outside IN

The Arndt family found the mid-century house of their dreams-and life immediately got brighter.

- TOVAH MARTIN

The couple were intrigued by Mid-century Modern design, but the idea seemed remote in traditional New England. Dana and Joe Arndt had lived in a Colonial-period home, where they didn't mind the small windows as much as the enclosed spaces. Then Dana noticed a for-sale listing for the Glass House, related to Bauhaus design, in a town on Boston's North Shore.

A DIALOGUE WITH outside

The Glass House was designed to merge the outdoors with rooms inside. The Arndt family (and pets) love the eco-intimacy of watching seasons change: spring's arrival, the wonder of winter snow.

Other modernist glass houses are situated in secluded settings. This one, however, is on a suburban lot-a generous one, but neighbors are nearby. Mature plantings effectively screen the house. Garden designer Barry Archung created five distinct garden areas: a modest front yard, a rocky outcrop garden at the back, a bamboo garden at the raised deck, and two courtyard gardens. Complementing a black fence and moon gate added by the Arndts, Archung selected foliage plants and leafy groundcovers rather than relying on flowers. As accents, he inserted groupings of variegated and chartreuse creeping Jenny, hellebores, hostas, and the ornamental grass Hakonechloa.