Home Sweet Home

My best project yet! And the most important! Several years ago my parents moved into a very small new home (a ranch style house to my dismay) and had big dreams for it. They went to an architect to help them with an addition to the house and after paying him a good amount of money, the architect came back with three sets of plans to prove to my parents that what they wanted couldn't be done. Now that sounds ridiculous doesn't it?

The criteria my parents asked for was simple:
-They wanted the addition to be as simple of a shape as possible, basically a box (because we all know that exterior walls cost more than interior);
-They wanted a downstairs office;
-A large entry with seating space;
-A formal dining room with a butler pantry;
-A half bath for guests;
-A laundry room;
-And a mud room.

Okay, so maybe it sounds like a lot. But when organized in the right way, it really is quite simple. So that's exactly what I decided to do. Although I only have a few years of college under my belt I thought that the architect couldn't possibly be right. I took his plans home and drew up my own. Lo' and behold, he admitted that they worked, the city approved them, my family loves them, and the project is finally in progress! How crazy that a two year college student with no real world experience designing could help people more than a guy who's been in the field for decades and earning thousands of dollars for his work. It isn't right, and I can't wait to get out of college and help others out!

Unfortunately I don't have the original plans to share with you so you don't get to see all the rearranging that happened. But in the pictures below, basically we added everything that is west of the living/kitchen area. Sorry for the poor quality, scanning doesn't always go well. Hope you like them!

Exterior plans.

First floor plan.

Second floor plan.

A New Courtyard...

This project was fairly simple, although it was my first project working with Revit, a design program. I loved this project, and so far, it seems to be the best expression of myself as compared to all of the learning work I've done before. I started with a basic courtyard house and then rearranged it into a design that I would love personally as opposed to a client's preferences. I've never been a big fan of central courtyards in a home so I pushed it to the edge of the house where it is still walled in, but can be open to the outdoors as well. It was, to me, a very unique idea. I'm not sure it's the best but it was fun to take the risk and try it!

A simple view from the kitchen to the outdoor courtyard.

Above are two pictures of the courtyard; one looking toward the kitchen/dining entrance and one looking toward the outdoor fireplace.

The first floor plan with labels.

 The second floor plan without labels (sorry)! The wall on the right side of this plan is a glass wall that can fold the the sides of the room for an indoor/outdoor space.

And if you didn't understand what that room was in the second floor plan, it was this! A library full of glass shelves (unfortunately without books in this rendering). The whole point was to create a sort of space you could get lost in and then emerge into the outdoors. With a statement piece couch of course!