description
This project called for the renovation of a single-family home built in 1907. Like many homes of this vintage, it had seen many updates and additions over the years, though none of these tackled the project in a cohesive way. The primary challenge was to tie previous work together harmoniously, improve efficiency, and provide clear spatial organization while respecting the soul of the historic home.
A new structural system was designed to replace the load bearing walls which divided the house in two, allowing for a connected kitchen, dining, and living space. Spatial delineation and warmth was achieved through highlighting the new structural system itself via restrained ornament and up-lighting, forming gentle thresholds between functional zones.
This psychological and physical warmth was further extended by replacing all of the windows and doors with efficient wood clad products, which open out to a redesigned three season porch, entry deck, and back deck. These transitional elements serve to link the interior to the exterior allowing the clients to enjoy the beautiful Maine climate through out the year.
insights
Structural Rework
The original home from 1907 relied on a field stone foundation and rough-cut wood framed walls to support the weight of the building. Since there were no beams or columns to speak of, each space was separated by a load bearing wall, limiting the spatial flow through the interior. Our first move was to replace these loadbearing walls with LVL beams in order to create a more open floor plan. Additionally, the structural columns supporting the existing entry deck, porch, and back deck were discovered to be undersized and in disrepair. Capitalizing on the necessity of replacing them, the new design expanded both decks and opened up the porch significantly.
Bridging Interior and Exterior
Enjoying the dramatic change of seasons from the outdoors is one of the most delightful experiences we all share as New Englanders. Though many of us chase this beauty from the magnificent peaks of the White Mountains of the rocky coasts of Maine, curating glimpses of this connection to the outdoors from one’s own home is of vital importance to our own health and wellbeing. To capture this notion, the proposal sought to bridge interior and exterior by means of a screened porch and two flanking exterior decks. A three-season screen system includes clear vinyl panels that can be installed over a traditional insect screen to block the wind during colder months, granting usability to the spaces even when the temperatures drop. Combined with a full glass patio door and sliding window, this multiuse space is an extension of the interior, and a transitional space to the full exposure of the exterior decks.
Personalized Details
Beauty is in the details, and well thought out details are what elevate a space, infuse joy, and improve functionality in our day-to-day. Integrated planters skirt the formal entrance to the home, making the task of maintaining the kitchen herb garden a nearly-passive event. Wooden hatches, subtly installed on the entry porch, allow the clients to drop trash and recycling into the appropriate bins without having to navigate a potentially-icy stairway and driveway mid-winter. Additionally, basement access was made more intuitive, functional, and brighter by means of a sunken patio leading to large, double French doors.
Builder: Cousins Co
Siding and Roofing: Summit Exteriors
Mechanical Systems: Revision Energy
Structural Engineering: L&L Structural
This project called for the renovation of a single-family home built in 1907. Like many homes of this vintage, it had seen many updates and additions over the years, though none of these tackled the project in a cohesive way. The primary challenge was to tie previous work together harmoniously, improve efficiency, and provide clear spatial organization while respecting the soul of the historic home.
A new structural system was designed to replace the load bearing walls which divided the house in two, allowing for a connected kitchen, dining, and living space. Spatial delineation and warmth was achieved through highlighting the new structural system itself via restrained ornament and up-lighting, forming gentle thresholds between functional zones.
This psychological and physical warmth was further extended by replacing all of the windows and doors with efficient wood clad products, which open out to a redesigned three season porch, entry deck, and back deck. These transitional elements serve to link the interior to the exterior allowing the clients to enjoy the beautiful Maine climate through out the year.