Every year, we submit several of our best projects to the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (Or NARI) to be evaluated for REMY awards, and we wanted to share with you one of our big winners. This project won Gold in the Designs and Plans category, awarded to the project that best represents the needs of the clients in the design and planning phase.
The Homeowners for this project reside with their adult daughter with special needs. She is high functioning and has an opposite sleeping schedule from her parents. They wanted to give her an area that would be her own and provide her the independence and privacy she deserves. Unfortunately, their current home did not offer that to them.
Various floor plan options for the extensive project were explored. The first proposed option included creating the daughter’s generation suite in the existing garage, pushing out the kitchen to the rear, and adding on a 3 car garage to the side of the house. The concept landed on takes one stall of the existing two stall garage and created a behind the scenes pantry and laundry room and gave a little space back to the kitchen. The kitchen serves as the buffer space between the existing house and the new living quarters for the Daughter. The addition consists of the 2 car garage and behind it, the Generation Suite.
The addition is rather large so it took some creativity when creating the exterior elevations and rooflines. The Homeowner wanted the addition to look as if it was always intended to be there and balance well with the rest of the home. The board and batten siding and the gable ridges were clipped to match the existing. The addition created a courtyard and screens the existing deck from neighbors.
The kitchen was in desperate need of an update. Peninsula upper cabinets and soffits throughout were removed providing improved site lines and taller cabinets to the ceiling. New cabinets, countertops, backsplash, wood flooring and a larger counter height window at the sink helps transform this kitchen. The kitchen did expand 2’ into the garage. The remaining area went to the ample hidden pantry and laundry room.
The original laundry room felt like it was in a hallway to the side entry from the driveway. The laundry is still off of the single car garage and has direct access to the pantry and kitchen spaces but now feels like a room. The generously sized pantry is hidden with a large cabinet door and contains area for a good-sized desk.
The hallway to the dining room was very pinched and it was determined during construction that the stairs to the basement could be easily shifted to gain the greatly improved access and view to the dining room. The dining room lost its one piece wainscot trim, two tone wallpaper, light fixture, carpet, and window treatments for well- deserved replacements.
The Generation Suite created for the Daughter includes a sitting (TV) area, wide walk ways to the bedroom and bath, and generous closet with laundry facility. She was included in the material and color selections and enjoyed picking the decorative light fixture that became the center of her personal space. The bathroom contains a zero entry shower and ample space for maneuvering. There are matching vanity and dresser cabinets complete with crystal knobs reflecting her own personal touch. The tile selections showcase well at the functional universal shower design.
An obstacle during construction was to work around the Daughter’s sleeping schedule due to the construction noise factor. The family planned a couple of long trips to help coincide with times of peak noise but the day to day was handled by creating supplemental sound barrier walls at carefully planned locations to help deaden the sound. She normally woke as the crew was leaving for the day so it was definitely a challenge.
The project was a complete success as the Homeowner and Daughter are thrilled with the outcome. The home has been transformed and definitely enhanced with the new material selections and layout. The daughter has gained more independence and the entire family no longer needs to tiptoe and worry about disturbing each other while accessing the kitchen, doing their laundry, and coming and going.