Travel Programs — Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America

Travel Programs — Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America

Summer Break- It all started back in the summer of '87, it was official by the end of the summer of '89 and at the end of this past summer, celebrating 20 years of marriage my husband Marvin and I are still learning new things about each other and Architecture! This past June we travelled to Rome on a "Drawing Tour" for ten days that included walking tours, drawing lessons with master artists and lectures at the Rome Academy, also a side trip to Hadrian’s Villa and Villa D’Este. ...Note: for all my colleagues Lots and I mean Lots of Continuing Education Credits (40 AIA/CES LUs 15 HSW AIA/CES LUs)... Great news, the Institute of Classical Architecture and Classical America is hosting this program again, Marvin if your reading I think we should celebrate 21 years in the same way...To the good life - La Dolce Vita!

Ranch 'Dressing' Tasteful Home Renovations

So, you bought the ranch.... What now?

Ranches in my town, look out of place among the charming older Victorians or the traditional Center Hall Colonial and stately Tutors. The 1950's Ranches are now known as 'Vintage Modern'. Ranches can be quite chic...with renovations done correctly, paying attention to the original details and doing the best within the existing genre is the secret.

The construction of a 1950's Ranches is solid and adding on or updating the existing is practical. Finishing touches and matching missing hardware or fixtures has been made easier with the help of Rejuvenation a period lighting and hardware online store. Design Within Reach another resource can help you with furnishings.

Let's say, you just can't 'do' your grandma's house. You want to update and bring the house up in time. This can be achieved by changing the 'trim package', updating the floor finishes, the bathroom and kitchen cabinets and the color scheme.

The The typical ranch trim package is a 2-1/2" casings around the doors and 4" baseboards. The doors are usually flat and hollow. By upgrading the trim to a 4" casing and a 6" baseboard you will add some 'weight' to the details.

Selecting a heavy wood door from Simpson and good looking hardware, you will give the home some character and a look that has been coined 'Transitional' ...meaning not historical and not modern. "Transitional" renovations will provide a clean updated look that will hold value in the marketplace. New tile and a new vanity in the bathroom, new wood floors and and an updated kitchen will make your home stylish and simply elegant.

For Clawson Architects most extreme Ranch 'Dressing' that is tasteful and unforgettable check Clawson Architects website to see how the Ranch above became so much more...

Kitchen Addition for This Old House

Beautiful houses were built in the the early 1900's and they were built to last. In meeting with people to discuss their homes and the potential for adding on, the conversations often go in the same direction. "We love the character of the house, we love the neighborhood, we love the details and charm, but there is no family room, and while this dining room is huge, there is only a tiny old kitchen." Often the homeowner has come to some sort of a conclusion to add a family room and to renovate the kitchen.

As Architects we often see opportunities that have not revealed themselves to the homeowner yet. We see space and potential in the existing foot print that perhaps just needs to be re purposed.

Just because you bought a home with a large room that has a chandelier hanging in the center of the space does not mean that it has to be your dining room. We often hear 'we don't want to lower the real estate value' and to that I say, you are not getting rid of the space your are re purposing the space, if the next buyer wants it to be a Dining Room, they can rehang the chandelier.

One of our more creative out of the box clients came to us because they had done just that, they used the existing Dining Room as their Family Room. This space was just off the kitchen, as is typical with most traditional homes. For this family, with three young boys, the 'Dining Room' offered a play space they needed. As the boys grew, the breakfast table in the kitchen was not quite big enough and they felt they would like to have a more formal Dining Room back and add a family room addition onto the house. After looking at the spaces and recognizing the creative side of the client, I suggested that instead of adding a family room that we add a Kitchen to the rear of the house off the Largest Room in the house, the under utilized Living Room. In doing so, we re purpose the existing kitchen as a Dining Room and made the original Dining Room turned Family Room into a formal Living Room. The largest room, that under utilized Living Room, became the Family Room opening up into the new Kitchen. The other benefit to this idea, was that this busy family was able to continue using their existing kitchen until the new one was completed, and then we went to work on creating the Dining Room in the area where the original Kitchen was.

The end results are a home with better circulation, a cozy intimate Living Room, a dramatic Dining Room, a new Butler's Pantry that leads to a new sun drenched Kitchen with views of the back yard, the Family Room, the Sun Room/Home Office and the Front Door. We gained a first floor Powder Room and Laundry Room and one very happy client.

Recap:

Old Kitchen has been re purposed into a new Dining Room

A New Butler's Pantry connects the New Kitchen Addition to that Dining Room.

Original Dining Room Turned Family Room, is now a Formal Living Room.

Old Formal Living Room is now the Family Room.

Addition includes:

New Kitchen, Powder Room and Laundry Room and if that is not enough, the addition structure was designed to receive a second floor Master Suite above, should the owners decide that this is something they would like to add in the future.