Project Description
Project Overview:
When Alicia Gbur and Christian Doble purchased their 1920s Pleasant Ridge bungalow, they did so specifically with the intention of restoring this beautiful Craftsman home. They wanted to remain architecturally faithful to the home’s original character.
To help make their vision a reality, Christian and Alicia worked with MainStreet Design Build, a Birmingham-based, full service, luxury design build remodeling firm who specializes in restoring old homes.
“We’ve worked on numerous historic homes, with many of our projects appearing on the historical homes registry, so we know the challenges and concerns in keeping these homes true to their historical character,” said Steven Ramaekers, founder and president of MainStreet Design Build.
Both Alicia and Christian wanted to protect the front porch from the elements and create a design that would feature the beautiful existing stone pillars surrounding the cement porch. MainStreet Design Build leveraged these gorgeous stone structures purposefully, as a key focal point and support for the new column work needed for a covered porch. “We believe the house originally had an enclosed porch, which had been renovated over the years,” said Christian Doble. “We also came across some early photos, sent to us by former owners of the home. In the pictures, we noticed those beautiful stone pillars. We sought to integrate the beauty of our home’s original charm that would tie into our new covered porch. We wanted to ensure the finished result paid homage to the early 20th century.”
According to Ramaekers, who served as the lead designer, integrating these stone structures into the new porch design was challenging. Utilizing the pillars as the decorative base for the new Craftsman columns surrounding the porch gave not only the necessary support, but the architectural detail needed to revive the homes original character. Another key design element was to eliminate the unappealing cement porch by covering the base, side stairwell and new front steps with Ipe wood, a remarkably strong, beautiful exotic wood from South America used in flooring. This exceptional wood fit tightly against the curves of the columns’ cobble stone facing.
In addition to the covered porch and Ipe flooring, exquisite design details made this renovation all that more impressive. The new copper and asphalt roof, Hardi Plank clapboard and cedar shake siding along with a beautiful, panel-style antique entry door added to the historical character of the home. MainStreet Design Build installed new lighting, added a gable roof in place of a low pitch shed roof, and added new roof details over the kitchen window. The team also completely stripped all exterior asbestos shake shingles that were applied over a concrete stucco, and re-insulated and re-sheathed the entire home.
Throughout the project, Christian and Alicia wanted to ensure that every element of the design remained true to the original character and charm of the house. “We wanted to make sure that what we did mattered,” said Alicia. “We’ve had people stop by to let us know that they love our house, so we know that people genuinely care about this house. Whatever we did, we wanted to make sure we stayed true to its heritage.”
Christian and Alicia were thrilled with the end result, as was the MainStreet Design Build team.
“We encountered several challenges along the way,” said Ramaekers. “But we were able to overcome those design challenges with creative solutions. Staying true to the character of the home, meant a lot to the Dobles and the Pleasant Ridge community that treasures their historic homes.”