an icon on the Plaza...

it's almost complete! our wonderful plaza midwood clients will be moving in any day now, so we wanted to post a few photos before we lose access to the home. here is a quick reminder of the 'before' and 'after' along with some long awaited interior photos:

a quick reminder of the 'before':

this project is getting some press! my favorite anecdote is that in the final inspection, the inspector couldn't tell what was old and what was new on the home - and he is the expert! i think this is testimony to (1) our experience and understanding of the [sometimes abstract and elusive] principles of size, scale, massing, fenestration, rhythm, setback, materials, and context that are required by the historic district commission; and (2) our incredibly gifted contractor, matt ferguson of the stirling group. matt is incredible - if you don't know his work, check it out at www.facebook.com/stirlingcharlottenc. 

the stair was incredibly challenging. we spent countless hours working this one out so that we could clear that beam above the lower run of stairs, clear underneath the stairs for access to a bedroom (not pictured), and - most importantly - provide the continuous handrail required by code without having handrails all over the place! thank goodness for patient and diligent contractors. matt understood *exactly* what we were trying to accomplish and made it happen, which was no easy feat. so here is the stair:

 at the top of the stair, quite possibly the most beautiful attic access door ever:

i think this next photo may be my favorite image - the upstairs hall has the most beautiful quality of light. the homeowner has a beautiful collection of antique furniture and really great taste. the triple window nook across the hall is designed for an antique desk.

these double doors with transom are the entry from the master bedroom to master bathroom - with the exposed brick of the chimney beyond. these perfect alignments, exposed materials, the juxtaposition of brick, wood, calm light walls... it is such a peaceful space up there!

and the best part - the new 2nd story master bedroom faces uptown, with a *gorgeous* view of the skyline in the winter (charlotte has a lovely - and famous - tree cover the rest of the year!).

28 March 2012

we delivered schematics for a really spectacular project this week! here is a reminder of the 'before' on this project.

you can see it's already dripping with charm. which makes the massing of the project SO critical (no pressure!). when a home is already this perfect, it would be so disappointing to see a poorly massed 2nd story ruin it. the home is located very prominently, to add another layer of pressure! it is on the beginning/end of a main street of one of our historic districts, with a side street elevation. so it essentially 'book-ends' the residential section of the neighborhood and gets views from multiple directions. which is why i've been referring to is as an icon - it's an already-perfect bungalow in an oh-so-sweet location.

my design philosophy: i ONLY deliver schemes that i believe are fundamentally excellent - so that the homeowner is choosing from a bunch of great options. we do not waste our time with schemes that are not stellar - there are too many great ideas to waste time on average ones. every design should be something special; something that gives the homeowner everything they wanted and more that they didn't expect. we're also quite serious about working with budgets - staying within good budgets and helping to establish reasonable budgets.

this project is fundamentally about a master suite cut into the plunging eaves of the bungalow roof that might capture views of the skyline, depending on the scheme that the homeowners choose. the home has good bones and the interior layout on the first floor is very sound.

so - we literally exhausted maybe 50 massing options for the second story. in the end we delivered 4 sets of schematics - 2 smaller scale schemes and 2 full-blown 2nd story schemes (that still work within the owner's budget - yipee!). i'm so excited that all 4 floor plans are just awesome. here are some glimpses of the 2 massing schemes that were compelling:

scheme 3 is pretty close to my heart, i have to admit. i really love that scheme 3 cleanly allows a children's suite upstairs in a later phase. they might do it, or might not - but the massing and floor plan are perfectly worked out so that they would not need to 're-work' anything either way. there are precious few locations suited to this full 2nd story scheme. this is definitely one of them.

i'm also really digging scheme 2. the massing is such that it looks like it has always been this way. in 5 years you'd never know it ever had a 2nd story renovation - it'll still look 100 years old. we worked this roofline to death - until it was perfectly simple and practically disappeared.

all 4 floor plans are spectacular, so these homeowners have a lot of good options moving forward. i can't wait to see what they decide!

10 February 2012

today we begin the design of a 2nd story on this bungalow in the Plaza Midwood historic district that is just dripping with charm. we have 4 concepts for the 2nd story that we're really excited about!

we have some really wonderful projects coming through the office this spring - stay posted...

post-war conversion... progress

so much has happened in the last couple of weeks! this project is really starting to take shape. here are some of my favorite spots:

a music nook for a little boy! this 3-year-old is quite clearly a budding musician. he can rock out his guitar with amazing swagger. when i see this nook in his bedroom, in my mind it's full of guitars, subwoofers, amps...
and a peaceful view for a little girl! this family has worked hard to preserve a gorgeous old tree in their backyard. i love the view from the baby nursery...

the living room and family room in this project are really beautiful, too - but i'll save those progress photos for some before-and-after shots in a later post!

rethinking a craftsman... progress

we've been working on this wonderful 1925 dilworth bungalow for some time now... and construction began this summer! here are some updates from the jobsite.

the design includes a spectacular winding staircase / lightwell. it's critical to get the staircases in these projects just right - so that the design functions on many levels. they're an opportunity to open up the bungalow (which by nature is a series of cozy rooms) in an entirely new way, but they should also be designed consistent with craftsman principles and details. i love to use them as lightwells - this one has two skylights at the top (not installed yet). the guy building this stair is cool, and so knowledgeable about bungalow stairs... so we're really enjoying this one.

at the top of the stairs we have this great teenager's lounge leading into the kids bedrooms. it's got a built-in desk that's integrated with the stair rail design, as well as an open area that the owners plan to upfit with a tv and bean bag chairs.

and those are the girls bedrooms and bathrooms beyond the lounge. i love designing in clipped roofs this way. it's complicated and requires some really thorough exploration... but the quality of the space is just amazing in the end.

this home falls within the dilworth historic district and this project was approved by the HDC in july 2011.

post-war conversion... schematic elevations

this myers park post-war home is about to begin construction - removing the roof & adding a second story. we hope that you are as inspired as we are!

this is the elevation that we settled on after much back and forth with the clients! As you can see, it's a bit of a hybrid of some schematic elevations that we sent them back in January 2011:

rethinking a craftsman... approved elevation

construction begins this week on a renovation and 2nd story addition to this dilworth bungalow, so we thought we'd share a few 'before' shots!

the new front elevation is appropriately modest for this historic urban street. the renovation & addition are extensive - increasing the home's size to approx. 3000 sf.

this home falls within the dilworth historic district and the project was originally approved by the HDC in may 2009. modifications to the design were approved in july 2011.

cape cod re-worked... complete!

i think the real success of this cape cod is that it just looks like it has always been there. the neighbors swear that they can't remember what it used to look like.

the house had already been renovated when the owners called us for some major re-working. the layout of the second floor was strange, with enormous areas of wasted space. in the original renovation, the design hadn't effectively used the clipped roof areas (hadn't used them at all, really) and the dormers were odd, long 3x10 hallways to nothingness. the two rooms upstairs were oversized and uncomfortable.

with some relatively minor changes to the roof, we were able to DOUBLE the square footage upstairs, adding an additional bedroom, bathroom, office, walk-in closets, study nooks, and more. it's a charming second story AND it can grow with this family.

re-thinking a tight master bath...

what a great dilworth master bath renovation - this one was a bit of a mess in the beginning! very cluttered and claustrophobic... the space itself wasn't bad, but it was laid out really poorly and was low-functioning for this family.

we love the peaceful qualities of the finished master bath (and how high-functioning it is now!). it took some re-working, but it feels really generous and it's gorgeous. (opposite this photo are a custom shower and private toilet area.) this interior renovation actually used the existing room - the generosity of the renovated space is an amazing transformation.