I love the idea of raising the roof and adding some clerestory windows! What a lovely building and location.

I couldn't find a great picture either, but here are a few interesting buildings with clerestory windows. I love the butterfly roof in the modern building. Making the roof a green plant roof would be awesome in your spot as well.

Oh please don't mess with that stone. I'm not sure if this was mentioned already but why not do a little detached pod with some amenities and a roofed walkway.

Jterrilynn,
Our town is very very strict about zoning, preservation, wetlands, etc. I am pretty certain we cannot add to the footprint. Otherwise, we would at least make a half BA! Believe me, I adore the stone and don't want to hurt a hair on its pretty little head.

Sochi,
I love that barn. I have to look for it, but I recently came across new build with a similar roofline. Your second photo and last photo are very similar to some of the ideas I had. Don't you feel like you have seen this done somewhere, but just cant find it?

MCClarke , ohhh, now i get it! Like timbers, or log cabins. I think the mass is good vs the stone, but wonder how it would look w my house... Thank you for the great link!

Bronwyn, Didnt Marvin recently stop making true divided light? Something about the number of seals in a true vs simulate, and failure rate? Id love to buy old windows ...

A few developments/preliminary conclusions:

1. We have called a local GC with whom we have had good results (he put in our greenhouse add), unlike the not local-GC who unfortunately did the whole rest of the house and over whom we are now chewing up legal fees (alas). He will come by next week to discuss; he has a solid grasp of what will be allowed, which is key in our town.

2. I was open to a fairly modern solution, but I have walked around the property today and taken in a full panorama from this tiny "house" to our main home, and I think we need to keep it very low key and not dissimilar to our main house, which has a lot of stone terraces and walls, even a stone chimney that is very similar. Our house is white stained cedar shake, and it already rambles along with a lot of odd shapes and quirks. Silos, cupolas, octagonal rooms (2!). If we had a simple white farmhouse, I think you could throw in a modern twist. But not here.

3. A few comments here made me realize I really only need to raise the roof in the back, not the front. Very helpful since i was locked into the idea of raising it all up in one parallel shift.

4. DH says he thinks we may have some stone lying around from old stone walls etc that we can use ... fingers crossed. He also points out that it looks like the fpl is diff stone than the body of the building anyway, so that it is such a hodgepodge who can tell

5. We could train ivy on the new stone to hide it, or climbing roses

4. My current leaning is ...
a. take off the roof,
b. raise the height of the backwall with framing and cedar shake, and a row of clerestory windows
c. Put on a gable roof with skylights
d. finish the gables ends in cedar shake (maybe with one window). masking the old sloped roofline by covering some of the stone on the gable ends, so that the demarcation between stone and siding is a straight line
e, paint all the shake in a grey from the stone
f. commence to have lotsa fun decorating the inside!

That sounds lovely!!!

I like it! What is your timetable? I can already see a Halloween party there with a haunted trail thru your woods.... Or the cottage as a haunted witch's kitchen!

My timetable? Yesterday. The contractor's? LOL

Plus I am describing everything I want like I can wave a wand --- who knows how feasible it is. I am holding my breath for when they say, "to do x.y. z, first you will have to bring the building up to code". That'd kill the whole damn thing!

Cool party idea, though!

Hey I was wondering if the house has a cellar. Or, if it could have a cellar with a bathroom! I realize with the small foot print the bathroom would most likely have to be entered through an exterior cellar door but it would still be kind of cool especially with a stone toilet and sink.

Going against the flow a bit here, but I think your little stone house is adorable just as it is. Please don't raise the roof. Do you really have a pressing need for an extra guest room? Easy access to a bathroom seems a necessity to me for a guest room -- but you say putting in a bath isn't possible.

The only changes I'd make would be to put in a skylight and use it as a studio. But, then, I'm 5'2" and would love a studio just like that to paint in. :-)

I'd strongly recommend leaving the outside just as it is. As an entertaining area it would also do well. Put in a radiant floor and a skylight. Put a bar along the 6' high ceiling end and add a few chairs. If you need an extra guest room, buy a hammock and install some hooks in the higher end of the ceiling to hang it as needed.

Sorry, but I had a gut response against raising the roof on this little stone gem.

I like the idea of just raising one side. Will you end up with a traditional gable roof?

[

[Eclectic Garage And Shed design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/eclectic-garage-and-shed-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_749~s_2104) by San Francisco General Contractor BMF CONSTRUCTION

Oh sorry I just reread the post and saw that you could not get zoning for a bathroom. Plus, having a cellar bathroom could be a problem with going under the house so close to the pond.

Mclarke,
Yes, at least when i draw it! It would be a traditional gabled roof. BTW how DID you find that image? That is so close to what I had envisioned.

Jterri,
Noooo, we have a gravel floor right now. I think I need to take some interior shots to disabuse you guys of this image you have!

Cheen, I appreciate your taking the time to voice a contrary view! Trust me, we gutted our house and added 2000 square feet and it still looks pretty much the same (hmm, was that as dumb as it now sounds?).. .so we are all about preserving charm, I promise. The main difference will be the gabled roofline, which I don't think does violence to the vernacular...

No, we don't have a pressing need for another guest room or more space. But I love this little building and I would like to use it. Inside, one wall is 6 feet, and we will lose some of that when we put in a floor (which one must do at a minimum).

{{gwi:1763420}}

Or you could do logs...

One question though...I'm in CT too...can I come visit when it's done?
;)

Annie --- that second photo is what I thought I would find more of! Someone with the same problem I have.! If I were them, I would have continued the siding over top of some of the stone, so at to create a straight line for the demarcation between stone and wood on the gable end. I also would have taken a photo of the stone (variegation and all) and asked BM what color matched, and used that on the siding.

Sure, just don't pee in the yard like Jenny. : )

You wrote: "BTW how DID you find that image?"

Hahahaha, I have no idea. I think I was searching for "tiny house" and "shed roof" and maybe "transom windows" because I couldn't think of the word "celestory". (Thanks, Sochi!)

I wonder what your little house was used for. I would say it was a pump house, but why would it have a fireplace? Or an icehouse, which would make sense near a pond... but again, why a fireplace?

I'm also in eastern CT. When your little house is done, we'll have a CT party!

Mclarke,

I'm actually way down in southwestern CT ... but always up for a party.

You may have invented a word, "celestory". For windows you can see the stars through! Did you mean to type "clerestory"?

I used to think it was pronounced "cluh-rest-ory", because that sounds vaguely ecclesiastical and originally they were used in churches, I think. But "clerestory" is pronounced like "clear story". fwiw.

...and it's in CT!

Mclarke, Originally it might have been a slaves dwelling since it has a fireplace. Or, it could have been the wash house that held the big pots for boiling laundry.

Well, if you are determined to raise the roof and not go modern, I'm not sure I'd like such a small structure with lots of different elements like skylights and a new roof shape plus maybe windows plus whatever.

Why not just do a conservatory roof and take care of all the issues at once? Plenty of light, higher space and not flammable near the chimney. You can easily choose a style that's traditional without being fussy, and supposedly the new glass offers lots more temperature and light protection, plus it's under trees anyway.

Marcolo,

I want to order a nice pot of Mariage Freres and grab le journal and have a seat in that third photo. Oh so lovely.

... a few thoughts.

1. We have a conservatory, to the right of this little stonehouse. We call it a greenhouse because we chose a simple design and wanted a greenhouse feel, but it is a conservatory imported from England and assembled on site. Right now the wee stone house it is clearly an outbuilding. Tart it up to much and I dont know how it relates to the whole. It isn't hidden or out of the way. To me the stone house is more of a bookend for our house, which rambles horizontally.

2. Do they sell just conservatory "tops", like muffin tops? : ) I would imagine the structural issues are more complex.

3. One interior wall is 6' high ... no matter what we need to make that wall higher and we dont have enough stone.

I see your point about the dangers of bastardizing the whole thing with too many elements. But I don't see where the roof line change is a big desgin risk -- to me , many stone cottages, even tiny ones like this, have gable roofs. And i've noticed the gable is often clad.

You wrote: "For windows you can see the stars through! Did you mean to type "clerestory"?"

Not the first time I've made that error. I think I typed the word the way I would prefer to see it spelled. For windows that deserve celebration, in a house designed by someone named Celeste!

Oh fine, I'll never remember it now, lol...

Another theory as to what the building was for...if the pond is 'original', and has been there as long at the stone house, could it have been built for ice skaters to get warm in the winter?

"...could it have been built for ice skaters to get warm in the winter?"

Oh, that's brilliant. I bet that's the answer!

Look at the little house in the background:

Or is it an icehouse, into which you lay slabs of ice, cut from the pond in winter, between layers of straw or salt marsh hay, to preserve food through the summer; and a smokehouse in the autumn during hog killing season?

What an interesting turn this thread has taken! Bronswynsmom, I found an 1860 account of "How To Build a Smokehouse" -- and after reading it, I don't think her little cottage is a smokehouse. It wouldn't have windows, or a wooden roof -- and it wouldn't have a fireplace with a chimney -- they built smokehouses to keep the smoke inside, not vent it outside.

Here is a link that might be useful: How To Build a Smokehouse

What a great little house, and I adore your property. It looks just like a resort. I'd be glad to come test out the guest house when you get it finished. ;)

I'd still seriously think about the conservatory roof. If anything, the fact that you have a real conservatory would only serve to tie it in with the rest of your property. And I think the effect of such a roof in a much smaller space with stone walls would be striking.

Yes, you have to figure out the roofline issue, but you have to do that anyway. At least with a conservatory roof you could do a more seamless expanse of glass and frame rather than a separate strip of clerestory windows.

If it's a slave's house there could be remains of other collapsed slave homes not far underneath the surface and very near to this one (lots of stone). Maybe this one was for a favored slave or the slaves in charge of bringing in the daily water from the pond or the laundress, again because it's close to the pond. The regular small slave houses often had two front doors and two fireplaces with a divider inside so several could live there.

Of course! Not a smokehouse.
I'm in ham country, and should know better...

Mtn, I think we are not far from each other, I'm in the NW corner, Woodbury. I love the little stone house and wanted to direct you to Woodstock Soapstone Company who's having a sale on lovely soapstone woodstoves, currently. One of their small ones would probably make that space toasty (though you'd probably want to burn for 24 hours + before guests arrived in winter, to take the chill out of the walls). With walls that thick honestly I don't think you'd need more heat, if the windows are tight and the bedding is cozy.

I, uh, third the need to supervise teenagers in the space and also claim the 5th on how I know. :P

I assume you worked with an architect on some of the work you did on the rest of your property - perhaps s/he could give you a couple of suggestions for what to do with the roof to keep the flavor of the building and to blend with your home?

I will come visit when it's done. :)

Mary

Was it used as a boathouse?
Here's Ralph Lauren's decor of a 14 foot Airstream trailer.

Old Stone House in Georgetown. Note the brown shingles on the dormers.

Was your stone house used originally as a playhouse?

Hi guys,

The local GC guy actually came by today. He has no idea what the building was for, btw.

Anyway, a few take-aways.

1. We probably could make it bigger, if we built in the direction away from the pond. However such an extensive project would probably mean the whole thing would the need to be rebuilt to code- which would essentially require tearing it down! Even then we would probably not get permission to add a BA in any event, so its not really worth it to enlarge the footprint, as I'd assumed.

2. He isn't worried about matching the stone --- if we power wash the whole thing, the new and old stone will just age together and should blend pretty well. That gives us a lot more flexibility.

3. We can do a gable roof, much like the pitch of the gables we have elsewhere.

4. He would leave the stone exposed inside (hooray) and do a dramatic post and beam roof.

He is doing some msmts. now to see how far above the water table it is, so he knows how much he has to raise the floor.

Of course, he would rather tear it down and start over, facing it with stone. I'm sure he's right. Even though our house was hardly a tear down, in fact was in many ways pristine, with all we did to it it would have been far cheaper to start from scratch. I still can't do things that way.

I have done some sketches and have looked around at other parts of our house. I think gable and clerestory would fit well.

PS There are a lot of us in CT - we should think about doing a CT get together in the fall!

LOL, I think you are all imagining quite a grand history for my stone house.

I really do have to post some close ups and interior shots to disabuse you of these ideas!

Mtn, how old is the oldest structure on your property?

Please don't plan a CT get together the last week of Sept. I will be away and I really want to join in.
mtnrdredux. watching the few pictures you have posted and what you have done it is without doubt what ever you do decide on the little stone house it will be adorable.

JTerrilynn, the main house is 1904 I think.

Eandhl --- maybe the first week of Oct?

"I really do have to post some close ups and interior shots to disabuse you of these ideas!"

Yes, please, please, please post some photos of the interior!

First weekend of October is clear. The 13th is booked with a harvest festival in Woodbury! :) It would be fun to have a CT get together!

I'd love to see pics of the inside, and would be curious as to how old it is (whether it pre-dates the main house?).

Oh include me too...I'd love a get together with all the Connecticutters here! (Connecticutians?)

This might answer your question Annie....I've always thought we were called Nutmeggers, lol !

Here is a link that might be useful: CT people

Didn't have a chance to read all of the posts. Great space - what fun!

Growing up we had a Summer Kitchen that was first my dad's archtecture space and then became my first art studio. It had a tiny dusty loft w/ 1 small window that I threw an old mattress into. Could sit up and that was about it. I'd hole myself up in the Summer Kitchen and at some point every afternoon would climb up to the loft and just daydream about what my ideal life would hold for me.

I dream of a refuge like that again.

Yes, nutmeggers isn't a very nice term. A fellow from Canada told me we were Connecticuts....pronounced con-NECK-ti-cuts.

Connecticutonians has a ring...

Some suggest connecticut resident

Others suggest a commuter!

But my preference is Connecticutian.

Marcolo's roof suggestion reminded me of this interesting material, called kalwall. I learned about it at the home of an architect I visited on a local garden tour (in NYS, right on the CT border.) He used it on the roof of a potting shed, which turned it into a greenhouse.

However, my inclination would be to go with clerestory windows and a shingle roof. And not try to match the stone, but go with clapboard, which is appropriate to NE structures. It goes very nicely with stone. (It would take a sensitive eye to continue the stone pattern, anyway.)

Here is a link that might be useful: kalwall.

Except for the 3rd of Oct the entire week including weekend are free.

Connecticutians is very nice.
For the starry-eyed optimists, Connecticutopians?
For the geeks and nerds, perhaps Connecticoids?
For the Southern transplants, Connecticolds?
For the expat Mainers, Connecticay-yahs?
For the children, Connecticutiepies?

Someone stop me.....

LOL @ bronwynsmom ! I agree, Connecticut is a hard word to work with, although as my mother would say, we live in the state of Confusion!

Hahahahahaha, Bronwynsmom, yer killin' me...

Hey guys, just following up.

Thanks everyone for your input. TheFoxesPad, i very much imagine a similar use .. for me or my kids!

A few general obeservations:
1. I am thinking more about tying it to our house, and to my surprise that means white trim
2. There is a part of our house, a small room off the living room, with very similar dimensions. It is stone about 6.5 ft up then clerestory. It has a gable roof.
3. Before our reno, the house has a very lovely little solarium at the side entrance. We had to demo it to make a mudroom and craftroom (believe me I hated doing it). My DH save the Marvin french doors and oversized windows. We'd love to use them, although whatever facade gets them will really change in character, so still mulling it
4. I want to emphasize its garden setting and path as much as the pond
5. The contractor says if we use too much glass it will be very hot in a stone house ...
6. Decided against post and beam, too much visual weight for the space. Probably shiplap ceiling, painted. Floor should be tile --- maybe antiqued saltillo
7. Our house has a cedar shake roof. Thinking we should copy it although I like tin or even copper too.
8. I think we will put in a sofa bed for those adult guests who want to stay there, and a small loft with a window for the kids as a reading nook.

When we have narrowed done more decisions I will post again for input. In the meantime, thanks!

re people from CT:
Commuters, LOL!

For those of French descent, Connecticoise
For the social set, the Connected
For the business elite, the Connecticutthroats
For the hipsters, Connecticats

After 16 years here, it feels like home. Perhaps we're Nuts from the Nutmeg state.

mtnredux, what a beautiful property! Hope you find a good use for that fabulous stone cottage.