Antique Jewel Box
Published April 5, 2010 at 1:54 pmOrchard Lake, Michigan
On a gentle rise, near the north shoreline of Orchard Lake, sat a dowdy walk-out ranch. Our challenge was to expand the house and bring the elegance of the existing interior to the approach and the site as a whole.
Our clients suggested moving their kitchen into the garage and building a larger garage nearer to the street. The existing master suite could become a family room and two other bedrooms could be combined to form a spacious home office. With higher ceilings and a second floor for a new master suite and additional bedrooms, their conception was complete.
The existing house could barely be seen from the street. A large tree blocked the view.
The interior had impeccable cherry trim, beautiful, antique sconces, chandeliers and furniture.
The existing plan gives the viewer an idea of the awkward entry, hall system and small room sizes which they found confining and inadequate in the setting.
In the plans below, we began to interpret our clients’ proposals for the first and second floors…
This solution failed to resolve the key issue of the approach. In fact, the new garage would have blocked the house. To resolve these issues, we pushed the garage to the east, following the shape of the lot and creating a front courtyard…
The jewel box theme emerged from further resolution of the plan with the approach in perspective. Splitting the garage into two, we could frame the house and the new entry while providing a dramatic depth of field to the approach. Antique chandeliers are visible through second story windows, in a double-height entry hall. And sconces light the elevated, exterior loggia, behind a row of delicate columns.
The new plan and perspective sketch…
Now the entire composition could fully benefit from the lovely rolling landscape in which it is located.
