand still and look around to notice. Many builders and architects of the 1940s-1960s (the mid-century modern era) understood this and sited homes to take in the surroundings. I feel privileged to be working with a family who bought one of these beautiful houses in the northwest section of town. They recognized immediately that the gardens were an essential component of the home’s value. “Every improvement we make to the lot—new shrubs, new flowers, new mulch—is visible both when you’re outside the house and when you’re in it,” says the homeowner. “As with the mid-century aesthetic, the outside comes in, and the architect did a good job.”

Photo courtesy of the author

The visitor must climb a hill to approach the house from the street and enter a private yard where the house presents a modest facade. The flat roof and floor-to-ceiling windows allow glimpses of the interior and views through to the back yard, with little distraction. The home’s public spaces are located to maximize views to the largest area of yard, and sunlight streams in all day, while the private spaces have smaller windows for privacy.

This home was designed by Concord architect Joseph James Schiffer, MIT professor and owner of his own firm in Newton Work of Art from 1957-1989. It was built in 1964 for Rosemary and Frank Nicholson, whose eponymous interior design firm still operates in Acton. The house was bought in 1982 by Larry Harris and renovated in the mid-1980s, including a greenhouse addition and the latest interior finishes of that day.

The building footprint has not been substantially altered over the years, and the current homeowners inherited all the 1964 House of Glass and Gardens wonderful potential of the original house. They worked to bring the home to current standards with a careful kitchen renovation and opened the interior to create a traditional Japanese aesthetic of views through a sequence of interior and exterior spaces. The residents are enjoying their gardens. “This house and its gardens feel to us like a work of art. Our old colonial—we loved it—but it was ordinary,” says the homeowner. “In this house, every time we come up the front steps, it makes us smile. Just like good art should.”

Photo courtesy of the author

These clients have lived in other homes in Concord, and I asked them how living in a mid-century modern home has changed them, if at all. Their answer reflects their appreciation of the transparency of their house and the careful siting within the surrounding nature. “The midcentury floor plan has reinforced our lifestyle in a very positive way. [The house floorplan is] arranged as a hub and spokes. No matter where we are in the house, we are not far from one another. We’re a close family, and this design works well for us. Plus, we all take great interest in the evolution of our garden because it is such an integral part of being in the house.”

Eve Isenberg, Principal of the Concord based, women-owned InkStone Architects LLC, is a MA and NH registered architect and a Deck House homeowner in Concord.