Kingston Brio
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The Kingston house remains unobtrusive and well camouflaged on its hillside site despite the architects’ use of modernist geometry. The outer cladding is simply plywood stained with dark Madison oil.Photo by: Andrew Rowat -
The rear facade is walled in glass and faces the sloping hillside.Photo by: Andrew Rowat -
The house’s residents, Diane and Hayden Roberts, stand outside to admire the views that their son Aaron has given them in his design for the house.Photo by: Andrew Rowat -
The Kingston House abuts a rock shelf upon which architects Aaron Roberts and Thomas Bailey once sat, dreaming up ideas for the design.Photo by: Andrew Rowat -
The outside deck, made of local celery-top pine, welcomes both humans and the natural landscape further into the house.Photo by: Andrew Rowat -
An outdoor room works perfectly for family meals.Photo by: Andrew Rowat -
Diane finishes up some paperwork at the kitchen countertop.Photo by: Andrew Rowat -
The guest bathroom includes glass walls that look out onto one of the house’s “voids,” in which pear trees grow.Photo by: Andrew Rowat -
The concrete floor acts as a giant thermal bank, storing solar heat well into the evening.Photo by: Andrew Rowat -
Floral tiling on the walls of the master bathroom help ground that wing of the house, using earthly color and ornament to detail the space. As Aaron points out, it feels “more patterned, more personal down at this end of the house,” and the bathroom, with its view of a Japanese maple, is one of the major reasons for this.Photo by: Andrew Rowat -
The decor of the master bedroom remains stark, but a black chandelier brings a touch of complexity to an otherwise white space. The same maple tree can be seen through the rear glass wall, providing a visual focus for this wing of the house.Photo by: Andrew Rowat -
Visible from the house's rear sundeck is Kingston Beach to the east.Photo by: Andrew Rowat
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