A 1974 Kit House Is Gutted in a Frenzy, Then Fine-Tuned For Close to a Decade

When Andrew and Emily Kotchen began searching for a house in Irvington, New York, a village about 20 miles north of Manhattan, they wanted a home with the bright, airy feel of a SoHo loft. But the house they eventually bought was exactly the opposite: a 1974 Vermont Frames kit house with heart-pine wall paneling and ceilings, few windows, and the look of a dark cottage.