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“I would say a house is a society of spaces talking to each other, expressing a way of life. I wouldn’t think of it, to begin with, as known rooms: kitchen, living room, that sort of thing. They become such places without naming them.” Kahn, House and Garden interview, 1972

The second floor has three bedrooms for the Korman children, plus an identical guest room. Each room is eleven by thirteen feet and has its own bathroom. Though the rooms are modest in size, Kahn scaled the windows (one on each side of the bed) to make them feel spacious. Built-in closets and furniture are inspired by the Shaker tradition, and serve as sound barriers between adjacent rooms.


Across the stair hall is a large master bedroom with its own fireplace. Next to the bed is a small terrace offering a view of the field beyond the house. A secret staircase leads to the den and entry hall. 

 

The expansive dressing area has a picture window overlooking the entrance, giving hosts a place to observe guests arriving and time their entrances accordingly. The window wraps around the corner of the room, seeming to disappear to the left. 

The bedrooms reflect the entire house’s atmosphere and structure: spaces serve distinct purposes, but they also flow into to each other.

Master bedroom, 2015

Next to the bed, a door leads to a small terrace.

Photo: Pieter Estersohn

2014

Photo: Matt Wargo

2012

A sliver of chimney shows through the window above the fireplace.

Photo: Matt Wargo

Master bedroom

Dressing area, bath, and entrance to the secret staircase

Photo:

Master bedroom

Dressing area

Photo: Matt Wargo

Master bedroom

Built-in closets and drawers

Photo: Jon Rohrer

Built-in furniture in Shaker Church Family House (1939)

The Shaker tradition inspired Kahn.

Photo: N. E. Baldwin, Courtesy of The Library of Congress (Prints and Photograph Division, Historic American Buildings Survey: HABS NY,11-NELEB.V,24-15)

Light study, master bedroom balcony

Photo: Jon Rohrer

Photo: Jon Rohrer

Master bathroom, 2014

Interior Design by Jennifer Post

Photo: Matt Wargo

Master bathroom, 2014

Photo: Matt Wargo

The master bedroom and children's rooms are connected by an open stair hall. The end of the Douglas-fir newel post reveals the wood's grain. Staircase railings are oak.

Photo: Matt Wargo

Photo: Matt Wargo

Light study

June 2013, afternoon

Photo: Jon Rohrer

Guest bedroom

Each of the smaller bedrooms has a private bathroom, which extends outward from the sleeping block. Windows can be cranked open from the inside (because of Steven Korman's allergies, these are the only windows in the house that open).

Photo: Matt Wargo

Light study, guest bedroom

July 2013, late afternoon

Photo: Jon Rohrer

View onto the stair hall from guest bedroom

Children's rooms are arranged to allow connection or privacy, depending on one's mood.

Photo: Jon Rohrer

Master bedroom, 1974

Photo: Jamie Ardiles-Arce. Louis I. Kahn Collection, University of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Housed in the Harvey and Irwin Kroiz Gallery, the resources of the Louis I. Kahn Collection are used by permission of the Architectural Archives of the University of Pennsylvania (hereafter cited as Kahn Collection)

Guest bedroom, 1974

Photo: Jamie Ardiles-Arce. Courtesy of the Kahn Collection