An existing 1920s-era house with a classic foursquare plan was renovated and expanded to accommodate the needs of a young family. The existing living room and kitchen were cramped and dark, and one of the bedrooms was barely large enough to fit a bed. Furthermore, there was only one bathroom for the entire house.

With a tight project budget, we decided to retain the basic planning of the original structure, with its stairs along the side and the kitchen and bath located at the rear. We determined the best opportunity for gaining additional space would be through expanding the front of the house. However, the property had front yard setback requirements which dictated a maximum extension of five feet. 

Working within that allowable zoning envelope, a 5-foot deep addition was designed to re-imagine the house both spatially and visually. The addition allowed the expansion of the living room and the undersized bedroom, as well as the insertion of an additional bath upstairs to create a primary suite.

The roof of the addition was framed to allow double-height ceilings with skylights providing an abundance of natural light, as well as access to an attic-level loft from one of the bedrooms. On the first floor, we added a powder room and mudroom and removed a wall and internal chimney to create an open kitchen and dining area.

The new exterior of the addition reinterprets the vernacular style of the original house through a contemporary lens. The street façade engages the neighborhood with a recessed entry porch and board and batten siding that references the rhythm of wood stud framing used in its construction.