Westham

Rancher Transformation + New Second Story on Culpepper

PROJECT SCOPE:

The owners of this house had already planned for a large-scale renovation, but when a tree fell on their roof during a storm, it expedited the process. The original house was a typical rancher, approximately 3,000 square feet, with a wing that protruded off the rear of the house. The slope of the lot permitted a basement-level garage on the rear wing, but there was no direct access to the garage from inside the house.

 The crux of the project was to add a second floor to the rancher, which was about 1,885 square feet. (This includes a 4 foot bump-out on the far end of the house, increasing the size of the new dining room.) We also added a 400 square foot unfinished basement to the garage, which is accessible from the interior. The new transformation is nearly 5,000 finished square feet, plus the unfinished basement and garage space.

 The structure of the rear-wing was rebuilt so that the interior now features a vaulted cathedral ceiling. A chimney was added to the end of the wing, with a full floor-to-ceiling mantle made of uncut stone. All of the windows in the house were replaced, though the window openings in the rear-wing were expanded to permit larger windows to let in more natural light.

 Nearly all of the original house was gutted in order to reorganize the floor plan to suit the design of the new home. The kitchen was a critical element in this redesign, with its centralized location on the rear-side of the house. Its open plan allows spectacular views across both inside and outside spaces. A row of windows above the sink grants a panoramic view of the newly designed backyard terrace and dining area.

 The new backyard terrace was a design transformation in and of itself. While the general layout is very similar to what was there before, a covered porch has been added to the inside corner between the kitchen and the rear-protruding-wing. This is intended to be used as an exterior dining space, connecting the newly renovated kitchen to the restructured rear-wing, which now has a cathedral ceiling and is flooded with natural light.

 From the exterior dining space, a step-down leads to an open stone patio, lined with a tiered planters on the far side. To the left are more stairs, which lead down to a lower level stone patio. The tiered progression takes advantage of the slope of the lot, while adding prominence and grandeur to the rear facade.