They are also a real PitA. With everything in America growing bigger, they have 30" front doors, 30" halls, 7'6" ceilings, postage stamp back yards, plumbing from before time began and electrical systems that defy comprehension.
That said, they are usually affordable, have great neighborhoods, lower fuel bills, proximity to active urban life, and fewer rooms to furnish.
That said, they could use a couple more rooms to furnish and to stick the kids in or to have friends over.
In the rowhouses I have designed new or renovated, the common issues are: new rooms off the back, a new kitchen and maybe a PR on the main floor, laundry upstairs and a person-sized bath on the upper floors. Oh, and throw in a roof deck for the fireworks. I have also deepened the basement (not for the faint of heart!), replaced the front brick facade and cleaned up the Living room-to-kitchen visual axis.
In a new home in the Italian Market, this axis gave us an archway to the dining room, large pass-through at the kitchen, and large windows opening the a deep back yard. Nice if you can get it, but a cool growie or sculptural element on the back garden wall can be rewarding as well.
For adding new rooms to the back, the typical one is over an already expanded kitchen. The structure is already there and it is a logical place for a bedroom, bathroom, office or what have you. It usually depends on the existing bedroom and bath layout what you can do there. The other cool thing is that since they are so simple you can go very modern or very traditional and have it work.
For a deck, use either the next floor up rear room roof, or, if you want an additional bedroom or family room there, add stairs to the main roof. That's where the view is! All in all, it is a cross between a sailboat and a Rubik's Cube, but with care you can open things up a bit and make the (cozy) home of your dreams.
No comments:
Post a Comment