Split-Level Home Renovation

In 2020, our friend and associate, designer Hannah Dee, called us in to renovate a 1960s split-level ranch in Northeast Philadelphia. This is a great, fun, easy-to-live-in house that is near and dear to Hannah’s heart, as it belongs to one of her close family members.

Generally speaking, the house was in pretty good shape, having been maintained and improved over the years, but it needed some 21st century updates and a great whole house design to pull it all together. With whole house design, we listen to how the homeowner wants to use each space, we observe how the spaces flow together, and we make adjustments to improve them both functionally and aesthetically. Having lived in the house for decades, this family had built many memories and collected pieces of cherished mid-century furniture and artwork. While some items were donated to museums and charities, others were scheduled to return to the house when it was done, so a big part of our task was to create spaces for these beloved items to be used and enjoyed.

Some highlights:

  • In the laundry room, we knew the client wanted a colorful and cheerful space to fold laundry and store supplies for her four large dogs. Tamara designed a high folding table with storage below for the pet items to replace the full height storage closet, letting the light in and helping the laundry room feel bigger. In this same space, Hannah selected bright colors, patterned fabric, and a painted floor inspired by the works of Matisse.
  • We added site-built cabinets at the stairs to the laundry to display other special items.
  • In the colorful kitchen, we opened the wall to the dining room and corrected some structural issues that had caused the ceiling to drop, working hard to design solutions that hid all the structural supports. With the wall open to the dining room, the room is light and airy — a bonus for the display shelves we built to showcase our client’s collectibles.
  • We removed the multiple heating systems and added one new heat and air conditioning system. Removing all the baseboard radiators that were popular when these houses were originally built freed up wall space. We re-wired the house and added new lighting and modern outlets.
  • We remodeled the two baths and powder rooms, making sure each felt open and light with all new fixtures, fittings, and finishes.
  • We updated the master closet with custom storage designed for the client.
  • We removed the hollow doors typically used in these mid-century houses with upgraded shaker-style panel doors that are finished with the black-and-white color theme of the house.
  • Updating all the rooms in the house allowed for custom touches for the client while we brought in all of the behind-the-walls upgrades.

This project, like most, was shut down when COVID hit. As we were allowed to return, we managed the many new working rules, supply chain issues, and other delays, and love seeing the bright and cheerful completed project. We are so happy to finally be able to share finished project photos with you. Tamara and Hannah love collaborating on projects like this for clients. It was nice to work together for family on this one — especially during such trying times!

In the Works: Re-Loving the “Flintstone House”

Our clients affectionately call this home a “Flintstone House,” and that really makes us smile. This charming and well-loved home, which features a schist stone exterior with free-form columns and bluestone front patio — both materials that are native to the Philadelphia area — is located on a quiet street in Chestnut Hill, PA, that is walkable to the quaint and lively center of town. It also has a lot of history, as the homeowners grew up in this house, and they have other family still living on the same street.

While the home has been lovingly maintained over the years, it is currently in need of a new kitchen, pantry, and powder room, as well as some maintenance upgrades — which we were happy to be called in to handle.

In terms of backstory, the current kitchen was installed by our clients’ father decades ago, a project that was clearly handled with a lot of love. Their mother, for instance, sanded and varnished all the pre-existing maple cabinets, and their dad added trim to the old cabinet doors so they looked a little more updated and pretty. He also installed Formica counters and backsplashes that still look pretty good, considering their age. We want to carry forward this same loving, cozy feeling into the brand new spaces we will be creating in this home.

In addition to modernizing the kitchen, we want to direct the layout so that the kitchen maintains views to a nice hidden outdoor patio and garden area, while bringing in more light and making the room feel taller. Adjacent to the kitchen is a room that originally served as the family breakfast room, but more recently became more of a room you pass through. We want to breathe new life into this area to create a welcoming casual eating area that flows right into the kitchen. We will add function by reorienting access to the basement and adding a powder room.

Lots of great ideas on the board — and we love working with our clients to celebrate this Flintstone house and bring it into the next era of its life.

We love projects like these that enhance the passions and integrate the total lifestyle of our homeowners.

Updates From the Art Deco Homefront

Many of you will recall our ongoing project for our client’s lovely 1930s-era Glenside brick Colonial. As we move through various phases of renovating this home, which the client calls his “Art Deco museum,” it continues to be a lot of fun both for us and for him.

In the image above, you can see the home’s newly finished library and a sampling of his vast black, white, and chrome Art Deco picture frame collection — which includes about 170 in all — filled with photos of his favorite actresses from the 1930s-40s, including Ann Sothern, Lauren Bacall, and Myrna Loy.

“I started collecting the frames in the 1990s, not long after I read the book Picture Perfect by Steve Starr, who owned a store in Chicago that specialized in deco frames and other collectibles,” he explains. “I bought quite a few from him and other dealers, mostly at antique shows in New York, Maryland, and other places.”

In addition, he has a vast array of furnishings, radios, lights, and other electrics, and fun figurines from the same era to display.

From a big picture perspective, we helped this client come up with a plan and budget for tackling a series of projects in the house. It includes everything from roofing to gutters, chimney, landscaping drainage problems, refinishing beautiful wood flooring, and unsticking and repairing the great original windows. We are planning the renovation of two of the bathrooms and a future kitchen to Art Deco-style specifications. Our first phase included removal of finishes that didn’t match the original house features, followed by a top notch paint job with a carefully curated group of new paint colors that highlight his collection. Behind the scenes, we updated electric, and then added more finishing details by changing all of the switch and outlet covers and replaced the outdated lighting with Art Deco fixtures the client has collected.

We love projects like these that enhance the passions and integrate the total lifestyle of our homeowners. We hope 2019 is getting off to a great start for you and your home.

P.S. It is not lost on us that the “power ladies” theme represented in this collection is a nice nod to all of the new Congresswomen sworn into office last week. (Rock on, ladies!)

In the Works: Glenside Colonial Goes Art Deco

One of our clients recently purchased this lovely large brick Colonial in the quaint and eclectic Philadelphia suburb of Glenside. His goal is to restore the home in a way that showcases his love for Art Deco styling, decor, and an extensive collection of art, ceramics, radios, and other electronics.

The home was built by a local developer in the 1920s, and it represents the best quality workmanship of its era — in fact, even the laundry room floor has the original aqua blue linoleum floor still in very good condition! However, the challenge presented by this home is that some of its previous owners made adjustments over the years that didn’t fit its style. For example, the large pantry and back hall, where you might carry in groceries from the rear parking area, was converted into a wine bar featuring faux stucco and brick accents applied to the plaster walls. The modest-sized kitchen had a dated pickled pink cabinet stain and a sandy-colored commercial tile floor. Throughout much of the house, wall-to-wall carpeting covered beautiful original fir and oak floors, and almost every room had heavy drapes keeping out the beautiful light coming through large multi-paned windows. Finally, updated bathrooms had vanities, tile, and accessories that didn’t mesh well with the home’s look and feel.

Our client, who has a very strong sense of aesthetics, called us in to restore the house to its 1920s style and include some of his preferred Art Deco finishes and selections, as well. In addition to helping him redesign a new kitchen to fit the house, we are helping him tease through what else needs to be changed and make a plan for updating the bathrooms, restoring the hardwood floors, installing new lighting and hardware, selecting new wall finishes, and even choosing window treatments and placing furniture — the “soft stuff,” as we call it in the business. Keeping the focus on his personal style preferences, we’ll also create solutions for displaying his collections.

We love projects like this whole house update that draw not only on our expertise in design build systems, but also on our unique understanding of art and style history.

A Trinity Renovation With Artistic Vision: The Bathroom — Part 2 in a Series

This week, we’re taking a closer look at the another space in our award-winning historic trinity renovation: the bathroom. The main challenge for this space was rethinking the modest footprint in a way that did not feel small, and our goal was to retain as much floor space as possible.

In planning the design, we created drawings that considered each elevation of the room at an extreme level of detail. Because we were working with older dimensional lumber sizes, we were challenged to square up and level the room to accommodate the tile and other finishes. Framing this bathroom required highly skilled carpentry craftsmanship, using individually ripped pieces of framing material, in both metal and wood of varying dimensions, and correcting compromised floor joists. Our solution allowed for dedicated space for HVAC ducting, an AC line set, a powerful vent fan ducted to the exterior, and other mechanicals — with enough space left over to gain a few inches in either direction.

The concept for the bathroom design was “reflecting water.” We incorporated beautiful mottled blue tile to provide texture and patterns that blend naturally with the crafted overall concept for the house. Custom glass and mirror add reflection, bounce light, and keep the room feeling open. The space now feels clean and welcoming and functions larger than it is.

Other Noteworthy Features

  • A custom vanity features a recessed toilet paper holder and full-size under-counter sink offset to create a large counter space
  • Two pull-out drawers provide access to an internal outlet that allows a hairdryer to stay in the drawer, plugged in, ready to use
  • A custom-cut wooden screen is used in the door panels, repeating the Moroccan screen motif found elsewhere in the house
  • A crisp white quartz base, shower niche, and curb add to the floating water quality
  • Large-format white tiles used for wainscoting add texture, while making the room easy to clean at the same time

About This Home

Our client purchased this pied-à-terre to create a unique second home that she could retreat to in the city. While located in a very walkable area — close to cultural activities, restaurants, and shopping — it is tucked away inside a shared courtyard with no street access and no legal parking adjacent to the site. The project was a true design build renovation that required extensive planning, with final drawing sets running well over 40 pages. We had regular meetings with our client and the decorator to collaborate on the details to make the finished space appear seamless. The result is a blend of our client’s vision, the decorator’s masterful use of color and texture, and our company’s design and construction experience, expertise, and background in fine arts. We were honored to be the team to execute this complex and unique job.

View the slideshow for this bathroom. To learn more about the project, view the kitchen slideshow.

A Trinity Renovation With Artistic Vision: The Kitchen — Part 1 in a Series

We recently took on an exciting whole-home renovation for this lovely historic Trinity in Center City Philadelphia. Originally built in the mid-1800s, the house footprint is just over 17’ x 13’. As is typical of this type of 3-story house, the kitchen is located in the basement, making this house four floors of occupied space with overall square footage totaling just under 900 square feet.

The homeowner felt the former kitchen was cramped, dimly lit, and inefficiently designed, and she was in search of help in bringing her artistic vision for the space to life, blending both old and new elements through an exciting mix of textures and character. High on her priority list was integrating her wonderful collection of objects gathered from her travels around the world.

We brought our design skills and construction experience to the team, working with the homeowner and the designer to develop a host of creative solutions, including the installation of an Indonesian screen (seen at the right in the photo above) as a sliding door covering a newly reconfigured utility area, which includes a new on-demand hot water heater, mounted next to a new full-size and code-compliant 40-position electrical panel with ample room for service and access.

Other Noteworthy Features and Solutions

  • New crisp drywall blended with original masonry wall textures and original exposed beams
  • Custom-glazed adler wood cabinets, beautiful fusion Quartzite and custom cherry counters, and a copper sink were selected for a wonderful interplay of colors, textures, and Old World feel
  • Small-space efficiencies designed for real-size humans, including built-ins wherever possible, limited free-standing furniture, and no upper cabinets
  • Built-in storage and appliances under the counter (refrigerator, freezer, washer, dryer, and microwave drawer)
  • Additional multi-function storage under stairs
  • Extensive lighting plan with multiple sources and types of light to make this partially below-grade space feel bright and cheery
  • Enlarged window well to bring much more light into the space
  • Insulation added to create sound buffer from the floor above

About This Home
Our client purchased this pied-à-terre to create a unique second home that she could retreat to in the city. While located in a very walkable area — close to cultural activities, restaurants, and shopping — it is tucked away inside a shared courtyard with no street access and no legal parking adjacent to the site. The project was a true design build renovation that required extensive planning, with final drawing sets running well over 40 pages. We had regular meetings with our client and the decorator to collaborate on the details to make the finished space appear seamless. The result is a blend of our client’s vision, the decorator’s masterful use of color and texture, and our company’s design and construction experience, expertise, and background in fine arts. We were honored to be the team to execute this complex and unique job.

View the slideshow for this kitchen project.

“Big Picture” Renovations: Pulling Together the Pieces to Make a Grander Whole

Sometimes, we take on project homes where the individual main rooms are in good — or even great — condition, but the house needs an overall upgrade. That was the case for this 1980s-era stucco single English manor-style house in Chestnut Hill.

While it’s an attractive structure that includes a two-car garage and a lovely gated backyard with lots of mature plantings, the home had been a rental for a while, and was a bit worn and somewhat outdated when our clients bought it in order to downsize. It had a lot of builder-grade trims and doors, as well as plain drywall throughout much of the lower level. In addition, the house, which is rather sizable at 3,000 sf, felt rather choppy and not at all as grand as it could be. Our job was to give the house character and definition, particularly throughout the first floor.

Here are the solutions we implemented on the lower level:

  • Created and applied an appealing trim, door, and panel program that created a cohesive look and feel that added interest to the walls.
  • Reorganized and upgraded the kitchen range and hood to modernize the appliances and provide better functional space. (Proportions rule! When you have the right proportions, everything feels right.)
  • We will also replace a dated brown glass tile backsplash with new simple running bond tile that has a handmade feel.
  • Installed a new vanity sink, counter, and toilet in the powder room.
  • Installed new oak flooring throughout the kitchen and powder room to blend with the existing flooring, and stained all of the floors in the house a medium-dark brown.
  • Upgraded the lighting fixtures, switches, and outlets. This includes the removal of a Gothic chandelier hanging over the kitchen island and a builder-grade “Italianate” tray ceiling with lighting, which left the whole ceiling simpler and cleaner.
  • Helped select colors and finishes that tie the various rooms together and complement the homeowners’ furnishings, including a mix of new items and things moved from their previous home.

And on the second floor:

  • Created new “his-and-hers” walk-in closets in the master bedroom. We drew up the floorplan of the room with the furniture our clients wanted to use, and then identified the logical placement of the closets. We also moved and upgraded the lighting outlets and switches so they made more sense. By adding inches to the width, a foot to the length, and installing pocket doors, we freed up floor and furnishing space, and netted our clients a walk-in closet more appropriate to a master bedroom. The previous closets, while somewhat large, were not originally laid out for the sizes needed to get the maximum hanging and storage space.
  • Helped refit the clients’ existing custom office furniture into their new office space. Again, we drew a floorpan to determine where their belongings would best fit.
  • Assisted with selecting colors, lighting fixtures, and accessories.

In the end, we didn’t move any walls (except for the master closets), and we didn’t do full renovations of the kitchen or bathrooms, but we did make this house feel a lot grander. Now, when these clients entertain or return home from their work travels, they can feel their house wrap around them with solid comfort and long-lasting style.

In the Works: Condo in the Sky Project Design

condo in the skyFor the past couple of weeks, we’ve been deep into the project design phase for our Fairmount penthouse condo project. As you may recall, our clients are downsizing into this 1960s-era condo from a handsome historic brownstone on St. James Place in Center City. They called us to manage the project and get them into their new location as quickly as possible while making good design decisions for their new home.

As with most downsizing project designs, our clients are bringing some great pieces and ideas from their prior home with them. We find that people who have owned a home and renovated in the past know a lot about what makes a house feel like home for them, so we certainly welcome those ideas. But in a case like this one, where the two homes are so very different, and the clients are in a new stage of their lives, we try to help them consider some new options, too. On our Pinterest board, you can see some fun selections we came up with after we saw the condo, along with some things we know these clients will bring with them, including a lovely collection of Russian tea services.

The condo has some very high ceilings, and the electrical runs for lighting these areas are very limited and controlled by the building rules. So we selected some lighting options with these issues in mind. Possibilities include runs of delicate pin spots of track lighting, awesome chandeliers, surface-mounted Italian fixtures, or combinations of all of these options. Designs by Parzinger came to mind, with their combinations of brass, white, and black with chrome. Some fixtures will be features, and some will be invisible, with only their effect on display.

We’re also presenting options for the following:

  • Textured tile and counters that either look like or are stone — white, black, crisp, and natural
  • Chic, new pre-finished wood floors in a warm walnut finish
  • Railings or screens for the mezzanine

During this brainstorming phase of a project design, ideas flow and move quickly. We bring samples on site and take the clients to suppliers to see materials. The “decided” list grows, and soon everything will be selected and placed into the drawings, specifications sheet, and, most importantly, the budget.

Stay tuned for updates on this project, as we hope to move to the construction phase soon.

Condo Reno: Meeting the Unique Challenges of City Projects

Condo Renovation - Unique ChallengesWe just started a new project for a repeat client, for whom we previously renovated a kitchen, dining room, and added a finished family room with full bath in the basement in a lovely 1860s Victorian rowhome on St. James Place in Philadelphia. While that location — like most city projects — presented some logistics and access challenges, we were able to work around them by parking on the street to unload equipment and materials and then moving to paid parking for the duration of the day. Because we have spent decades working on city projects, issues like these are all in a day’s work for us.

The clients’ new project home is a lovely modern Art Museum penthouse condominium featuring a stunning array of windows with spectacular views of the city. We are eager to dig our hands into this comprehensive whole-home renovation, but it does require some additional considerations in terms of planning and execution.

Clearances — We met and worked with the management team, the dock manager, and the building’s physical plant manager to gain clearances, review plans and schedules, and get the green light to begin work.

Protection — During demo, we protect the carpet in the public hallway, covering the path from the unit to the service elevator with a special plastic that protects from dirt and damage. This plastic must go down every morning and come up every afternoon — a process that takes about an hour within the allotted work hours of 8 am-4:30 pm.

Sub Considerations — The demo phase requires our electricians and plumbers to disconnect various system elements. Plumbing is especially important since any pipe broken during demolition could flood the many floors below us. Being an older building, the plumbing system requires us to shut off a whole section of the building to work on our condo’s pipes, and this is restricted to limited time periods during the day. Planning and permissions for these temporary water shut downs are quite involved and can take 2-4 weeks to execute.

Elevator Usage — In order to begin demolition, we had to secure time on the service elevator in advance, with residents moving in or out of the building getting first dibs ahead of us. The service elevators in this building are larger than some, but are small by construction materials standards at 4x5x10’. As is common in many older buildings, the elevators can go down temporarily or even stop for the day, in which case we have to use the elevator on the other side of the building and travel through more hallways.

All of this goes to say that we have to be even more organized and do more preparation than we typically do for our other city projects. The good news is it’s already paying off in how well the job site is set up for the demolition crew, as well as how neatly the debris is staged for removal. Our work space looks tidy while we wait for the elevators to become available again, then continue to remove these items to a dumpster waiting at the loading dock.

Stay tuned for photos as we make headway on this challenging project!

In the Works: Center City Trinity Gets Underway

img_4446This week, we are in the framing and rough-in phases for our Center City trinity project. Because of this home’s small, tight spaces, we are approaching the renovations a bit differently than we normally do. Typically, we like to fully complete framing before asking our subcontractors to come in to work in a particular order. However, because of the complexity of the spaces being fitted on this project, the carpenter will do some of the framing, then the plumber and electrician must fit some elements, and then the carpenter has to do more framing before the other two come back through to do yet more rough-in work. The same process will go for the HVAC work.

The image shown here illustrates some of the original character-filled waves, sags, and bumps of this historic house. Some of these will remain, while others have to be squared up and made flat, mostly due to the mechanicals and finishes that will be installed later. This customized approach is very unique to how Myers Constructs works, and, in part, it’s what makes our projects look different from the work of other remodelers — and especially different from new construction. Our projects never consist of giant drywall “boxes” inserted into old houses. We always follow the rules of proportion already in place in every old house, and we work to enhance the existing character wherever possible. We believe this approach results in making both impactful design statements and happy homeowners.