Row houses!

Row houses are cool. Our first one was in Roxborough. I learned plastering, electrical (cross yourself, close your eyes and connect the wires...) and resisting the Devil when my neighbor bought new vinyl windows while I rebuilt the original wood ones.

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.

Now is the Time to Build!

What?!?

What I mean is, there are several good reasons to do your project now.

· Despite the recent gloom, many of us still have seen long term appreciation in the values of our homes, so additions may well give you the value you are looking for while not out-pricing your neighborhood (if carefully planned).
· Life goes on regardless, the kids grow, need room, living spaces just don’t work for your lifestyle anymore. In many cases, the neighborhood you are in is terrific, and a careful addition will allow you to stay. If you need it, you will get the value out it.
· If you could benefit from the addition, renovation or expansion, so will others, so the resale value and saleability of your home will be improved. That said, do not do an addition for speculation; do it because it will enhance your home and life.
· If well planned and executed, you will get better use and pleasure from it than the stagnant or dropping stock market!

At Black Dog, our approach is to be practical, beautiful and as cost-effective as we can. This does not mean cheap, since building is always a significant investment. It means the design is well thought out, not excessive and suits your requirements.

That’s value.

Dormer Progress report

The project is built and is a huge sucess! The upstairs famly/playroom is almost 6' deeper and had great light and a view to the park. It will make a good master suite later. The smaller windows light the 2-story stairwell and the entry is updated. The owners also took the opportunity to upgrade to Hardie plank siding, extended eaves and new windows, and promise that the pergola will come!
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The previous posting referenced a dormer project. It has evolved a bit,with the simple goal of expanding the upper floor leading to an awareness of how important the entry is. The new roof meant we had to redo the entrance, so we are enlarging the roof, keeping the simple shed look, and adding a pergola across the front.

This references a classic front porch, and enhances the impact of the entrance. It also keeps it open for landscaping while shading the south facing windows.

The window pattern above reflects the spaces behind: the awnings are over an open shaft for the stairs, while the double-hungs are in the playroom, tons of light and a great view to the park across the street.

Since we are replacing the roof anyway (which started this whole thing!) we are also adding overhangs to the gables, part of a little style change from the basic ranch that we began with a neighbor (the green craftsman buglaow on the Residential Design page).

There are some structural challenges to this type of addition, notably the floor must be adequate or beefed up,and adding this dormer to the existing rear dormer meant either a massive ridge beam or a smaller one with posts. The solution depends on the layout of the house.

So, a simple idea has plenty of challenges, but plenty of benefts as well. Keep in mind that things are rarely as simple as the basic idea seems to be, but then, with some thought, the rewards can be just that much greater!

Less is more

A recent article in Parade Magazine made me think about just how much is needed when we do an additon or renovation. Their basic point was that the recent recession has made us more conservative financially but more to the point, looking harder at the value of what we do and have. The contrast is easy, of course, and almost cliche'd: pre-recession= big cars, larger homes, pulling money out of thin air via rising housing values. Post-recession= more careful spending (duh!) and looking more at function and rationality.

Looking back at the past couple of years, I have certainly had to do with a lot less. I bring this to the table with projects now, sort of an existential paring knife. Two possible projects make me think of this. One is the expansion of an attic dormer across a ranch house for more useful space. Another time this would have been ripe for a new 2nd floor. This time we realized the existing space is actually really interesting, and the value of the structural machinations, new windows, flooring, systems, etc, for a dormer could be worth it. Still, the big question to be asked, are you staying or not? Sort of like a car. You spend a rediculous amount of money for something that only wears out. No future value, but considerable present value. In a house, you can get both, but the break-even point should be if you will get to use it, because you won't get your money back as an investment.

The other project is an in-law suite. The folks are helping support one of the mothers-in-law, and realized it would not only save money for her to move in, but would bring her closer to her grand kids, and as a bonus, be a valuable addition to the house, one that any family could use. There is always a yin and yang, of course. The design must give both parties autonomy as well as proximity, but in a healthy household, the value is both present and long-term.

The priorities should be quality of life, I think. That is best helped by good design that may include expensive things, but at a minimum must include opportunities for the special moments in life.

Dog and Memories

Kemper passed away shortly after that last post. As anyone with an older and loved pet will know, she leaves a big hole in our lives. I think we still expect her to answer the door when we come home, though, sad to say, life goes on and that expectation is slowly diminshing. Which is why memories are so improtant, and with life to demanding, so dependent on reminders.

We buried her under a dogwood tree in the back yard, which has been steadily receiving all our pets, including the last 3 favorite cats. With a simple flat stone and small garden, it is a place to remember and to be reminded as we go through our day.

We should put places like this in our projects. Trees or special places at the end of a vista or along a path, or niches, shelves or walls kept bare on purpose to receive the pictures of those we love. Great cabinets or terrific storage space or the perfect tve spot is one thing, but we need to remember to remember.

Plan some places, spaces and views into your designs, to remember.

Old Dogs and New Kitchens

My black dog, Kemper, is aging rapidy. Almost 14, best as we can tell from what they told us at the Women's Humane Society when we got her, her hips are giving out, eyes are going, can't (or won't) hear me when I call. We used to go for long walks every night, but she barely makes it around the corner now, and God forbid I try to cross the road with traffic coming!. She is still a sweetheart, but we have do things differently and can't do the grand efforts we once did. We have to rethink what we do with what we have.

Stay with me here, but this brings me to my next point, working with what we have (and of course, accessibility, which I talked about in another post, below).

In this area, most of houses are fairly old, ranging from the building booms in the 30's, post war 40's and the 60's. Many folks contact me for additions, citing unworkable or crowded plans, especially as the kids grow up. The first thing I usually do is to look at what the existing structure and plan will allow and see what is possible in the existing shell.

Basic rule, it is often a heck of a lot cheaper to remodel than to add on with new structure. To that end I share 3 examples.

First, a current project is in a small colonial, typical to this area. Very small. There is a reasonable shed-roofed addition out the back off the kitchen. The clients, a young couple, want to renovate the kitchen from the old dark interior room it is. We went through almost 15 versions, each modifying a previous one. I tried to keep an eat-in area with a table and possibly a large window seat, and we considered breaking out the back for a larger mudroom. We also had to accommodate the greyhounds, of course!

As it evolved, a host of other issues came up and we are now extending the kitchen far into the addition, opening the walls into the dining room to give more use to a formerly vestigial space, and creating a wide open wall from there to the living room (see also the green Craftsman house on my website, and phot below). Using the dining room better meant we did not have to have a 2nd eating area so close to the kitchen, could better use a peninnsula for casual seating, and revamp a laundry and mudroom area. The old house now has flow and light! Sure a few beams, a lot of drywall and total chaos for a while, but radical changes to the existing house, no new foundations, no loss of yard, no wierd hallways, and no cutting off older rooms from the outside.

The 2nd example is a modest kitchen in a regular colonial, center hall, kitchen in the back. A previous remodeling had added a family room and utilty wing and inadvertently turned the kitchen into a glorified hallway. The owners are old friends and were doing it themselves, so essentially planned on simply replicating the old layout. A friend with a strong design sense (the interiors of the same green Craftsman on my site) stopped over and looking at some closets and odd walls left over from the old remodeling, suggested removing closets and revamping the layout. Suddenly there is prep space, the fridge is banished from a central location and there is room for the wife to let her husband stay in the room trying to be helpful...

Small steps with in the existing footprint, great results.

The last project was bigger, in theat it involved the whole house. A 60's ranch, which, because they are so deep, have a high ridge which allows 2nd floor expansion. We opened up the dining room wall, renovated the kitchen by combining utility space with the old kitchen, added a master suite on the 2nd floor and added trim details and windows to change the character of the house. All within the existing footprint.

And all of these allow full living on the same level, allowing effective use as we age. So consider what you have and how it can work better within those limitations, before you add on.

And be sure to plant something pretty at the end of the yard, like a dogwood, for a goal to walk to when you can't get across the street anymore.

Porches

As spring finally comes on strong, my thoughts turn to sitting outside, picking up the guitar, popping a brew, waving hi to friends in the neighborhood, in short, sitting on the front porch and relaxing.

Porches have become a threatened species, in part because we have re-oriented towards the back, with decks, patios, pools, etc. But they still can serve us well. For instance, all this isolation is turning the neighborhoods into ghost towns, and making it easier to just sit inside. This hurts the kids most, I think, since getting out into the neighborhood is such a bit deal, instead of just having a porch to play on, or act as neutral ground between the house and the street.

We have an older colonial in a small neighborhood and I love sitting on the porch swing in the summer. I made a new railing with a wide top to allow an easier perch, and judicious plantings give some privacy while still allowing interaction with the neighbors. I also extended it along the house as a pergola, with vines for sun-screen in the summer.

On a current project, we are removing a tiny useless entry stoop and roof and adding a porch. It faces east and as soon as the clients saw the idea they took to it as a place to have coffee in the mornings, work with their lap-tops outside and have a sheltered place to arrive when coming home. And on a recently finished addition to a split level, we added a full porch to give Mom and Dad a place to sit and observe the street while the kids ran around the neighborhood with their friends.

This is perhaps the most important sub-conscious aspect: safety and comfort. Seeing the porch a visitor immediately knows the front door, there is shelter for visitors and for the resident coming

home, a place to meet and greet guests and a safer buffer area to meet with visitors you may not want to invite in. The idea came to me when the clients had a vague idea of wanting to spruce up their front door area, and while at the house I saw a friend with a gaggle of kids arrive and try to get in out of the snow. A porch would have been a perfect haven.

It's a place to take the prom pictures, let the teenagers romance, play your music and best of all, it says “Welcome Home!”.