Cabinetry & Construction, Inc. Photo

Award-winning Whole-house Remodel

This project won the national bronze in Qualified Remodeler magazine's Master Design Awards. The owner selected Cabinetry & Construction, Inc., to add a comprehensive master suite to this small 1927 arts and crafts bungalow. The house is in an emerging neighborhood where the lots are small but the location increasingly desirable, given its proximity to trendy shops and restaurants, as well as the 10-minute commute to downtown Richmond. The suite included a master bedroom, master bath and a seating area/loft/den. The homeowner specifically wanted to: 1. Add space: The original house was approximately 900 square feet. The addition almost doubled the living space by adding another 700 square feet. Because we built the addition by adding a second story, it did not encroach on the yard or increase the footprint. 2. Harmonize: The addition needed not only to work in harmony with the rest of the house, but also to fit in with the neighborhood. 3. Achieve a certain style: The homeowner�s tastes were in keeping with clean lines and a cool palette. 4. Add light: To the extent possible, the plan needed to bring natural light into the new space. We accomplished these goals through the following: 1. We added a large master bedroom over the front of the house. To provide light but also make the addition look like it had been there all along, we positioned two large dormers on the front of the house. This naturally created the perfect place for the homeowner�s new king size bed, a luxury he had not been able to afford in the old 900 square foot house with smaller rooms. 2. The homeowner wanted a contemporary feel in the bath, which we achieved using industrial materials of the art deco era, which was contemporary to the 1927 house. A glass-block wall, reproduction art moderne sconces, and a chrome-legged sink base evoke that period. The owner chose multi-colored slate tile for the floor and shower enclosure, with slate-and-glass elements to complement the glass block partition. We created the concrete vanity counter to blend with the slate but also to continue the industrial feel. 3. Large windows were included in the dormers to provide egress in the event of fire, a code requirement. We added window seats to the dormers to add interest, and covered the cushions in a fabric matching the upholstered furniture in the adjoining seating loft/den. 4. The owner�s prized Weimaraner (Woody) was accustomed to sleeping in his owner�s bedroom. We cleverly captured some eave space and created a niche for the dog�s crate, which keeps the dog near his owner but the crate away from under foot and out of immediate sight. 5. The location of the original chimney made crafting a master bath a challenge. We accomplished this by using every available nook and cranny. A small linen closet was captured between some studs just outside the bath. Drawers and a shallow medicine cabinet for storing toiletries and bath appliances were installed around the chimney form. 6. We created an art deco feel in the bathroom with the selection of a rich brown tile, accented in green, bead board wainscoting, and a warm, dark brown acid stained concrete counter top. 7. We took special care to ensure that all of the trim in the addition matched the trim in the original portion of the house. We made exact replicas of the original eave brackets and rafter ends and used them under the new rooflines. By setting the eave lines of the new roof in from the original roof by a couple of feet, and by emulating the pitch of the adjacent house�s roof, the addition does not call attention to itself but rather looks as if it might always have been there. 8. The homeowner�s taste in art and furnishings is quite modern, and complements the clean lines of the craftsman style house. We chose ceiling fans with a �retro� feel to tie in with this. 9. Natural light was brought into all three areas of the suite with windows on all four sides of the addition. 10. The glass French doors that lead from the seating area into the master bedroom were salvaged from another place in the house. At the time of construction, they were found in the basement, unused and deteriorating. An anecdote about this house and project: While we were working on the project, an elderly woman and her daughter came to the front door. The woman explained that she was born in the house, was back in Richmond for a visit, and would like to see it again. The owner gladly showed her around, including the addition, which pleased her to no end. Before she left, the woman remarked that one of her memories of the house was playing in the old fireplace, in which she remembered writing her name as a child. The owner quickly fetched from his shed a piece of the old flue that he had removed in earlier remodeling. Sure enough, there was her name as she had written it some 70 years earlier.