During my second site visit to this 1920’s downtown Durham
bungalow, it became evident just over a quarter of the structure would need to
be demolished due to foundation failure.
This would leave the house with only one bedroom, and with the
homeowners planning for their first child at least one more bedroom became top
priority. Welcoming family and friends
often, the couple not only wanted a home their new family could comfortably
grow up in but also a place to better entertain and offer sleepovers. The home’s corner lot is long and slender and
closely bounded on one side by a well used one-way street. Due to lot constraints the solution naturally
called for a mix of renovation and addition.
The idea was to gain a bit more privacy by moving active
family functions to the first floor of the addition at the rear of the site, and
for the new master suite to be located on the second floor there by gaining
privacy while rising above the eyes and noise of a well traveled Gregson
Street. Moving the more active family
functions to the new addition allowed us to quiet the home’s entry as it
transitioned into less active areas of respite.
The renovation consisted of turning the original kitchen
into a child’s bedroom, making the original master bedroom into a guest
bedroom, turning the original living room into a sitting room and creating an
access to the new addition by capturing some of the existing office space. The addition consisted of a first floor
dining room, living room, kitchen, laundry room and screened porch, while only
space occupies the second floor…the master suite. An existing rear yard shed was moved to the
back of the property to make room for a pair of stairs and a future play
area. The existing exterior of the house
had long been in need of repair, so all existing exterior details and finishes
were repaired, refurbished or as a last resort replaced. Translation of the structure’s original
language was prioritized as much as making certain the addition read as such.
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