After living in an outdated 1950’s Ranch-Style house for 30 years, an acclaimed artist-wife and her architect-husband transformed the existing structure into a custom home for the owners. Initially, the Artist-Wife wished to simply replace the front door. Confronted with this, the Architect-Husband suggested, “While we are at it…” which resulted in the renovation of the existing residence and the addition of a second floor.

The design reused as much of the existing structure as possible, while creating new and interesting interior spaces, complimenting the couple’s lifestyle, while addressing several issues that plagued the older structure. Some of these were poor site drainage, poor to no insulation, aging HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems, steel casement windows and a critical lack of storage. The wife specifically wanted a dining room, a claw-foot bathtub, a bedroom porch and an art studio. The husband wanted a workshop and office. Both wanted more living space. During construction, the couple continuously occupied a bedroom corner of the house – even when the bedroom was roof-less!

Indigenous materials and colors were chosen, blending the home into the neighborhood. Triple columns repeated at the Entry and Porches give scale and proportion. Although a “new front door” wasn’t installed – the Artist found a beautiful pair of antique doors in New Orleans instead!