4761.0 Sq. Ft., Exterior Dimension
4405.0 Sq. Ft., Interior Living Area
“Splitters” and “Lumpers”

If you look up the word, “taxonomy” in the dictionary, one of its several definitions is: “division into ordered groups or categories.” People who ply the principals of taxonomy into any scholarly endeavor are really the Namers of Names, but the naming of names is a very subjective undertaking. An entomologist friend of mine, Andy – he’s a “bug guy,” classifies taxonomists into two categories, “splitters” and “lumpers.” To Andy, a splitter is someone who looks at the variability within a species and wants to further define that variability into sub-species and varieties (example: B. bug bug var. bug); a lumper is an observer who sees the species variability as the norm and lumps all that variability into one all-encompassing phenotype (example: B. bug).

Applying Andy’s Logic to the namers of domestic architectural styles, a splitter looks at the “Bucklin Farm” and calls the design a New England colonial farmhouse whereas a lumper looks at the “Bucklin Farm” and calls it a farmhouse design. Me? – I’ll further define Andy’s Logic and call myself a “splumper.” The “Bucklin Farm” is a New England colonial with wrap-around porches.

You enter the “Bucklin Farm” off a broad front Verandah and into a Foyer that will lead you into a 10-foot wide Colonnade that traverses the entire first floor to the rear Verandah. To your right is a spacious Living Room with a walk-out bay with double French doors to the front Verandah. To your left is an equal sized Dining Room with the same bay configuration. Both rooms are designed to accommodate 10 people for seating and dining.

Entering the Colonnade from the Foyer through an arched portal, you are immediately smitten by the sense of space, both horizontal and vertical. The Living Room, Great Room, Eating Nook and Kitchen are all defined by the Colonnade to create a public living area with almost no wall area. The Great Room features a 2-story window wall that flood the area with natural light, a coffered ceiling and a large, paneled fireplace for centering a conversation group that could seat upwards to 12 guests.

The Eating Nook is part of a comfortable Country Kitchen with a fireplace and intimate seating area in addition to a faceted window bay for a breakfast table. The Kitchen is oversized, with well designed cabinetry giving the Kitchen user above average capacity for storage, both up and down, and an abundance of countertop space with a work peninsula and eating bar. The service entrance hall from the Garage features a tuck-away Powder Room, walk-in Pantry, closet storage, a Mudroom/Laundry ad a back stairway to the second floor and Bonus Room area over the Garage.

A private entrance off the Colonnade accesses the Master Bedroom suite. The Master Bedroom is lighted by windows from two sides and a French door that exits to the Rear Verandah and is designed for a king-sized bed. His and her walk-in closets with more than 50 linear feet of double-hung clothes rods and a 10-foot, floor-to-ceiling, cubby-holed wall offers capacious closet storage space. The Master Bath has a raised spa tub with windowed bay, an oversized shower, dual lavatories with dressing vanity and a closeted commode.

A wide stairway ascends to the second floor that has three well-lighted, over-sized Bedrooms with appropriate closet space that are serviced by two full baths, an balcony Office/Library overlooking the Great Room, a computer niche, and a site-built, three-gabled Studio/Guest Bedroom suite with a three-quarter bath built over the Garage area.

Bill Garnett © 2004

View the elevation, floorplan and specifications for "The Bucklin Farm "
See more floorplans by Bill Garnett
Find more resources from Bill Garnett