60s Ranch Renovation

Built in the late 1960s, this ranch home was nothing special. It had an understated entrance, dark rooms and low ceilings.  When the client purchased the house in 2007, they were inspired to update the interiors of the house with a modern appeal.  In 2011, they decided it was time to get serious and work with an architect to give the house a new exterior look.Unlike most remodels, increasing the floor area was not a high priority for the client. A small garage expansion was the extent of floor area increase on their wish list.  A fresh contemporary exterior image with light-filled interiors and exciting ceiling spaces were the main objectives for this 60s Ranch Renovation.  Good ventilation and energy efficiency were also major programmatic requirement, but the couple insisted it be seamlessly integrated. They wanted to take advantage of any new energy efficiency technology available, but they wanted a beautiful house more than anything else, so the technologies had to work with the design.

After a couple of small hurdles working with the City to mitigate some issues with setbacks and floodplains, we were ready to approach the design with creative insight.  The entry became the beginning of a light filled clerestory spine that bridged the front of the house through to the back. A curved accent roof and sidelights gracefully define the new front door, providing updated style and warmth. The Family Room was opened up with 14’ ceilings and again high windows were used to allow light to flood the interior while also maintaining privacy from the close-by neighbors.  A private zone was added to the floor plan to separate the bedrooms from the common spaces in the house and all of the ceilings were raised up from eight feet to ten feet.  We improved the energy characteristics of the building envelope with new windows and super insulation and topped it with a new flat roof line with curved accents. Stucco overlays cover the home's original brick facade, completing the look.