PRO Remodeler of the Year Grand Award Winner – Residential Historical Renovation
Our homeowners love their 1920’s “American Four Square” home in a Historic District near Washington, D.C. Their goal for this renovation was to increase the functional living space while maintaining the home’s historic aesthetic.
They wanted to:
- Add a new side entrance/mudroom between the kitchen and driveway
- Add a half-bath on the main level
- Add more casual family living space to the main level
- Add a large, screened porch to extend family living and accommodate outdoor entertaining
- Move the laundry equipment from the basement to the upper level
- Add another bedroom upstairs, ideally a primary suite
The finished product needed to be timeless, comfortable, welcoming, functional, tasteful, and sophisticated.
BEFORE: This American Four Square was mostly in its original 1920s configuration. Note: The side entrance door behind the shrubs. This will be discussed later.
AFTER: Two two-story spaces were added, one to the side and one to the rear of the home to meet the needs of the client. Care was given to matching the existing historic design in every aspect of the renovation.
BEFORE: previous homeowners had added a small kitchen/sunroom and deck to the rear of the original home.
AFTER: a full two-story addition was added to the rear of the home; housing a family room on the main level and an en-suite primary bedroom on the upper level. The addition of a screened porch and smaller cooking deck met the client’s need for outdoor entertaining.
To meet the clients’ needs, we removed the BEFORE sunroom from the back of the home. We added a two-story addition to the rear of the home. The main level of that addition houses a new family room and breakfast area. The new family room transitions to the new screened porch and sun deck. A new pantry, mudroom, powder room, two storage closets and covered entry way were added to the side of the home. In order to accommodate an interior entrance to the new mudroom addition, we relocated the basement steps, pushing them further into the basement room and removed an awkward exterior entry door that was located half-way down the basement stairs. Close up photos of this later in this presentation.
On the Upper Level: We reconfigured the original primary bedroom to accommodate space for a stacked washer/dryer-meeting the clients’ need to relocate the laundry from the basement. The rest of the former primary bedroom space was allocated to bedroom #4 in conjunction with added space built out over the new main level mudroom. A fifth upper-level bedroom was added per the clients’ request… a new en-suite primary bedroom complete with walk-in-closet. This space is built above the new main level family room and breakfast room. Note: Before, bedroom #3 was used as a walk-in closet for the primary bedroom. Now it is used as a home office.
The BEFORE foyer was quaint and had features original to the 1920s American Four Square home.
AFTER the space has been refreshed consistent with the modest look of an American Four Square. Note: Great care was given to emulate the original character of the American Four Square from an architectural point of view. What made this project more fun was the client’s unique 21st century, whimsical taste in colors and decorative finishes. All wall treatments were done by the client post-construction.
BEFORE the parlor space was used as a home office.
BEFORE
AFTER, the homeowner has used one of the extra upper-level bedrooms (bedroom #3) as an office and dedicated this parlor space to adult entertaining and playing the piano.
AFTER
BEFORE: The original home’s dining space was used as a small family room.
AFTER: The addition of the new family room space on the back of the home allowed for this formal dining space to be reclaimed and the client’s antique dining furniture finally had a home.
BEFORE
AFTER: The kitchen was refreshed with new countertops, fixtures, recessed lighting, and tile backsplash (in a period themed hexagon pattern) to give the space a more open and bright feeling.
A new cased opening to the new mudroom was added emulating the original woodwork.
Applying a creative solution to achieve a functional/practical design solution: The clients’ ideal location for the mudroom was between the kitchen and driveway. However, there was no space in the kitchen to allow for a new doorway. The client didn’t want the kitchen disturbed, so we had to get creative.
BEFORE: The basement stairs took up more space in the kitchen because there was an awkwardly placed exterior door mid-way down the steps. This entrance was a fall hazard and therefore, not used.
AFTER: A creative solution to make room for the new cased opening to the new mudroom was to remove the former exterior door in the stairway and its associated landing and re-build the stairs… pushing the stairs more into the basement and freeing up space in the kitchen.
To the new mudroom
The new mudroom space is ideal for this family of four. Two storage closets, a powder room and functional built-ins meet the clients’ needs for this space perfectly. The glass door lets in lots of natural light and the mouldings match those original to the home.
Powder Room and Additional Storage Closet. Convenient hooks supplement closet storage.
A bench for sitting to put on shoes, with shoe storage beneath.
Custom built-in shelves and cabinets store (and hide) all of life’s little necessities.
The mudroom space is well placed between the driveway and the kitchen.
The New Powder Room
In the new mudroom powder room, American Standard classic fixtures are in keeping with the 1920s theme. Oil rubbed bronze faucet and mirror fixture complete the look. Simplistic wainscoting, trim, and crown moulding are considered appropriate for this period home.
The New Covered Porch: Entry from driveway to new mudroom.
The new covered porch to the mudroom is both functional and beautiful… and consistent with the materials used on the original home. The tapered columns, chiseled block veneer on the foundation walls, and bead board guard rail ad ceiling match those existing at the front porch.
BEFORE view from the kitchen to the small breakfast room addition on the back of the home.
AFTER the new family room and breakfast area is expansive off the back of the home. While adding the new space, we created a large overhead feature wall to encase new structural supports.
While this new space is large, it is divided into functional areas.
The breakfast area accommodates the family of four for casual dining. The built-in bench seating accommodates additional seating when entertaining and has storage underneath.
The new family room has loads of space for seating but still leaves plenty of circulation space from the Dining Room (see glass door to the left) and to the new Screened Porch (see French doors to the right).
Custom built-ins were a must for the clients’ book collection.
Brass accent sconces add a pop of interest to the built-ins and create soft ambient lighting when the recessed lights are off.
A view of the family room toward the kitchen demonstrates that proper circulation was taken into consideration when creating the space plan. *The blue five panel pocket door to the right of the breakfast area is the new pantry addition. See next photo for details.
The five-panel door matches the existing doors in the home and the seeded glass light fixture with oil bronze finish could have easily been found in the original home.
Even this great new pantry addition, with loads of storage space, is in keeping with the style of the original home.
Beyond the new family room addition is the new screened porch with adequate space for seating and dining areas. The space is functional for three season use and all the finishes compliment the original home.
All of the finishes in this screened porch are historically accurate, even if more modern materials are used to increase ease of maintenance and durability.
Exposed ceiling rafters with tongue and groove roof sheathing was common during the 1920s. Chinese Chippendale balustrade design was also common on the 1920s American porch and so we choose to add it to this screened porch to add an element of interest.
Modern conveniences were added to the space to make it more usable.
Screened porch lighting
The new deck is the perfect egress to the backyard.
The deck also accommodates a grilling area conveniently located near the kitchen.
Upstairs BEFORE, bedroom #3 was used as a walk-in closet for the primary bedroom.
AFTER, with the added space to the home, this room is now used as a functional home office.
A new hallway to the new primary suite features custom woodworking.
Repurposing the space from the former primary suite has allowed for the installation of a full-sized, stacked washer and dryer… meeting the clients’ need to move the laundry from the basement.
Five-panel doors, door hardware, trim and mouldings all match the existing.
BEFORE child’s room
New space built above the new main level mudroom addition has been added to a portion of the former primary suite to create a well-proportioned child’s bedroom.
New Primary Suite. The new primary bedroom is the right size for comfortable living while being well-proportioned to the rest of the home. Trim, flooring and lighting were all chosen to match the existing look and feel of this 1920s home.
New En-Suite Bath for Primary Bedroom
Like the primary bedroom, the new en-suite bathroom is appropriately sized. Tile, colors and fixtures were purposely chosen for their utility but also for their cohesive aesthetic to the home.
Shower
The theme in this addition is symmetry and duplicative materials.
The space is highly functional, but complimentary of the rest of the home.
New Walk In Closet for Primary Bedroom
Custom built-ins, designed specifically with the clients’ clothing and accessories in mind, add organizational prowess to this walk-in closet.
Every aspects of this renovation has focused on adding functionality as well as the additional space the clients wanted.
This was all accomplished while making sure the original home was honored.
Award Winning Remodelers in Northern Virginia – Bowers Design Build has specialized in providing the best overall experience in the remodeling industry since 1990. Bowers Design Build specializes in Northern Virginia Remodeling and Northern Virginia Custom Homes. Our numerous industry remodeling awards have been great, but the true measure of our success has been high marks in overall customer satisfaction
Service areas: McLean, Arlington, Falls Church, Vienna, Oakton, Great Falls, Alexandria, Fairfax County and Middleburg.
Specializing in: Northern Virginia New Custom Homes, Northern Virginia Whole House Renovations, Northern Virginia Kitchen Renovations, Northern Virginia Master Bathroom Renovations, Northern Virginia Interior Renovations, Northern Virginia Basement Renovations, Renovations for Aging-in-Place and Northern Virginia Outdoor Living Spaces.
