House Su 16
Life at Valleyrun was always peaceful and fulfilling. They lived in a traditionally styled 1820s’ Bucks County farmhouse that sat on 30 acres in Bedminster. It was a private and secluded setting in which Robert Ferguson and Richard Foggio were more than content. Valleyrun provided them the lifestyle they longed for after retirement. The house was perched in a valley bordered by the Deep Run Creek and acres of mature trees and plantings. And both Bob and Dick love being outdoors. But it was time for a change. The property itself overflowed with all that nature had to offer, but the house no longer fit their lifestyle.
“We were tired of living in an old 19th-century stone farmhouse,” says Bob. “We wanted something new and fresh and full of light.” But they loved the landscape. Bob and Dick made a decision to subdivide the 30 acres (which was once a cornfield) and sell 18 of the acres, with the old stone farmhouse. On the remaining 12 acres, surrounded by mature trees and Deep Run Creek, they built their new home. Now they had the best of both worlds. They were able to create a new home from the ground-up on the land they enjoyed and fill it with all the amenities and features that fit their lifestyle. Bob admits he began to envision the new Valleyrun while they were still in the old stone farmhouse. An enticement he couldn't resist, especially with his love and appreciation for design as an architect and former owner of a private architectural business. Bob began to design the new house.
“When you are creative, you have to create,” Bob shares. “You can't turn it off.” With this project they customized their new living space to fit their present lifestyle. “We wanted something simpler, more convenient and accessible,” Dick adds. After living in the old farmhouse they definitely had some very concrete ideas. Bob had specific concepts he wanted to carry out in the creation of their new home. Realizing the amenities and conveniences they did not have in their present home, it was clear to them how they wanted to approach this project. With their love for the outdoors, natural light and sunlight were most important. They would both rather be outside than in.
When they cannot be outside, they want to still enjoy and be connected to their surroundings. “We would have loved to create an all glass home,” Dick explains, “but we knew that would not fit into the charm and country styling of the area.” To accomplish this light-filled living space, Bob connected the architecture to nature with 20 pairs of French doors, filling their living space with natural light and views of their beautiful landscape. “While inside, we wanted to see and enjoy the outside through a great deal of glass,” Bob adds.
“My design philosophy was to avoid what is fashionable and focus on good design that will stand the test of time for years to come,” explains Bob. “My goal was to create a casual and relaxed, comfortable scale with much natural light.” Bob explains that by building on a slope, surrounded by a tree-covered landscape, there was an opportunity to incorporate and enhance the landscape with the properly scaled architecture. “With this building design, I paid close attention to detail, taking into consideration proportion, utility and symmetry,” Bob states. He continues to describe how natural and man-made light are revealed through space and aesthetics.
The intent was to design a building that would echo the country setting, appearing timeless and dateless, like a barn,” Bob continues. His vision was to design a structure that was connected to nature and at-one with the land. For Dick and Bob, a barn is a truly relevant architectural symbol. Barns have stood the test of time and have been converted into studios, gyms, houses, and party spaces. In their first Valleyrun home, they converted their 19th century bank barn into their entertainment space. With their love for entertaining, they had many years of enjoyment using that space. So barns and barn renovations, are near and dear to their hearts.
“Barns are powerful and a valuable heritage,” Bob explains, “and like a barn, the symbolism of powerful images shows that the best of the past can be maintained.” Bob describes this new house as a combination of traditionalism and modernism. “Similar to a barn, we have a portrait of unpretentious design and space,” he says. They admit that their former party barn was their inspiration for this project. “We could have lived there,” Dick adds with a smile.
What was it about their renovated barn that was so inviting? Wide open space, lots of natural materials, created with a welcoming, simple design. Replicating that barn's expanse and feel was a sense of what they were looking for in this new construction. Basically, this home was designed in the style of a contemporary Bucks County barn. It was a collaborative project, with both Bob and Dick sharing their ideas, wants and needs in terms of how this new house should feel and function. Bob worked on the plans for almost two years. In 2008 they began the project. They sold Valleyrun and rented a townhouse in Doylestown while they built their new home, which was quite a departure from their renovated old stone farmhouse. The new Valleyrun has high spaces, with a sprawling interior footprint creating great circulation and unending natural light.
Built into the landscape, chiseled into the sloping hillside, the new Valleyrun offers multi-leveled living with high ceilings and open, airy spaces. In addition to the walls of windows and French doors, on the upper levels balconies are placed to continue the theme of inviting the outside in. All these elements allowed views of the landscape from every living space, with the lush grounds and gardens just footsteps away through access doors from almost every room on the lower level. An interesting approach was that they orchestrated the landscape before they even broke ground on the house. “We decided to create all of our perimeter landscaping, mostly for privacy, away from the building site so we didn't have to tear the yard up again,” Bob explains. In addition, since swimming is their primary and desired form of exercise and recreation, they built their pool and pool house. They also created a 1500-foot driveway, accented with an alleé of 24 cherry trees, from their former Valleyrun to their new homestead.
After completing the landscape design the construction of the house began. Bob has designed and constructed 56 homes, up and down the Atlantic coasts, and in California. He focused more on vacation homes, and over the years has built seven vacation homes for their personal use. Through these experiences he became an exacting architectural designer. It was important to find the right contractor to work with them on this project. “Chris Frasco, of New Britain, met the challenge; constructing and delivering a building far surpassing our specifications and expectations,” Bob states. Their specifications were to build a simplified, convenient, accessible and light-filled home. Tailored to complement the way they live, the new Valleyrun was designed to accommodate all that they enjoy. Natural light and access to the outdoors was focal point. Another natural accent were the old barn beams added for both decorative and structural purposes—infusing that barn-like quality. With the “barn” concept as part of their vision, they had saved these old beams for years in a wood shed.
Bob and Dick added elements to the floor plan to enhance their lifestyle, by designing the interior with an easy, open flow for greater accessibility and convenience. They built this house with a lot of storage possibilities and easier access to everyday functions. The kitchen area was a focal point in the interior make-up. Dick loves to cook and they both were grand entertainers. The kitchen, flowing in to the great room, was designed with an expansive center island, allowing for lots of counter and utility space. As the centerpiece of this space, the island is also a subtle room divider. Just beyond the island, on one side, is a cozy sitting area with an eating nook, all enhanced with a wall of French doors. On the sitting room side of the kitchen area, the island is fitted with a row of stools, creating an informal breakfast bar. When entertaining, the center island becomes the buffet table. Just off the kitchen is a wet bar, perfect for all their entertaining. A utility room also sits off the kitchen, where they have the washer/dryer. Also, a walk-in pantry adds convenience to the functioning of their kitchen.
A most dramatic design element of the interior space is the two-story great room, at 88 feet long and one room wide, which was designed with an open space for primary living. A cantilevered balcony overhead offers a sitting area and a gallery that connects the two upstairs bedroom suites. With another infusion of barn-like styling, exposed barn beams embellish the great room's natural feel, which were built into ladders to the balcony and also a center beam. French doors line both exterior walls, bringing the outdoors into this voluminous great room accented with arctic maple floors. At one end is a dramatic two-story fireplace and at the other is a wall of built-in bookshelves housing their volumes of books.
For practicality and function, Bob and Dick added a few interesting concepts to their interior. One addition that delights them both is the designation of a summer bedroom and a winter bedroom, both with expanded sitting/dressing areas. The summer bedroom, at one end of the great room, has a walk-out deck. In the rear of this expanded space there are doors leading out to the pool. “We keep all of our summer clothes in this room and enjoy the easy accessibility to the outside,” Bob adds. On the second level is the winter bedroom, where they have all their winter things. This room, built on the slope side of the house, has a balcony offering views of the gardens. A third guest room, with a private bath, fills the other end of the second level. Adding the balconies further enhanced the sense of connection to the landscape. Enjoying a stunning view from one of the balconies, or accessing the gardens and pool through the many French doors, Bob and Dick accomplished their greatest vision.
Beyond the architectural orchestration of the interior is the exterior living space, also meticulously orchestrated. Wherever they could connect to the landscape they did. An inviting front porch, on the other side of a wall of French doors, offers a leisurely sit-down to take in the views of the gardens and lush landscape. Side views are available from the balconies. On the back of the grounds an oversized three-bay garage/barn was built. On the second level they created their party space. Although not quite as expansive and elaborate as their former party space, they are enjoying this addition to the property. Also for their ultimate enjoyment is their pool and pool house. Swimming enthusiasts, Dick and Bob spend much of the summer months out here. The pool house is complete with a full bar, dressing rooms and a bathroom.
No matter where they have lived, both Bob and Dick have enjoyed their lives. Together for 55 years, they are proud of what they have accomplished and have had many opportunities to carve out a place for themselves where they have lived comfortably and simply. “We've had a good life and a great run,” adds Dick, “now we're just walking,”
Beth S. Buxbaum is a freelance writer from the Philadelphia area.