Residential Addition

Homeowner wanted to add a Garage and Recreational Space to their existing colonial style home.

Because the addition was going to be almost equal in size to the existing home, I offset the roof lines subtly and made best use of interior floor height difference for exterior height differences.  The roof lines create some negative space and keep the home from looking like a giant box.

I think every home should have some personality and curb appeal (though I’m a much bigger fan of “Couch Appeal” for budgetary considerations).  In this case, the perception of the “large home” was reduced by bringing roof lines closer to the ground, creating shadows and adding personality (the intention was to slowly bring the building back to eye level as it expanded outward…making it more inviting from the street).  Off-setting the two structures prevented the front wall from being one continuous line of siding (this subtle “bump-in” occurs on the interior as well, where the “reading knook” is on the second floor above the main entrance).

Some minor engineering was required to satisfy some cantilevering for the upper floors.

BEFORE

AFTER

CONSTRUCTION DRAWINGS
(sometimes I still prefer to draw by hand):

Note: Part of my design process included roaming the neighborhood for similar homes (in order to prevent the design from pricing the home out of the future market).  I wanted to keep within the general neighboring styles but also make sure my client ended up with something truly unique.   The picture to the right is one neighbor’s home that I used as a benchmark for not exceeding a ”perceived size”:

Ultimately this project ended up having more square footage than any neighboring property, but it still looks like it belongs in the quaint surroundings of this development (humbly, I think it is now the most attractive property in the neighborhood).

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