Neilson Street Transitional
Empty nesters, who have previously tackled a second story addition, decided it was finally time to update their home's main level, for a brighter and more open experience to enjoy with friends and family, and to address an oddity built into the front porch.
Throughout the design process, the husband had multiple business trips to Sweden and connected with the bright and clean composition of Scandinavian design. This was woven together with the existing craftsman architecture for a hybrid design language. One way to increase the sense of space without adding square footage is to lift the ceiling, so the living room was vaulted to provide a more spacious feel to the home. It is also characteristic of Scandinavian vaulted spaces. An integrated bench and storage are located by the front door for easy access, opposite a new plaster fireplace with built-ins.
In the kitchen, a small galley and isolated hallway were opened onto each other achieving better circulation from the front door to the rear garden. Clean white minimal cabinets complement base units constructed of oak with a carefully applied ceruse finish. Up close, the levels of the finish exquisitely show the depth of the flame patterns of the oak doors. These are offset by the natural oak flooring.
The original front porch was constructed so that the steps ran into the side of a bay window. The family was concerned that someone might walk into it when leaving the house. To address this, we recommended that the living room wall be reconstructed with a window instead of a bay and that a new porch be built with wider stairs. This also improved the furniture layout in the living room, providing a wall for the couch to sit against. The final porch design can be described as craftsman with a sense of whimsy.
The family now happily use their front steps as an amphitheater for neighborhood kids.
“Stacy Eisenmann was lovely to work with! She created an open floor plan for the original portion of our 1927 Albany bungalow--integrating previous adjacent additions into a cohesive whole. Without adding any additional square footage, our house looks and feels so much bigger! We love the new floor plan for the main living areas-especially the open kitchen, with a kitchen island and lots of carefully laid out storage. She is truly a talented architect and kitchen designer and it was a pleasure to work with her. Her in-house cabinetmaker created beautiful one-of-a-kind cabinets for the kitchen, living room, and bathrooms. Plus custom laundry room doors that conceal our new under-the-stairs laundry area!
We recommend Eisenmann Architecture without reservation and are excited that she is expanding to include design-build options in addition to her architecture and design services. Our newly remodeled space is warm and inviting, and will allow us to “age in place”. The project also involved building a new, larger front porch and backyard patio improving the flow between outdoors and the house.”
- Virginia (Client)