Overview
- This family was bursting at the seams in a very small, one-story home with two small bedrooms, a small shared bath, and a tiny, non-functional kitchen in the back. They wanted to make their house bigger and one of the main desires they wanted was to keep the addition in the unique architectural craftsman style with custom shingles and curved ridge roof hips. This made for interesting framing and finishing.
- We removed the back third of third of their home and then redid the foundation and added back that space and more on the main floor. We turned the back of the main floor into a large kitchen with a breakfast nook. We built a deck with French doors coming from the kitchen which leads to their small back yard and unique storage space under one of the existing bedrooms. We modified one wall of this bedroom to create a loft in one of the kids’ rooms, which gave full-head height access to store bikes and other large items from the outside.
- We added a second-floor primary suite, with a very large bedroom, large walk-in closet, and a beautiful bathroom. We built custom stairs and handrails and glazed in a special stained-glass window near the top of the stairs.
- The great architectural aspect of this second-story addition was keeping the look of the original house, so that the addition looked as if it has always been there. We framed for curved roofline hips, which are unique and difficult to do.
Challenges & Obstacles
This family of four decided to live in the house during the entire remodel, in one bedroom, one bathroom, and a living room.
We had to do very tight site and dust protection during the entire project and had to be very careful not to damage any of the rooms they were living in.
The clients have a very small back yard and wanted a secure storage space for bikes and other large items.
We built a unique corner to the crawlspace that one can walk down into with clear head room and get bikes and things in and out. We created a loft in one of the kids’ bedrooms to accommodate the entrance to the storage space.
Client Needs & Desires
They wanted to keep the architectural look and feel of their one-story craftsman.
We framed and finished curved room hips and installed custom shingles to match the existing.
The wanted a kitchen they could use and entertain in.
We created an open-floor kitchen with an island and breakfast nook with lots of windows and bright colors.
Kitchen
How Layout Enhances the Space
- We more than doubled the square footage of the home
- The kitchen is very functional for cooking and entertaining
Second Story Addition
Craftsmanship
- The new stairs to the new second-story primary suite were challenging to build
- Framing the curved roof hips was challenging
Primary Bathroom
Innovative Uses of Materials & Construction Methods
- We glazed an old, but special to the clients, stained glass window in the stair well
- We created a unique exterior storage space in the back corner of the house, which allowed us to be creative with one of the kid’s bedrooms where we built a loft and ship’s ladder
