To be near his sons, our client purchased a 1600 sf tear-down in an historic neighborhood where modest homes were being replaced with oversized builder-grade houses. Our client opted to renovate it, and – later, as his family grew – build a substantial addition. The owner wished to preserve a perfectly good structure to preserve the eclectic feel of the street, and create a unique home more affordably than building new. Throughout the process, the architect’s hand is present in the design, construction, and custom fabrication of interior elements.
Days after closing, crews began demolition on the first floor. The stair to the second floor was buried in a first floor rear bedroom, and a new stair was constructed in the living room in place of an inoperable fireplace. Smaller rooms were consolidated to create a master suite, and the kitchen was modernized. Two years later, the second floor was renovated. Two bedrooms remained in the original footprint, but a third was added in a new dormer, and the bathroom was enlarged.
As the children grew, the family needed more space. An enclosed porch on the back of the house was removed, and a 1300 sf contemporary two-floor addition replaced the old porch. The architect designed and built the addition, which is defined by the ipe rain screen. The connection was straightforward on the first floor, but upstairs one of the original bedrooms turned into a home office/passageway to the new wing, which features a bathroom, two bedrooms, and a children’s playroom.
2013 St. Louis Home & Lifestyles Magazine Architectural Finesse Award for Best “Before and After” for Phase One Renovation
