Project Description
Original home: 1392 sf 3 bedrooms 1 1/2 baths After addition / remodel: 2743 sf 4 bedrooms 3 1/2 baths This addition project started with a small, yet iconic home on a prominent street intersection in middle America. The original home, built in 1944 was just under 1400 sf and bursting at the seams for this family of six. The homeowners loved their home and it's location in this very desirable city just a stone's throw from Chicago, however they knew there was no way they could make it for the long haul if drastic measures weren't taken to better fit the home to their needs. On the main living level, there was really only one room in which to congregate and in anticipation of teenage kids, dad and mom knew they'd need another place to call their own. Up on the second floor, all six family members shared the bathroom during the morning and nighttime routines. Dad and mom had their own, albeit small bedroom with just enough room for a crib containing the newest family member. The oldest child, a daughter, was the only one in the family with a bedroom to herself and the two middle brothers shared a room. To cap things off, without a garage, things like bikes, strollers, toys and sporting equipment were relegated to a small shed in the backyard, grocery runs from car to house in the rain were miserable and let's not even mention the Midwestern snow that can pile up on a windshield in the middle of January! During the initial evaluation of the project it was concluded that there was more than enough room on the existing 1 1/2 lot parcel to grow in multiple directions; over, back AND up! However, I was also faced with the dilemma that this iconic house was one that would be difficult to add to without potentially taking away from it's original charm. After talking with the clients and making the decision to move forward with the project, we decided the best way to make this addition work would be to embrace the fact that it is an addition and make it look as such (rather than trying to make it look like it'd had always been there). By stepping back the front wall of the addition and hiding much of its street facing mass behind a faux-garage roof, we allowed the original house to remain the focal point. On the rear of the house, we added two full stories of living space. We originally opted to not use any brick on the addition, knowing that finding a match to the existing house would be nearly impossible. In the end, the clients (who sourced nearly all of their materials themselves) were able to find a brick that suitably matched the existing and used it on the lower level of the visible part of the addition. On the main floor, we accomplished the clients' requests by incorporating a 2-car attached garage, small mud room + laundry, a butler's pantry/bar and size-able living space with fireplace directly connected to the much-loved party deck. On the second floor, we converted one existing bedroom with a built-in desk into an enlarged hallway/loft/reading area that now leads to two new bedrooms and a full bath. Over the new garage we added a Master Suite that includes a bedroom, walk-in closet and large bathroom. The home is now more than twice the size that it was originally, yet you'd never know it. And, more importantly, the clients are absolutely in love with their new home! Additionally, owing to the fairly large amount of passers-by, they've told me that almost every time they're outside doing yard work or playing with the kids, somebody is bound to stop, roll down a window and tell them how much they love what they've done with the place, not the least of which was a general contractor who didn't even perform the work! In the end, as the professional who provided design and drafting services, I felt I was able to create the perfect set of boundaries for the general contractor and clients to work within as they took the project from paper to an actual "new" house.