Our introduction to this project was uncharacteristically somber, as we met on site in the aftermath of tropical storm Helene.  Impressively, our client met us with a calm demeanor, considering their site had been one of the harder hit areas, with tornado level winds having laid down wide corridors through the previously forested hollow.  With a wry sense of humor, she suggested this was just the nudge they needed to tackle the renovation and addition project they had been contemplating, while pointing to the general direction their roof had flown.  We drove home, committed to helping them transform a low point in their life into something exciting and positive. 

This project is 2-phased—first the repair, revitalization, and some reconceptualization of the existing craftsman cottage, a special home that our client in fact designed and built for themselves.  Second, we were asked to design an addition comprised of a 3-car garage and mudroom at the lower level, with a new side entry, pantry, expanded kitchen and owner’s suite at the main level.  Particularly intriguing was the idea that when you’re laying out a primary bedroom suite above a 3-car garage, you’re faced with the easily surmountable challenge of having too much space to work with.  A generous bathroom, closet and bedroom are centered in a tall, vaulted gable, symmetrically circulated with lower ceilinged halls, occasionally opening up into a dresser-lined dormer or stacked windows overlooking the view.

In effort to complement rather than compete with the original steeply gabled front entrance, the new side entry porch is low and horizontal.  From here, our client will pass a work-in pantry that functions larger than its square footage before entering the new kitchen.  Generous in its width and modest in depth, the space focuses on the bright, south valley view through floor to ceiling windows.  A bar “island” allows for open circulation between the kitchen and dining while still providing a sense of containment.  At the lower level, a “potting shed” themed mudroom will serve as the transition between home and garden.

We’ve enjoyed working with a talented and engaging team, credited below, and can’t wait to see this home’s evolution.

General Contractor: Hunter Construction Services, LLC

Interior Designer: Lizzy Summerlin