gover street residence

Project Details

Project Description

The main objectives of this project were to create a more functional kitchen and open the house up to the backyard, creating easy indoor/outdoor living. Other project requirements included a welcoming entry, an efficient heating system, a new powder room, a new laundry room and general modernization of the whole house. The owners wanted modern, but not too modern. The trick was to design a house with clean lines and a modern sensibility without going overboard and being too slick. The project added eight feet onto the living/dining room and blew out the interior walls of the public portion of the house, creating a modern, open, comfortable living space, showcasing the kitchen and the talents of the cook. The eight-foot ceilings were removed and a new shed roof was added, opening up the living room to the rear yard view. A sixteen-foot wide sliding Fleetwood door and transom connects the space to the exterior, where an ipe deck and painted steel and wood trellis create a comfortable outdoor dining experience. The operable transom windows act as a chimney effect, ushering warmer air up and out of the house on warmer days. A skylight with a large canted shaft provides a similar effect in the kitchen and balances the natural light in the space. The large island separates the kitchen from the living/dining room and is anchored by a wood screen that helps define the entry and visually separates the kitchen from the bedroom wing and entry. A small powder room was added just off the entry and a functional bench/storage cabinet was created allowing a place for guests to remove shoes and the family to dump their daily stuff. Utility and laundry rooms were also created by stealing some garage space. The renovation is a stunning transformation of a 60's era builder house into a modern, custom home.