WINTER LIGHT (continued) Some areas are illuminated with strung lights on taut wires; other areas have curvy steel track lighting with gray mesh shades. The utilitarianism is balanced with simple, discrete warm touches, such as bright yellow risers on a stairway from the basement to the upstairs, a vibrant red floor in the main floor bathroom, a strip of sunflower yellow on a window sill in the shower stall, and kitchen counter stools in tawny orange. Industrial materials are kept in check due to the abundant use of natural materials, mostly woods: dining chairs with tan wood legs, window trims with blond-colored wood, and pale bamboo floors. But not all admired Westen’s creation. “I got a lot of flak for the way the house looked. My excavator, an eighthgeneration Vermonter, tried to convince me to toe the line, at least by planting a big lawn.” Westen didn’t follow his suggestion. Her son’s friends called the house “The Toaster.” She has heard neighbors refer to it as “The Box.” “Those who dig it call it ‘The Glass House,’” says Westen. And that is most certainly what it is. Says Westen, “There are windows everywhere.” The main bedroom enjoys the sunrise; the living area and kitchen, sunset. Full moons illuminate the entire main floor space. “There’s no solid wall without windows, except on the lower level,” says Westen. Downstairs contains two guest bedrooms, a half bath and a storage area. To complete the modern look, the house shape is sim-
14 Home at
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ple; there’s no elaborate trim, a sun-bleached gray deck spanning the length of the western side of the house has no railing. The roof is almost entirely flat, and the siding is corrugated aluminum. Vermont homes usually have wood clapboard, so for this locale, aluminum was a highly untraditional choice. Westen says, “Some Vermont traditionalists have ridiculed it.” Of course, the inevitable problem with houses with lots of glass is the potential for overexposure, in more ways than one. With heat-holding floor-to-ceiling shades on the more exposed side, maintaining a comfortable temperature problem was solved. Natural seclusion addressed the other problem: lack of privacy. Westen’s home is tucked away on four and a half acres down a long driveway. This setting helped Westen achieve her other important design goal, which was to have the feeling of almost no separation between outside and inside. Like the great outdoors, there’s a wide-open feeling within the 2,000 square feet space with walls painted white. There are no knick-knacks. “I’m opposed to any kind of clutter,” explains Westen. “Vermont summers are visual knock-outs! My thought is that nature is the greatest decorator, and it’s right here outside every single window!” This seamless connection to the outdoors was easily accomplished throughout the main room because of the walls of windows, but it’s also achieved in the main bathroom, where one wall of the shower stall is a floor-tostall-height pane of glass. Bringing the outside in visually — considering Vermont’s long, cold winters — is a great
