Mountain Brook has so much to offer and it's really exciting to have a project opportunity there. A little while back I began doing some preliminary sketching for a couple who really wanted to do a few things like renovate their kitchen, maybe create an outdoor room on the back of the house and a few other things. This property is absolutely amazing! The back of the house has multiple terraced levels of landscaping with both lawn, hardscape & pool and is surrounded by woods. So private and exclusive. As I began the task, it was clear that it would be a fun client to work with and the result could really make a difference to the house as well as the way they would live in it. Of course, the existing house is a larger home and the clients had reservations about making it larger and holding the value of the property. They hoped to not out build the marketplace in the area. As we got further into the design it really became more about creating something special for their lives now. It didn't hurt that across the street a new contemporary home was under construction that would help increase the "comps." This particular client had had a couple other architects do some initial concepts for them and, for whatever reasons, it just never turned into a construction project. So the task was a challenge in the sense that just the right amount of work, creativity and close listening was necessary to make the project a reality. Ultimately, we found a great balance and the project was built. Carefully adding exterior space, a reasonable amount of utility functions, with an unexpected benefit of interior volume, led to a successful project.
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The basic style of the home is Dutch Tudor but the rear has an unusual shed dormer addition on the right side so it was a challenge to develop an overall new addition that blended materials and language. The brick was no longer available so a close alternate was chosen and glazes added to give the right color and sheen adjustments. The Veranda and Office perch above helped to tie the rear new and old pretty well. The entire asphalt shingle roof of the home was replaced with wood shingle. Matching the paint colors also added to a good blend. We cut out a portion of the stone surround at the front entrance and removed part of the exterior wall and added a sweeping overhang. The overhang allowed for a timber bracket support detail and the custom wood and glass entry door tied the composition together very well.
Hopefully another Mountain Brook installment will follow soon! Peace.