Before	After



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Project Description

NARI FLORIDA WEST COAST REMODELING AWARDS
1st Place ~ Entire House $250K to $500K

We were contacted by the client to discuss their needs to modernize and update their home of 17 years. During those 17 years, they raised their children, took care of aging parents and maintained careers. There was little time to keep the house updated. With the kids grown and out of the house, the Owners wanted to take on the challenge of modernizing their home.

One of the primary objectives of the project was to create a comfortable, spacious home where all of their children, grandchildren and friends could gather to celebrate life. They wanted a private and secluded rear yard where they could cook food and entertain guests. A desire for simplicity with function was emphasized.

We set out on the task of evaluating the existing interior spaces and overall feasibility of adding space to the rear yard. We identified the Owners wishes to open up the main living spaces of the house which included the dining room, rear porch, living room and kitchen. We also needed to address an on-going moisture and termite infestation problem being generated from the flat roof of the sun porch as well as the valley dumping gallons of water into the side of the old fireplace brick. The water backed into the kitchen ceiling and roof system, rotting out the structural support. The termites infested the area requiring a new roof system of the kitchen and sun porch.

Other design concerns addressed during the meetings with the Owner identified the following issues:

Lack of natural light throughout the house.
Outdated and inefficient kitchen. Improve traffic patterns to the rest of the house.
The master bedroom was long and narrow, resembling a bowling alley. There was little flexibility for furniture placement. Additionally, the closet space was awkward and inefficient. They wanted a separate dressing area.
The master bathroom had no view of the outside. They wanted a new open plan.
There was a very poor view of the front yard from the living room. They wanted the front wall to open up to allow in more light, while increasing the view of the street and arriving guests.
Lastly, they wanted to create an area in the rear of the house that would compliment their lifestyle of enjoying cooking outdoors and entertaining with family and friends. A separate pool bath was also desired.

Our design solution represents the whole house remodel and added living space to the Owners house. For clarity, we have provided a BEFORE floor plan and REMODELED floor plan detailing the construction work performed on the house. The Before plan shows all of the demolished walls, represented by dashed lines.

Highlights of the Remodeled plan include the construction of a stand alone gazebo for a covered outdoor sitting area on one end of the pool. A matching functional gazebo was built at the other end of the pool that includes an outdoor kitchen/grill area.

We completely removed the walls and roof system of the sunroom along with the troublesome fireplace. We incorporated unused lanai space into the new family room and built a new wood burning masonry fireplace centered in the new space. The ceiling was designed with a coffered truss system with skylights added to bring in more sunlight. The rear wall displays the mostly glass wall of Pella French doors accessing the pool and gazebo area, also letting in daylight. The rear block bearing wall was replaced by a microlamb beam that doubles as a space defining archway /pass-through for the family room, dining room and kitchen.

Another innovative design in the master bath area addressed two of the Owners special concerns. We built a large, 16’x14’ master bathroom off the rear of the house that also incorporated a separate pool bath area. The old master bath was turned into a private walk-in master closet that satisfied the Owners needs. The enlarged bedroom area now provides the flexibility for many different furniture configurations.

Lastly, the front elevation was modified to include a large window bay area that included the construction of a custom built window seat. The large Pella windows provide a spacious view that allows natural light to enter the house. The window seat also provides storage space for the toys of their grandchildren.