One of our specialties is re-working outdated, cramped spaces and renovating them for modern living. We thoroughly enjoyed the way this project came to life.
Remodel designed by Gusto Design Studio. Here’s what they say about this transformative project:
This colonial revival house has survived a number of additions in the 1980’s. The original house had lots of 1930’s charm remaining, with built-in niches and sweet details at the stairs and casework, but it also was very pinched. The spaces were small, closed off from one another and poorly laid out. Even though the house is a hearty 6,000 square feet, it felt claustrophobic and dark. It did not connect well with the views to the south and it didn’t support the way the homeowners wanted to live.
The owners hired us to design a new kitchen built for entertaining large groups and create a bridge between the living rooms on each end of the original house. The formal living room on the west end of the house was hemmed in with small windows and narrow doorways to adjacent spaces. The family room on the east end was completely walled off from the kitchen and isolated from the rest of the house. By stretching the kitchen along the south wall of the house and shifting the dining room into the formal living room, we were able to open up that exterior wall with new sliding doors capturing the forest views along the entire south edge. We replaced a massive, deck with a new deck for outdoor dining accessible from the kitchen and family room.
We also took a look at the entry foyer. It was original to the house, very 1930’s sweet and very 1930’s small! Immediately upon entering, you were faced with the stair landing, two narrow, short doorways leading to a dark hallway, with a powder bath and large closet adding to the already congested entry. It was pinched, especially for this busy family of 6 coming and going. By relocating the closet and the powder bath and widening the cased openings, we were able to create a sense of space and improve the flow. We added a built-in desk in the hallway below a large window with north garden views.
We reworked the master bathroom to include a freestanding bathtub, custom walk-in shower, custom double vanity and private water closet all within the footprint of the original master bathroom. The original bathroom was walled off with separate compartments for the vanity, shower, massive deck-mounted tub and toilet room making it feel dark and small.
