UPDATE 1: Design
Design Motivation
You know it’s a good house when 2 decades of home ownership later, you’re still motivated to stay put. And that’s how our clients feel about this expansive Tangletown Colonial, with obvious assets from the lovely 1920s details and hardwood floors to the columned entry and generous dormers above. Though beautiful and incredibly charming, owning a 1920s home comes with 1920s maintenance. Having raised 3 now-grown children there, our clients were looking to refresh the home. Our design team took on the task of reviving two primary zones, the kitchen and upper level bath to help ensure our clients could stay in the home for many more years with less worry about major home repairs.
So What’s the Problem?
Apart from needing some general updates to refresh the interior, a previous 1980s remodel created some functional and maintenance issues that needed resolution, particularly centered around the upper-level bath and kitchen. The jacuzzi tub in the bathroom severely impacted the remainder of the room, with limited space for ideal toilet and shower placement. Similarly, the large, sunken tub necessitated oversized kitchen soffits in the kitchen/banquette, detracting from the open floor plan our clients desired, while the small and leaky shower caused unseen water damage.
The Design Solutions: 1980s Remodel Meets Modern Sensibilities
A successful remodel would be one that could open up the kitchen area to the rest of the home with a substantial prep and seating island as well as all new selections from cabinets to tile. With a main level facelift and a complete overhaul to the bathroom layout, including a private lavatory and tub area, this design would fulfill our clients’ vision to stay in the home long term. White Crane designers created a scheme that honored the 1920s home, enhancing the charm with an open plan and sophisticated interior selections.
Areas of Consideration:
- Removing the kitchen soffits required the team to take out the jacuzzi tub, rebuild a bathroom floor, and introduce additional structural members in the ceiling above.
- Removal of the kitchen column bisecting the kitchen and banquette area would call for relocating a plumbing stack and special engineering to properly carry upper level loads to the foundation below.
- Demo revealed rot on the main level because of leaks in the bathroom above, which we would need to resolve before moving forward with construction.
- Changing window locations caused by changes to the kitchen layout called for patching large areas of stucco on the exterior of the home.
