To begin with, the existing kitchen is small. Secondly, the path from the primary entry to the remainder of the house passes through the middle of the kitchen. In addition, the range and refrigerator sit side by side with no counter space between them to use when cooking or to place items taken out of the refrigerator.
I'm currently working on a remodel and addition to a farmhouse built in 1936 in the Town of Brooklyn, south of Madison. As is common in a home of this era, rooms are small by today's standards. My clients have been gradually carrying out their long-term plan for bringing their home up to date. Twenty years ago they added a new living room and primary bedroom suite. They've also done a number of smaller projects over the years. Now they are ready to remodel and expand the original kitchen. To begin with, the existing kitchen is small. Secondly, the path from the primary entry to the remainder of the house passes through the middle of the kitchen. In addition, the range and refrigerator sit side by side with no counter space between them to use when cooking or to place items taken out of the refrigerator. The alterations will include removing a stair and the non-bearing wall between the kitchen and dining room, giving the kitchen double the space that it has now. An addition will make room for a walk-in pantry, 1/2 bath, laundry room, new primary entry with mud room and a garage. The 3D floor plan below shows the enlarged kitchen on the right side and the addition at the bottom (garage not shown). The new kitchen will be large enough to include wall ovens, a large island, coffee station and desk. Circulation from the new entry to the rest of the house will pass behind the island stools rather than through the "working" side of the kitchen. The 3D interior view below looks from the new dining room toward the door of the walk-in pantry. The new larger window above the sink faces south and will bring in lots of natural light. It's always satisfying to bring new life and functionality to an older home.
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In late September we took a two-week trip to the northern half of Italy. Needless to say, we saw more churches that you can shake a stick at. In Italy, one can't go very far without running into a church. I was less interested in the church interiors than in the many ways that stone was used as ornamentation on the facades of the buildings. The church that amazed me the most was the Duomo (cathedral) in Milan, shown above and in the following two photos below. I was so glad that our entry ticket included a visit to the top of the cathedral, where we were able to walk on the roof all the way around the building. The amount of decorative detail and number of statues is overwhelming. No wonder it took about 600 years to complete. Another famous Duomo that we visited was the one in Florence, shown in the following two photos. The photos don't really do justice to the colors of the facade, which are not painted on but are due to the different colors of marble that were used. So much intricate detail carved into the stone - so many statues. . . . The famous dome was engineered by Philippo Brunelleschi. This cathedral took less than 150 years to complete. The church in the three images below is the Cattedrale di Santa Maria Matricolare in fair Verona. One could say that it's rather plain in comparison to the two duomos in the previous photos. However, beautiful detail has been incorporated where it really matters: at the entries and capping off the roofs. The sides of the cathedral have less sculptural ornamentation but are still decorated with alternating stripes of stone. The Basilica of Saint Anastasia, in the one photo below, is also located in Verona. However most of its facade shows off the sculptural quality of brick rather than stone. I'm fascinated by all of the different textures and patterns that were created with only minimal use of color in the facade of the Duomo of Siena, below. The striped tower on the right looks like it belongs to a different building but is nonetheless beautiful to look at. Last is the Church of Saint John the Baptist in Monterosso Al Mare, one of the five towns of the Cinque Terre. Although it is a relatively modest church, I still find its striped facade, gothic entry and simple rose window to be striking.
It has been a busy summer so far. For a while it seemed that work was slowing down as I finished some projects, but then the phone started ringing again. My clients for the Richland County Farmhouse Addition project, which I wrote about in my post on March 17 of last year, were kind enough to send me some photos of their addition under construction. As exciting as it is to design new projects, it's even more fulfilling to see them come to fruition. Below are a couple of photos of the progress. The project is being general contracted by Aaron Hubbs of Hubbs Construction Inc., who is located in Wonewoc, Wisconsin. Permits are needed for almost any kind of residential construction that involves a new structure (home or outbuilding), addition or significant alterations. The number of permits needed and the time that it takes to get them (as well as the cost) can be quite significant and should be factored into the project.
A simple remodeling project may require only a building permit from the municipality, which may take a week or less to obtain. A new home on an urban or suburban lot typically also requires a zoning permit from the municipality, which may add a couple of weeks or more. However, certain factors can require more extensive permitting. Waterfront properties or properties in flood plains, rural properties, properties in special scenic areas, or sites which require a lot of land disturbance may all require additional permits. The project discussed in my last blog post - "Town of Wyoming Family Home" - is requiring an unusually large number of approvals before construction can begin. Part of the reason is that the homeowners are subdividing and rezoning their rural parcels, which are too small to comply with the current requirements for the zoning category that they are in. Other factors: the property is in a municipality which wants to maintain its rural character and is therefore careful about allowing homeowners to change zoning if it will potentially take farmland out of production. The municipality also aims to reduce the visibility of new construction. Furthermore, the property is within the scenic Lower Wisconsin Riverway. And finally, the amount of land that is being disturbed in order to build the home and the long driveway requires approval from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Here are the permits and approvals required for this project:
If the property had been adjoining a lake or river or if it had been in a floodplain, it would have needed additional approvals as part of the county zoning process. Some of these permits cannot be obtained until previous ones have been granted. For example, the county could not grant the re-zoning approval until the town had approved it. The zoning permit cannot be obtained until a sanitary permit has been granted. The town will not approve the building permit until the county zoning permit is in place. By working to obtain as many permits at the same time as possible, we should have them all in approximately 4 months from the start of the process. Without the land re-division and re-zoning, it would have taken approximately 2 to 2-1/2 months, assuming that everything went smoothly. Providing inadequate information or not meeting the permit requirements can delay the process if the applicant needs to provide additional information or if parts of the project need to be re-designed. This is particularly true for those permits which are granted by a board which only meets once a month, as the board's decision will be delayed until the following month. Processing times for permits may increase during particularly busy construction periods, such as in the spring. If the time for permits is not factored into the process, it could result in an unexpected delay to the project. Unfortunately, this can mean that construction anticipated to start in the fall may have to be delayed until the following spring, since our climate makes it difficult to start projects in December through March. This project is currently in the final design stage. Located in the rolling hills near Taliesin, it exhibits some of the characteristics of Frank Lloyd Wright's work: low slung roofs, horizontal bands of windows, nature-inspired colors, and a combination of low and soaring ceilings to shape the space within. The combined kitchen / dining area / living room is large - 45' x 23' . My clients value time spent with family and wanted a living and dining space that could accommodate up to 20 people. A light deck that runs around the perimeter of the great room provides space for uplighting and downlighting. The ceiling vaults from a height of 8' at the exterior wall to 12' at the interior wall. A built-in window seat provides additional seating and a place to view the outdoors, while a wood-burning fireplace provides a cozy spot for colder days.
Not far from the great room is a den for when my clients desire a smaller social space. The den could easily function as a fourth bedroom if desired. A wrap-around deck connects the screen porch to the primary bedroom, providing ample space for outdoor living. One of the books that I'm currently reading is "Pretty Good House: A Guide to Creating Better Homes". The title for the book came from one of the monthly get-togethers of a building science discussion group in Portland, Maine. Frustrated by the complexity and questionable impact of the requirements of many home-rating systems that have been developed to make homes healthier and more environmentally friendly (for example, Passive House and LEED), they sought to create guidelines and a framework for determining which high-performance measures are practical and which aren't worth the additional expense. The book describes it in this way: "a Pretty Good House is a house that's as small as possible; it is simple, durable and well designed; it uses wood and other plant-derived products as construction materials (preferably local); it should be insulated and air-sealed well enough that heating and cooling systems can be minimal; and, above all, it is affordable, healthy, responsible and resilient."
"Pretty Good House" explains the basics of building science in a way that is approachable for those without a background in construction, design or building science, and includes case studies showing how the principles were applied (with lots of beautiful home photos!) to both new homes and renovations. I think that the authors have done a great job of explaining the basics of a good house, including plenty of photos, illustrations and bullet points so that it's enjoyable to read. This home was designed for recent retirees who relocated from Tennessee to be closer to their children in the Madison area. The site is a former farmstead in the Town of Primrose. The original home and barn had been torn down when my clients bought the property, but some stone retaining walls and a silo remain as evidence of the site's former life. The new home is designed with vaulted ceilings in most of the rooms; large window and door groupings on the south and west overlook views of the fields and neighboring wetland. The sitting area, dining area and kitchen are combined in one large space with an asymmetrical vaulted ceiling. The sitting area is at the south end of the home, with the best views. The dining area is adjacent to a screen porch which can also be accessed from the primary bedroom. The design includes a continuous "light deck" that runs at a height of 8' above the floor on the north and east sides of the room. A wood trim band on the outside face of the light deck hadn't yet been installed when I took these photos. It will provide contrast to give the light deck a visual punch. The general contractor for this home was Meier Construction of Barneveld, Wisconsin. The bedrooms and bathrooms are also on the main level and have vaulted ceilings as well. For privacy, they are separated from the public spaces by the basement stair and the entry foyer, which serves as a link between the public and private wings of the house. The primary bedroom has its own hallway for extra privacy.
One of my recently completed projects is this new home for horse owners in the Town of Dodgeville. They have a gorgeous 10-acre property with views of woods and farmland. Building was restricted to the uphill portion of the property due to the presence of a wetland area along the south edge of the property. My clients' original plan was to build a two-story home with main living spaces on the first floor and bedrooms on the second floor. However, I demonstrated how they could use the walkout basement for living space, eliminating the cost of a second floor. My clients own horses, and they wanted to be able to keep an eye on their horses from within the house. An abundance of tall windows were used along the south side of the house so that all of the major spaces, including the great room, all three bedrooms, the screen porch and decks and the family room on the lower level, could have views of the distant wooded hills and the horses. The living area, dining area and kitchen are laid out in a triangle to create a long diagonal view. The living area and kitchen share a vaulted ceiling. The dining area is defined by windows on three sides and a lower ceiling. A wraparound deck on the south and west and a screen porch on the east take advantage of the views in three directions. The general contractor for this home was Gehin Builders of Belleville. I hope to come back next summer when the grass is grown in and it's sunny so that I can get some better exterior photos.
I had the pleasure of traveling to Portland, Oregon last week, where my husband attended a business seminar. One of my favorite sights was the Portland Japanese Garden in Washington Park. The subtle colors throughout the garden - shades of greens, browns, grays and pale yellow - produce a feeling of calm, and the quiet colors allow one to focus on the small details that add richness to the park. One thing that particularly intrigued me was the great variety of shapes, sizes and textures of ground cover and paving - chiseled stone, stone fragments, exposed-aggregate concrete, smooth rocks, sharp gravel, moss, rectangular pavers, foliage, natural rocks - and the many different ways that they were combined throughout the park. I don't know what to call the squiggly things in the picture above, but I like them! Below are additional pictures of the park that don't involve paving. Most of the views within the Japanese Garden are medium-distance views, highly curated and visually confined by hills or foliage, which helps to create a sense of serenity and introspection. However, the Mount Hood Overlook in front of the Pavilion Gallery has a stunning long-distance view of the mountains beyond Portland. There seem to be many "rustic" cabins in our beautiful rural areas of Wisconsin. Often used as hunting cabins or summer homes, these may be unheated and occasionally even without running water. I often talk to potential clients who have owned such a home for many years and then decided to fulfill their dreams of moving full-time to the country by making it a year-round home. Or perhaps they would like to be able to visit comfortably in the winter.
These cabins are often built on the cheap, with minimal or no insulation, inexpensive single pane windows, small and basic kitchens and bathrooms and compact footprints. Sometimes they are true log cabins built of solid logs. I think it's human nature to want to improve where we live. Perhaps our income has grown since we first purchased the cabin, we want more space to entertain extended family, or we're now able to work remotely. Over time our simple rustic cabin has become too basic and too small. However, it's important to know the code issues that come into play when upgrading from an unheated (or wood stove-heated) home to one that uses propane, natural gas or electricity for heat. The Wisconsin Uniform Dwelling Code states that all one- and two-family dwellings that use any amount of non-renewable energy for heat generation must comply with Chapter 322, the Energy Conservation code. Dwellings using renewable energy such as wood or solar-generated power are exempt from the requirements (although I'd argue that it's still a good idea to insulate floors, walls and ceilings for greater comfort). Some types of dwellings, such as those built with stud walls, having basements or insulated crawlspaces below the house and generous attic space above the ceiling, are relatively easy to insulate. Solid log homes, homes with a slab on grade floors or with vaulted ceilings having no attic space above, are more difficult. If you're considering purchasing a rustic cabin, it's worthwhile thinking about whether you may want to make this a full-time home in the future and about how easy it might be to bring the cabin up to code if you do. |
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