Adding a little changes a lot

A glassy peak reflects the light of the sunset and the hills of Huntingdon Valley, almost convincing an approaching visitor that the five-bedroom Cape Cod up ahead is a cathedral.

That wasn't always the case.

Before two additions to the 3,000-square-foot development house, the entrance paled beside the rolling five acres on which it was situated.

Before the additions, totaling only 350 square feet, the structure displayed a disappointing painted-wood exterior that did not much reward those who climbed the hill to the front door.

Another disappointment when contrasted with the dramatic setting of trees and woods: a greenhouse that originally spread from the kitchen to the back door.

For about 20 years, Mireille Arrimour and her family enjoyed green, lush summers on the grounds and tried to ignore cold winters and the design flaws of their home.

"It is wonderful here in the summer. No one can see anything back here, and it is like a private retreat," Arrimour said of the patio and picnic area, which includes a small pool.

But when summer was over and the family had to go indoors, "there were lots of problems," she said. "One of them was that the living room was right next to the bedroom, so my teenage kids would sit there and play their music and talk, which could be loud."

Arrimour, who works in marketing part time, said she and her family have lived in the area all their lives and wanted to stay. They bought the Huntingdon Valley house in 1980.

So Arrimour approached a family friend, architect Paul Macht.

"We all went to [Lower Moreland] high school together, Paul, his wife, Linda," she said. "I thought he could help us."

And help he did.

"At first, all we thought of adding was a family-living room in the rear of the house, overlooking the woods," Macht said.

The 250-foot rear addition replaced the greenhouse behind the kitchen and opens onto new stone patios and the picnic area.

Windows facing south from the family room are "passive solar," Macht said, and allow warmth to enter the house without any mechanical assistance. In summertime, trees and foliage shade the space and help prevent it from becoming overheated.

Before the work at the rear of the house began, Macht proposed a second addition, a 100-square-foot projection at the front that would provide a new kitchen and eating area, as well as a new main entrance - that glassy peak you see when approaching the house.