Girl Scouts of Manhasset Troop 518 learn about building materials and sustainable energy, in the office of Hierarchy Architects & Designers!
Feb 8, 2012
Oct 23, 2009
Hierarchy on HGTV "Rate My Space!"
A Living Room Project in Long Beach full of built-ins had decided to submit the photo's of their completed Living Room to HGTV Rate My Space. The space was chosen as an inspriation space of one of the families on the show. Check out their space and vote now!!
Rate The Space:
To See the Episode:
Oct 20, 2009
Aug 12, 2009
'Good Wife' filiming in Munsey Park
Quiet tree lined Munsey Park (located within Manhasset, NY) has been buzzing lately with the news of a very anticipated CBS series coming to town. The stars of the series 'Good Wife' has began preparing this week for Wednesday, August 12th, filiming. Two Hierarchy homes are being featured in the series. Shooting commenced with actors like Julianna Margulies and Chris Noth.
House Magazine Feature
Exactly how close is Historic Charleston to Munsey Park?? Well apparently the distance just got a little closer. With his recent makeover of a brick Georgian Colonial home in the heart of Long Island’s North Shore, Architect T.J. Costello, AIA, CKD, Principal of Hierarchy Architects & Designers of Manhasset, shares it with us, in this exclusive interview with HOUSE Magazine.
Without being slavishly ‘period’, Costello has achieved a look that appears original and as fresh today as it might 50 years from now. “We wanted the house to feel as though it had always existed on this grand scale. Although we inherited a loving home from the previous owners, we felt it should find itself again as a ‘new old house’ that had always been this way since the origins of the Village”. The Great Room and Kitchen were Costello’s major addition at the rear, replacing a Breakfast Bay and contemporary oak Siematic cabinets from 1979.
Built in the 1930’s, the home’s original entry foyer was somewhat abrupt and claustrophobic. The foyer had unsymmetrical square openings of differing sizes to the left and right, a steep staircase dead ahead, and a short hall leading to a door which opened to a corridor, serving a Powder Room, Closet and another door to a winding Basement stair. “Actually, a common textbook layout for the 30’s”, Costello attests.
The payoff, Costello explained, was the Breakfast Bay overlooking a deep private yard. “However, the original narrow hallways to get there were just too underwhelming”, as he gestured with wide open arms, “for the grandeur that was possible”. Like a cocoon to a caterpillar, the center hallway transformed to a butterfly, “It was always ‘there’, it was so logical, I could see what it had to be from the very first moment. We created an even bigger payoff with the Kitchen, Breakfast Room and Great Room as one large gathering space”. The Architect noted, “and we did it without removing major structural walls”.
The open center hallway welcomes a breeze straight through, as was common in the lazy hot climate of the Old South. The color of the walls, “Yarmouth Blue”, by Benjamin Moore, was selected to recall the formality of the early Georgian or Federal periods, but more importantly, Costello believes in the power of colors to elicit reaction, “This particular blue paint is simple, and it is magical. From any time of day it can look Teal, Federal blue, or Grey, but it’s always a substantial hue, and makes me appreciate the sky’s moods”.
“Everyday I look at the new staircase and the collection of spaces that spring off it, and I feel grounded”. In addition to providing great views up, down, front and back, large windows at the top of the stair draw direct sunlight. “It is very cool and serene to stand here and be able to see everything organized around you” he states. This Hall became the place of the home”. Humoring himself he said we ought to spell it ‘Centre’ Hall.
The staircase’s thick mahogany handrail leads one everywhere through the house. It has a museum furniture finish, achieved by endless days of hand sanding with Zen-like concentration by Dan Furcic of Diocletian’s, and is a pleasure to touch. The wedding cake volutes of the last treads were chosen to compliment the elliptical arched openings for soft and fluid continuity throughout.
Upstairs, the Master Bathroom and Walk-in-Closet addition, (upper right side of house photo), was designed to look as though it had always been an original wing of the home. The Bathroom takes advantage of the Southern facing private rear yard to let in sunshine and fresh air. It fills the rear third of the addition, and the Master Walk-in Closet fills the front two-thirds. “Most clients might carve out a larger Bathroom, but as a dual working couple, with our career and casual wardrobes it required a generous room. Besides, is anybody really lounging in those cavernous Roman baths of the 80’s”, quips Costello.
Downstairs, the Architect also wanted to prove the Basement can be an important part of the home. “It is valuable real estate if it’s done right”, he says. The open railing looking down to the Basement was the key move Costello hoped for. The open concept shatters the notion of Basements in traditional homes as a dungeon where children are banished to ‘go play’. A Media room, Laundry, Exercise and Billiards Room with an original fireplace and 18”x18” tiled floor, make it as formal as the rest of the home. Using every nook efficiently, the designer built a computer desk at the foot of the stairs, “So that the children can have their privacy, but we can just glance down there over their shoulder to see what’s on the screen”.
MRW Contracting painstakingly disassembled and reassembled virtually every framed opening to center them or change the door swing, and personally oversaw every detail of this two year transformation. “Anyone who ‘gets’ me stays in my book, because in the end, with a little effort and some trust, there are big payoffs in terms of the final product that we can all stand back and say ‘wow’.
Working again with Michelle Salinard of Great Kitchens, also a certified CKD Kitchen designer, Costello insisted all of the upper cabinets be glass with shirr curtains. Costello says “I did this to reflect light, at day or night. Glass lifts the oppressiveness of a dense bank of solid doors and gives the opportunity for color or texture to break up the monotony of cabinets”. Likewise the hand cut glass subway back splash tiles selected by the designer add a pearl sheen that gives texture, and refracts the Southern light perfectly.
The footprint of the former Kitchen became a long Butlers Pantry between the existing Dining Room and the new Kitchen. The stove wall is flanked by a Mudroom door opening and a faux double hung leaded transom window, to admit borrowed light. “It also allows us to see the kids chalking the driveway”, jokes Costello.
As a footnote, as this goes to print, Costello had a chance encounter with a potential customer and admirer of Hierarchy’s previous designs, who planned to a house transformation of their own. After a tour of Costello’s home, a discussion and a handshake, the Architect and his family are moving on to create another dream home.
“This house will always be in my heart because I added a lot of personal detail and could include special touches like black porcelain doorknobs, but ultimately this is my craft and I have an academic detachment that I can look at it as another ‘project’”. So, can we look forward to another Hierarchy ‘project’?
“Definitely”.
Without being slavishly ‘period’, Costello has achieved a look that appears original and as fresh today as it might 50 years from now. “We wanted the house to feel as though it had always existed on this grand scale. Although we inherited a loving home from the previous owners, we felt it should find itself again as a ‘new old house’ that had always been this way since the origins of the Village”. The Great Room and Kitchen were Costello’s major addition at the rear, replacing a Breakfast Bay and contemporary oak Siematic cabinets from 1979.
Built in the 1930’s, the home’s original entry foyer was somewhat abrupt and claustrophobic. The foyer had unsymmetrical square openings of differing sizes to the left and right, a steep staircase dead ahead, and a short hall leading to a door which opened to a corridor, serving a Powder Room, Closet and another door to a winding Basement stair. “Actually, a common textbook layout for the 30’s”, Costello attests.
The payoff, Costello explained, was the Breakfast Bay overlooking a deep private yard. “However, the original narrow hallways to get there were just too underwhelming”, as he gestured with wide open arms, “for the grandeur that was possible”. Like a cocoon to a caterpillar, the center hallway transformed to a butterfly, “It was always ‘there’, it was so logical, I could see what it had to be from the very first moment. We created an even bigger payoff with the Kitchen, Breakfast Room and Great Room as one large gathering space”. The Architect noted, “and we did it without removing major structural walls”.
The open center hallway welcomes a breeze straight through, as was common in the lazy hot climate of the Old South. The color of the walls, “Yarmouth Blue”, by Benjamin Moore, was selected to recall the formality of the early Georgian or Federal periods, but more importantly, Costello believes in the power of colors to elicit reaction, “This particular blue paint is simple, and it is magical. From any time of day it can look Teal, Federal blue, or Grey, but it’s always a substantial hue, and makes me appreciate the sky’s moods”.
“Everyday I look at the new staircase and the collection of spaces that spring off it, and I feel grounded”. In addition to providing great views up, down, front and back, large windows at the top of the stair draw direct sunlight. “It is very cool and serene to stand here and be able to see everything organized around you” he states. This Hall became the place of the home”. Humoring himself he said we ought to spell it ‘Centre’ Hall.
The staircase’s thick mahogany handrail leads one everywhere through the house. It has a museum furniture finish, achieved by endless days of hand sanding with Zen-like concentration by Dan Furcic of Diocletian’s, and is a pleasure to touch. The wedding cake volutes of the last treads were chosen to compliment the elliptical arched openings for soft and fluid continuity throughout.
Upstairs, the Master Bathroom and Walk-in-Closet addition, (upper right side of house photo), was designed to look as though it had always been an original wing of the home. The Bathroom takes advantage of the Southern facing private rear yard to let in sunshine and fresh air. It fills the rear third of the addition, and the Master Walk-in Closet fills the front two-thirds. “Most clients might carve out a larger Bathroom, but as a dual working couple, with our career and casual wardrobes it required a generous room. Besides, is anybody really lounging in those cavernous Roman baths of the 80’s”, quips Costello.
Downstairs, the Architect also wanted to prove the Basement can be an important part of the home. “It is valuable real estate if it’s done right”, he says. The open railing looking down to the Basement was the key move Costello hoped for. The open concept shatters the notion of Basements in traditional homes as a dungeon where children are banished to ‘go play’. A Media room, Laundry, Exercise and Billiards Room with an original fireplace and 18”x18” tiled floor, make it as formal as the rest of the home. Using every nook efficiently, the designer built a computer desk at the foot of the stairs, “So that the children can have their privacy, but we can just glance down there over their shoulder to see what’s on the screen”.
MRW Contracting painstakingly disassembled and reassembled virtually every framed opening to center them or change the door swing, and personally oversaw every detail of this two year transformation. “Anyone who ‘gets’ me stays in my book, because in the end, with a little effort and some trust, there are big payoffs in terms of the final product that we can all stand back and say ‘wow’.
Working again with Michelle Salinard of Great Kitchens, also a certified CKD Kitchen designer, Costello insisted all of the upper cabinets be glass with shirr curtains. Costello says “I did this to reflect light, at day or night. Glass lifts the oppressiveness of a dense bank of solid doors and gives the opportunity for color or texture to break up the monotony of cabinets”. Likewise the hand cut glass subway back splash tiles selected by the designer add a pearl sheen that gives texture, and refracts the Southern light perfectly.
The footprint of the former Kitchen became a long Butlers Pantry between the existing Dining Room and the new Kitchen. The stove wall is flanked by a Mudroom door opening and a faux double hung leaded transom window, to admit borrowed light. “It also allows us to see the kids chalking the driveway”, jokes Costello.
As a footnote, as this goes to print, Costello had a chance encounter with a potential customer and admirer of Hierarchy’s previous designs, who planned to a house transformation of their own. After a tour of Costello’s home, a discussion and a handshake, the Architect and his family are moving on to create another dream home.
“This house will always be in my heart because I added a lot of personal detail and could include special touches like black porcelain doorknobs, but ultimately this is my craft and I have an academic detachment that I can look at it as another ‘project’”. So, can we look forward to another Hierarchy ‘project’?
“Definitely”.
'390 Ryder' Project
Before & After
Before & After
Before & After
Before & After
Before & After
Before & After
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