While they may be socially isolated, environmentally untenable, and economically irresponsible, most Americans live in suburbs, and even prefer them. The owners of Ferrous House count among this majority: This husband and wife live in Spring Prairie, Wisconsin, about 45 minutes’ drive from downtown Milwaukee, in a subdivision that lines a nature preserve. Yet when it came time to renovate their darkly lit 1,300-square-foot house, the couple defied convention.
They rejected a McMansion scheme and the architect who supplied it. “The proposed design was, programmatically, aesthetically, and fiscally speaking, a total disaster, so the owner pulled the plug and looked for a new architect,” says Sebastian Schmaling of Johnsen Schmaling, the firm selected for round two...


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