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By Beth S. Buxbaum
Dana and Pattie Christensen were thinking about the future. While living just minutes away in an historic Bucks County farmhouse, built in 1778, they began envisioning their lives in this house years down the road. The house, sitting on the Delaware River, is well-known in the area. Pattie and Dana bought this old farmhouse in 2005. The previous owner did some major renovations and had it licensed as a bed & breakfast, which they never opened. As the new owners, they did a lot of work inside and out to add their personal touches. In time they started to reflect on the house’s upkeep down the road. With three floors and many rooms to manage, Dana and Pattie began thinking realistically about their ability to age in this home. Thoughts of selling the house were shared and they casually began to look for land to build their “forever” home.
This project, many years in the making, unfurled with a grand focus. Dana and Pattie wanted to create the penultimate residence satisfying their wants, needs and dreams. With a desire to find that perfect spot to build their next home, they began looking for land several years before even contemplating the project. “We looked for land for three years,” Pattie adds. Then one day, in 2014 everything changed. A swath of land they had admired was on the market. “We actually drove by this property for years,” explains Pattie. They liked the location of this land, on a hilltop overlooking the landscape. One day a plywood sign was on the property announcing, ‘for sale by owner.’ Dana and Pattie were simultaneously surprised and intrigued. Working with their realtor, they negotiated the price. “It was perfect,” adds Dana, “with views all around and neighboring protected farmland, the last plot like it,” he adds. Dana and Pattie bought the property in August of 2014 and sat on it for four years. They used this time to think about their next home, their place to retire.
In January of 2018 they began working on the design with John Jones, a close friend and the principal of John Harrison Jones Architect, an architectural firm based in Memphis TN. “John came to see the land and get a sense of the local architecture,” adds Pattie. After sharing their vision and ideas they worked with John to plan out the design. “We felt it was important that the house take full advantage of the views,” Pattie continues “and fit in with the area’s architecture.” They explained that John’s vision was to have the structure look barn-like to be in harmony with the local building vernacular. He added barn doors to the design on the front of the house to help achieve that barn-like quality.”
For the overall concept of the design, Dana and Pattie were very clear about what they envisioned. “We knew what we wanted and were specific about our needs,” adds Dana, “and we did bubble drawings and a basic layout.” They were both prepared to be personally involved in this project. Dana’s background as a designer was a key factor to bring their vision into the plans. For most of his career he was an exhibit designer, planning and orchestrating corporate events. Pattie’s focus was on managing the finances for the project, as a former financial administrator for a church pension group. Putting into place all the right elements to meet their future lifestyle, and keep within a budget, was their mission.
In 2019, with John Jones’s initial design plans in place, it was time to select the right person to build their home. “After interviewing three or four builders, we felt that J.R. Maxwell Builders, Inc. was the perfect fit for our project,” Pattie adds. The house is completely custom and we needed a builder who could handle a project of this size.” The project started in November 2019 and there was little disruption during COVID, due to the exemplary efforts of J.R. Maxwell. Working closely with Maxwell and his team, they meticulously mapped out the plan. Dana even created a detailed model of the house with all the specifications. “We knew what we wanted and were very specific about our needs,” Dana adds. Now they were ready to begin. They put their current house on the market and it sold in one week. Dana and Pattie lived in an apartment in Hellertown for two years and moved all their belongings into storage while their home was being built.
Cradled by the landscape, their new home was set into the slopes of the land, flowing with the natural contours. Dana and Pattie approached this plan with meticulous attention to detail, making sure that the design was exactly what they envisioned. What was paramount was accessing optimal views and access to the outdoor landscape. Designed with walls of windows to capture the panoramic views from every room, the house is filled with natural light while embracing the landscape. With Rattlesnake Hill in view in the back of the house and protected farmland in front, this property was perfect for the home they were planning to build. The design concept features lots of open space with high ceilings, all natural materials and a multitude of floor-to-ceiling windows and doors. “The positioning of the house was centered around a rock in the middle of the field,” says Dana, “and we oriented and aligned the plans with this rock as the center point.” They also had the architect do solar studies to observe how the sun moved around and through the house. After extensive planning, equipped with their studies, models and blueprints, they were ready to build their new home.
Simple lines, with a minimalist touch, the interior living space flows with ease. Primary living space is all on one floor, with a lower level adding guest bedrooms, with some recreational and storage space. Walls were done with nickel gap paneling and the floors are European white oak in the first floor gathering areas and radiant heated porcelain tile floors in the bathrooms and mudroom. Walls of windows enhance the interior footprint, adding the panoramic views and inviting the open outdoor spaces to become a part of the flow. Without interior walls to divide or define the space, the rhythm of the rooms offers a natural and unencumbered presence. Public spaces cover one end of the home, including the living room area, dining room area and the kitchen and butler’s pantry. At the other end of the footprint is the primary bedroom suite and a rear entry hall.
A focal point of the living space is the kitchen, which is Dana’s domain and a chef’s dream. Designed by Dana, the kitchen is enhanced with features of paramount importance to the chef’s vision. Dana and Pattie love to entertain and host friends and family, so the kitchen is the gathering spot. One concept in the design of this space is that the center island and cook-top face out, to invite guests to join while he cooks. Dana designed all of the cabinetry and the lighting for the kitchen, as well as in other rooms in the house. As the main cook, Dana wanted very specific features built into the kitchen. One feature was a wood-burning pizza oven. Dana orchestrated the design of all the cabinets and drawers in the kitchen and the butler’s pantry, measuring and drawing all the items to be stored to make sure everything fit. One area of great pride is his custom spice cabinet with easy access and plenty of space for all of his spices. Pattie and Dana conceptualized this space with no upper cabinets. “We did not want anything to block the views,” Pattie explains. This concept of maintaining a clear and open space was carried throughout the floor plan.
Much of the first floor living space has 11-foot coffered ceilings, which helps with the acoustics, except in the kitchen area which has a lower ceiling to create a more intimate ambiance. On the lower level, with the front of the rooms below grade, there are three guest bedrooms with doors to the rear landscape. With all the floors done in a polished concrete, much of the extra spaces on this level are utilitarian in nature. A few smaller informal areas fill this level, in addition to the bedrooms, including a music area and a sitting area. One bonus space is a full-sized garage space they have set up for storage and a workshop.
Complementing the flow and simplicity of the interior design are the furnishings and other accents. With their eclectic taste, Dana and Pattie have co-mingled mid-century modern, antique and family heirloom pieces to accent their living space. “We tend to select things for their uniqueness,” Pattie adds. Several of the custom cabinets, the center island and the fireplace surround are designed and built with Cambria, a manufactured material made in the United States that is hardy and attractive. The clean, sleek lines of this material blend well with the materials used on the muted soft grey-toned walls, as well as the look and feel of the furniture throughout.
With lots of open space, very minimally accented, there are a few notable areas with items from their personal collections. First, housed in a tiny area off of the living room, is Dana’s LP collection. Walls of shelves display Dana’s extensive record album collection in the LP Lounge. Additionally, Dana and Pattie love to travel, and travel frequently to Belgium. They love Belgium beer and have a hefty collection of Belgium beer glasses in glass enclosed cabinets in the butler’s pantry. As a matter of fact, their love for Belgium beer is also evident on the lower level, where they have named each of the guest bedrooms after a favorite Belgium beer. Lastly, on the lower level is a tiny sitting area with cabinets filled with Dana’s cookbook and recipe collection.
With the interior fully appointed to their specifications, the exterior features were just as detailed to satisfy their lifestyle vision. A covered, cantilevered deck offers several spots to sit and enjoy the views, from the line of Adirondack chairs along the wall to the sitting area where they can enjoy meals or snacks. “We knew we wanted a water feature,” Pattie adds, “at our last home we had a large pool and spa where we did spend a lot of time.” Off of the deck’s edge is a small 8 by 16-foot spa-like heated pool they can enjoy six months out of the year. Completing the exterior appointments, they had the landscape designed and created by Jerry Fritz Landscapes in Ottsville.
Dana and Pattie are fully enjoying their retirement years in their custom home, inside and out. On a breezy spring afternoon, when not in the kitchen preparing one of his specialties, Dana enjoys a relaxing spot on the deck with Pattie, sipping one of their favorite Belgium beers and enjoying the sun setting behind Rattlesnake Hill.
Beth S. Buxbaum is a freelance writer from the Philadelphia area.