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Houzz Tour: Beautiful, Hardworking Cape Renovation
1820s home gets new life with beloved collections, new storage solutions and lots of natural light
Houzz Contributor. Hi There! I currently live in a 1920s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected."
I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia. I've been writing about design online for quite a few years over at Hatch: The Design Public Blog.
Houzz Contributor. Hi There! I currently live in a 1920s cottage in Atlanta... More »
In spite of an extensive renovation, this 1820s petite Cape in Vermont still maintains a petite footprint. "The house is quite small by today's standards," says Pi Smith, the project architect. "All of the spaces we designed are working really hard."
The client had owned the home for 15 years, dreaming of and planning for a kitchen renovation for every one of them. While she waited, she filled her barn with collections in anticipation of the day they would rebuild, storing vintage plumbing fixtures, light fixtures, cabinet hardware and antique tiles, among other things. "Our client has a big interest in all kinds of design and has a really good eye; the project was a wonderful collaboration."
Between creating storage solutions, squeezing as much functionality out of each inch as possible, letting in natural light, creating outdoor rooms, planning around the client's beloved collections, this is one smart and dramatic transformation.
More photos of traditional homes | More Houzz Tours
The client had owned the home for 15 years, dreaming of and planning for a kitchen renovation for every one of them. While she waited, she filled her barn with collections in anticipation of the day they would rebuild, storing vintage plumbing fixtures, light fixtures, cabinet hardware and antique tiles, among other things. "Our client has a big interest in all kinds of design and has a really good eye; the project was a wonderful collaboration."
Between creating storage solutions, squeezing as much functionality out of each inch as possible, letting in natural light, creating outdoor rooms, planning around the client's beloved collections, this is one smart and dramatic transformation.
More photos of traditional homes | More Houzz Tours
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| Charming old homes come with their own host of maintenance issues, but they make up for it in appeal. This house had a lot of problems typical of an older home, including water in the basement; Smith and her client went to great lengths to preserve the antique home. "The client came to me to help her renovate the kitchen and gain more functional space, like laundry," Smith says. "The project snowballed from there." Roof: "Englert Kynar Ultra-Cool Low Gloss" metal roof in a matte black finish. |
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| Here is the back of the house, which will give you a good feeling for the plan. Here you can see the garage/mudroom with studio overhead on the left, the connecting piece of the house in the middle is the kitchen with the guest suite overhead; on the right is the living room with the master suite overhead (the part most prominently seen in the first image). The footprint of the house stayed very much the same; the biggest difference was the garage wing, which was torn down and rebuilt so that it could contain a one-car garage, a mudroom and office and a studio overhead. See the exterior before |
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| "The client lives outside a lot," Smith says. Thus, in the renovation, a major regrading of the land was in order, creating level areas for a series of outdoor rooms. This welcoming covered porch is off the garage. The door leads into the mudroom, and was intended for dog traffic. |
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| A new patio contains a new outdoor dining area and a stone walkway to other parts of the yard. In the distance you can see the client's barn and a white fence that marks the edge of the property. |
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| It's hard to believe that the stone walls were newly built. They are composed of stones from reclaimed walls. |
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| From an engineering standpoint, all of this beautiful earthwork also incorporated solutions to the potential flooding problem in the basement. |
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| This is the space between the single garage stall and the kitchen/dining room in the first volume, or form of the house. In a space approximately the same size as a single garage stall, Smith was able to fit a mudroom, dog shower, laundry room, powder room, pantry and hallway. "Because the owner has two big labs, we needed a sturdy, durable route to the back porch and yard for the dog traffic," Smith says. The floor is a multicolored slate that coordinates with the transferware tile composition in the dog shower. |
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The tiled area you see on the left is the dog shower. The client's collection of English transferware tiles was composed along with new tiles to adorn this area. "This was a labor of love," Smith says.
The Moravian star pendant is from the client's collection, the smaller lights are LDLs. This is a perfect example of vintage and contemporary elements mixing together, as are the futuristic front-loading machines adjacent to the 100+-year-old transferware tiles.
The Moravian star pendant is from the client's collection, the smaller lights are LDLs. This is a perfect example of vintage and contemporary elements mixing together, as are the futuristic front-loading machines adjacent to the 100+-year-old transferware tiles.
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The mudroom is a great example of how hardworking the spaces in this house are, as it multitasks in so many ways. Because the client is also an avid gardener, there is a pot filler for watering cans in the dog shower.
Overhead, the mahogany countertop can be extended over the dog shower, extending a surface for folding and sorting laundry. A cabinet over the machines offers more storage. Not pictured are a tiny office at the other end of this space and the pantry. There is also a powder room in this small area.
Overhead, the mahogany countertop can be extended over the dog shower, extending a surface for folding and sorting laundry. A cabinet over the machines offers more storage. Not pictured are a tiny office at the other end of this space and the pantry. There is also a powder room in this small area.
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| The next part of the house contains the kitchen/dining room on the first floor, and measures 16 feet wide by 20 feet deep. This is perhaps the most dramatic transformation in the home; you will not believe the "Before" shot, next. "We wanted to maximize storage without losing light, so we used very few upper cabinets," Smith says. "We also tried to create storage pieces that looked like furniture." The china cabinet on the left is this kind of piece, and displays more of the client's collections. |
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| The kitchen before: It is really hard to believe that this is the same room. One can see why the homeowner was dreaming of a kitchen renovation for so long. Here's another picture of the kitchen before |
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The renovation began with the kitchen, and the kitchen began with this oversized salvaged sink, which had been waiting in the barn for years for its moment in the sun.
"We laid out the kitchen and the windows around this huge sink; it was one of those fun constraints that winds up driving a design," Smith says.
"We laid out the kitchen and the windows around this huge sink; it was one of those fun constraints that winds up driving a design," Smith says.
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| Here's a better look at how the windows were designed around the sink. The countertops and backsplash are local Vermont Danby marble. In addition to the new windows, a carefully planned scheme adds all kinds of lighting options from very bright to a soft glow. It includes a combination of vintage-style glass and brass pendants, small modern LBL lights and a contemporary fabric-covered drum pendant over the table. Pendant Lights: Conant Metal and Light LBL Lights: Bare Head Swivel I |
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Another one of the client's collections included cabinet hardware. If you look closely around the kitchen, you'll see that there are different sets of knobs and pulls everywhere. These are fun small details that add big personality to the room and show just how long she was dreaming of this renovation.
Floors: Locally salvaged wide plank pine
Floors: Locally salvaged wide plank pine
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| The drum pendant fixture from Galbraith and Paul over the table helps add to the dining room feel in this multipurpose room. "This fixture adds beautiful glowing color, texture and introduces a contemporary shape," Smith says. Range: Viking |
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This is one of the hardest working staircases in America. It leads up to a studio over the garage as well as a guest suite over the kitchen. The bookshelf contains the client's cookbook collection and a small television; the cabinet contains glassware and to the left of it (not seen) is another niche that contains a microwave.
The stair's handrail is made from a mast from the client's childhood sailboat; they left the rigging on it. That tool over the barware cabinet is an old timber measurer, which serves as sculptural found object, as does the snowshoe hung in the stairwell.
The stair's handrail is made from a mast from the client's childhood sailboat; they left the rigging on it. That tool over the barware cabinet is an old timber measurer, which serves as sculptural found object, as does the snowshoe hung in the stairwell.
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This powder room takes advantage of the space underneath the staircase on the other side. A recessed bookshelf follows the angle of the staircase to provide more storage for the client's beloved books.
The sink, faucets and accessories were all part of the client's collection of salvaged fixtures. A snowshoe provides a quirky and appropriate frame for a mirror, with the forest background provided by Cole and Son's "Woods" wallpaper.
The sink, faucets and accessories were all part of the client's collection of salvaged fixtures. A snowshoe provides a quirky and appropriate frame for a mirror, with the forest background provided by Cole and Son's "Woods" wallpaper.
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| The front door opens directly into the living room, which is the main form of the house. "The whole house is a library," Smith says. "Our client is extremely organized, with each room containing different genres of books. She has just as many design books as we have in our office." |
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| This section contains the living room on the first floor and the master suite above, as well as a staircase connecting the two. "The client had work done on the living room upon moving in, including adding all of the bookshelves, so all that was really required here was refinishing the floors, changing the paint palette and adding lighting to illuminate the books and art," Smith says. This lighting system is composed of monopoint track fixtures. |
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The staircase received a makeover, with a new larger window installed to let in the light and a much-needed bookshelf to take advantage of the thick wall.
Click here to check out this space before
Click here to check out this space before
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The stairs lead up to the master suite over the living room.
"Fixing the leaky skylight, new lighting, a new built-in for linens and fresh paint give this upper stair hall a crisp makeover," Smith says.
"Fixing the leaky skylight, new lighting, a new built-in for linens and fresh paint give this upper stair hall a crisp makeover," Smith says.
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Over the staircase was what Smith described as "a musty old bathroom."
This salvaged clawfoot tub was repaired and replumbed, and it's a perfect fit underneath the slanted roofline. Smith integrated another built-in bookshelf for storage and added a new window. A vintage ladder of the client's serves as an antique towel rack.
This salvaged clawfoot tub was repaired and replumbed, and it's a perfect fit underneath the slanted roofline. Smith integrated another built-in bookshelf for storage and added a new window. A vintage ladder of the client's serves as an antique towel rack.
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More collections were put into action in this shower: this time, the client's collection of antique Delft tiles came in handy. The shelf and threshold are Vermont Danby marble.
"We raised the shower ceiling to follow the roofline so that we could add the skylight," Smith says. She also borrowed a bit of space that had formerly been a storage space over the stairs to expand the shower stall.
"We raised the shower ceiling to follow the roofline so that we could add the skylight," Smith says. She also borrowed a bit of space that had formerly been a storage space over the stairs to expand the shower stall.
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| Slanted walls and dormers made for an already-cozy master bedroom, which received a light makeover. Windows were repaired and walls were repainted, while storage was enhanced with a reconfigured closet and new built-in drawers and shelves contained within a knee wall (not shown; opposite the bed). Knee walls are common on the second floor of Capes. Instead of having the of the room extend all the way to where the roofline meets the floor, they cut off this space at about three to four feet high. "There are little triangles behind knee walls that can be used for shelves or drawers," Smith says. |
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| To reach this guest room space, one needs to ascend the staircase off the kitchen/dining room (there were always two staircases in this house). The staircase entered from the dining room/kitchen leads up here to the guest room and the homeowner's studio (which is through that cute little angled door that follows the roofline of the garage form of the house). "By stepping each form back you get nice corners you can fill," Smith says. If you look back at the second picture in this ideabook, you'll get a good idea of how this works from the exterior. Whenever you spy a diagonal inside this house, it helps you read a roofline or the line of a staircase. The thick bookshelf on the left makes the most of what is almost always a wasted space, the space above a radiator. The radiator is encased in a perforated cabinet on the bottom of the shelf. Paint: DKC-22 latex in eggshell finish, Donald Kaufman Color Collection (by Pratt & Lambert) |
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| This is the studio across from the guest room; it sits atop the mudroom/garage portion of the house. The client's hobby is making custom cards, and this studio full of storage and light is a wonderful workspace. The skylights let in natural light, and also open to let in the fresh air. More vintage plumbing fixtures were used here; the shallow sink on the right is made of soapstone and Smith designed a custom base for it. In addition, an antique ribbon rack holds the client's ribbon collection. In contrast to that, George Nelson's midcentury modern pendant lights and a modern fan hang overhead. |
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| Let's wrap up with one more ingenious space-saver. This cabinet is much deeper than it looks; as the roofline goes down, the drawers take advantage of the increased depth provided by the angle. The bottom drawers here are 42 inches deep. The drawer pulls are, you guessed it, part of the owner's collection; they were card-catalog labels in the days before the Internet. "This was a really fun project; it's so much fun to collaborate, to have clients who have ideas and help them bring their visions to light," Smith says. "This client had really lovely taste and has become a good friend." More: Houzz Tour: Open and Cozy Family Space Capes Across America Houzz Tour: 19th-Century Family Farmhouse |
Ideabook updated on Jan. 15, 2012.
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