At the Intersection of Art, Architecture & Design

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See one approach to opening up a 1930’s Brick Cape. The clients want to take advantage of wonderful park-like views – opening their home to the back-yard. Also on their wish-list is opening the kitchen to the rest of the house and creating a study.

My client owns a typical 1950’s post-war construction brick 3-bedroom ranch house — it’s ubiquitous throughout the east. Here are 3 options presented during the conceptual design phase for remodeling the home for indoor/outdoor, modern living.

A New Front Porch and Remodeled Entry Garden Welcomes Family and Visitors.

For this modest home in Silver Spring, Maryland, we created an idyllic outdoor retreat with strong indoor-outdoor connections. Shown above is the al fresco dining room — with walls of foliage and cedar — in the fence and pergola.

I’m sitting in another home just a few blocks away. It was built in 1917 and I’ve been here just about a year. And I’m frustrated beyond belief that I don’t yet have the money to build the addition in the back that will connect me to the out of doors! My response is to spend most of my spare time working on the landscape

Remodeling within the existing footprint allowed this family to live their dream.

This is the 3rd article about taking an isolated galley kitchen in an older home and making it the center of today’s activities. The original kitchen had adequate space — including adequate counter space — so we didn’t need to enlarge the kitchen. Instead we removed the wall …

I’ve moved to a neighborhood built at the turn of the 20th Century where many of these homes, including mine, have windows that look into a neighbor’s house. The quickest and cheapest solution is often drapery and curtains which help ensure privacy but also often block light and a sense of space. Below are some strategies I’ve used to block a view. I would love to hear about ways you’ve successfully blocked a view while retaining daylight and airiness.

This 1930′s home off Sligo Creek in Silver Spring, MD didn’t have an easy way to take advantage of it’s sylvan setting. The nicest views were from the front but zoning set-back requirements prohibited adding on in that direction.

Whether you call it a Garden Room or Indoor/Outdoor living, opening your Home to your garden is probably the single most expansive change you can make in the feeling of your house.