As we guide our clients down the path “from dream to reality,” our pros know that even our most beautiful and budget-conscious designs have to be flexible. Whether changes come from our clients — or sometimes even Mother Nature — the Patuxent Architects team knows the importance of being able to adapt.
A recent example was an addition our team worked on in Drum Point, Md. — one in which we developed a design and plan for the client, made changes along the way to evolve the design, and complete the project. While the end result was different from where we started, the main goal of client satisfaction was achieved.
Where We Started
The existing home was a 1½-story, 1,250 sq. ft. residence with a crawl space, set on a 20,160 sq. ft. lot.
Based on our client’s requests, our initial recommendations included:
A remodel of the existing house
Redesign the first floor
Relocate the existing entry closet – the existing staircase was narrow and steep, and the landing at the bottom was tight.
Relocate the existing laundry room – there was a laundry closet with mechanicals in a closet in the center of the house.
Add new dormers on the second floor
This was a typical Cape Cod-style house with a center staircase leading up to a hallway — with a bathroom under the roof slope, and a bedroom at each end of the house. There were only dormers in the front. The owner wanted to raise the roof in the back to make a larger, nicer bathroom and add dormers in the bedrooms for more headroom space and windows towards the backyard.
Remodel second-floor bath
New outdoor patio area
Expand first-floor rooms towards backyard
Approx. 12’ x 36’
Remodel the kitchen
Add a new room on the east end of the house
Approx. 12’ x 28’
New laundry/mudroom
Add a new 1½ -car garage
Approx. 28’ x 30’
Storage room above
Customer Changes, New Ideas
After presenting our plan to the client, they expressed their desire to shift their priorities. In our first discussions, the owner wanted to add space across the entire back of the house.
We knew that adding space across the back of the house would be expensive. Instead, we suggested adding space on the end of the house — which would provide more usable and dramatic space for less construction cost per area – and giving them “more bang for their buck.”
Here’s what the updated plan included:
- The addition turned into a new family room and laundry room/pantry.
- We removed a portion of the existing end wall of the house, so that the remodeled kitchen was open to the new family room.
- The new family room has a cathedral ceiling to provide more volume in the room.
- The laundry room is now on the front wall of the house. There’s a covered porch on the end that provides access to and from the parking area, as well as a way to move from the parking area to the kitchen without having to travel across the family room.
- There is a new porch behind the family room for outdoor living.
- The addition was placed on an unfinished basement to provide much-needed storage space and allowed us to relocate the water heater, furnace, and other utilities and get them out of the middle of the first floor.
- The utilities, laundry equipment, two large closets, and narrow, steep staircase were removed from the center of the house; this made room for a new set of stairs in a new, larger opening to access the second floor.
- A new dormer was installed above to light the stairway and second-floor hallway, creating more volume and lighted space in the center of the house.
- The existing family room was combined with the bedroom on the first floor to create a new primary bedroom suite with bath and walk-in closet.
- The existing hall bath was converted into a half-bath and storage closet.
- The rear roof was lifted to increase the usable floor area on the second floor. The second-floor bathroom was remodeled and the bedrooms were enlarged.
- The owner decided not to construct a garage at this time.
Please Note: You can view the construction documents and compare to these photos of the constructed building to see the changes to the plan.
For example, the arched window in the family room was not installed. Instead, a similar-sized rectangular window was installed in that location.
The dormer on the second floor is larger than the dormer that was designed in the construction documents. It has been enlarged to extend to the rear and end gable walls on the second floor.
You can see that it changes the look of the back of the house considerably. The arched pediment has been left off of the front porch, and the stone bases aren’t going to be installed on the front porch columns.
Beautiful, Functional Results
For the most part, the house has been constructed as designed — and the addition makes a huge difference in the usable space in the house.
- The new front porch provides a welcoming entrance for visitors and a protected place to enjoy the outdoors.
- The driveway will be relocated from in front of the house to the side, which will make the house more appealing on the lot.
- The new side entry and laundry room/pantry provide access from the driveway parking area.
- There is more living space on the first floor with a new family room with its cathedral ceiling.
- The new family room expands to the outdoor living space on the covered porch.
- The kitchen is basically the same area as before, but it will be completely remodeled and feels larger now that it’s open to the new family room.
- There is a new primary bedroom suite on the first floor.
- The new staircase is open, wide, and not steep, which makes it more attractive and easier to use.
- The bedrooms on the second floor have been enlarged, and the bathroom has been enlarged and now has an 8’ ceiling and natural light.
- The house now has much-needed storage space and a location for the utilities in the basement.
Clearly, it pays to be flexible and open-minded. It’s easy to see how even the best design plans can be changed — and improved — by working side-by-side with clients!
To get started on your journey from dream to reality, contact us here.
