Byrd Residence Renovation

Project Details

Project Description

Once a fine Colonial Revival home in an historic neighborhood, this home was insensitively modified in the 1980s with poorly detailed classical elements. The new owner decided to return the home to its original 1920s charm, inside and out, while adding a significant addition at the rear where it would not impact the street view. The 1980s interventions were a caricature of classical architecture. While not intended to restore the original 1920s house, the renovation sought to bring back the charm and elegance of the original in a classically literate way.

The scope of work entailed: removing the front portico and replacing it with one better proportioned; renovating the entire interior in a manner appropriate to the character of the original house; and adding a significant addition at the rear of the house.

Exterior renovations included re-whitewashing the brick, which had been stripped in the 1980s; removing over-scaled cast stone trim from windows and the entablature and installing new, correctly detailed wood trim; replacing the shutters and removing the heavy balustrade. The portico renovations required working with the existing locations of the eave and column center lines, adjusting the projection of new entablature moldings from canonic examples to “fit” the tight conditions. The Ionic columns were attenuated, keeping with the proportions of the original house and half-engaged columns were replaced with pilasters.

Interior renovations and the addition included reconfiguration of rooms, removal of many poorly designed elements and replacement with carefully crafted millwork. A new covered terrace was added above a new basement level, which opens to the new pool terrace and outdoor dining pavilion. A large rear wing was added to the house to provide car parking, to reconfigure the secondary entrance, to provide a large family room and a new owners study. Additionally, circulation patterns were improved.