Updating a Childhood Home for a New Generation
Renewing an older home to give it new life is always rewarding, but this project was especially meaningful because it was the home the client grew up in. He and his wife came to me looking for ways to update the house so that they could move back in and raise their own children there.
The 1976 split-level house is located in a south Denver suburb and sits in a prime location, across the street from a park and around the corner from an elementary school. With four bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, and a double-height living room it had plenty of room, but the kitchen and main level powder room were cramped by today’s standards. The finishes were worn and inadequate insulation made the house drafty and uncomfortable.
Due to the age of the house there was a high likelihood that it contained asbestos and lead paint, and testing confirmed that all of the joint compound used on the interior walls had asbestos in it. Since this meant that the entire interior needed to be opened up, we took the opportunity to install new insulation and a continuous vapor barrier on the interior.
We hired Jeff to help us design and draft plans for permitting a large renovation of our 1970’s family home. He was very knowledgable and communicated really well. As with any large renovation project, there were findings and hurdles that both widened the scope of the work as well as required some budgetary cuts that Jeff did a great job maneuvering with creative and practical alternative ideas. We highly recommend Jeff to anyone in search of architectural work on a project of any size.
Clients Sergei and Rebekah
Moving the laundry to the basement made it possible to expand the powder room into a three-quarter bath, with the shower reclaiming unused space between the ceiling and upper level floor.
An unused formal dining room was opened up to become part of a new, much larger kitchen with extra-tall cabinets for more storage and a desk/homework station. Removing dark faux beams from the ceiling made the kitchen, dining, and living areas seem larger and brighter.
In the living room, a window was converted into an eight foot wide glass door bringing in much needed natural light and opening directly to the back deck.
Upstairs the bedrooms and bathrooms were given all new finishes and fixtures and the primary bath gained space by eliminating the old flue for the water heater, which was swapped out for an electric heat pump model.
The end result is a safer, more comfortable home with a layout that is in-tune with the needs of a growing family today, ready to create a new generation of childhood memories.
