Dear Liam & Luca

The defining boundaries of the entry foyer should be freed up in order to improve the overall flow between the living spaces and connection from floor to floor. Removing the hovering header walls at the foyer will transform this transitional space from a formal foyer into a spatial one, which will architecturally connect the front and rear half of the living floor into one unified living space. This connection is then architecturally enhanced through the continuity of the herringbone floor, together with the perfectly straight line of ceiling down lights running the entire length of the house in equal spacing.

The family room downstairs must be integrated into the rest of the house. The opaque wall and paneled door to down stairs must be freed up for a larger stair landing and most importantly, create a needed open view to the down stairs. The luminosity of the natural light, the accent from the artificial lighting, the finish materials of the guardrail wall, the detailing of the hand rail, and the volume of the space, must be well balanced and stubbornly threaded through every inch of this space in order to maximize the fluidity of this critical transition.

The winder steps by the entry landing are reframed for a more comfortable stair sequence by the use of a wider landing. While preserving the original framing of the stairway, a new plastered guardrail wall is constructed in order to achieve a sculptural form that continues from top to bottom of the entire stairway. The inside of the stairway is cladded with color stained wood veneer panels with integrated hand rail design. The artificial lighting accents the handrail profile that leads the eyes to the family room downstairs. The faceted geometry of the outer guardrail wall is a solution to resolve the previous stepped handrail, all made possible by 3d modeling software and the carpenter’s effort. The edges are mitered, planed, cut and shaved, it is truly a creative piece that is important to this space. Daylight during the day carves this stairway into a glacier-like sculpture, while the Glowing LED lighting illuminates this artifact into a unique light source after the sunset. The preserved stair treads are refinished to match the main wood floor, the painted white riser boards marks the rhythm for the entire stair sequence.

Together, this architectural intervention transforms this formally 2 story house into a 3 storied home that is seamlessly integrated.

The kitchen begs to be seen by removing the center bearing wall. The rear half of the house can be transformed into a 30’ wide seamless entertaining space consists of a spacious dining room and an open kitchen on the opposite end. This space is further enhanced by the 11ft. wide obstruction free picture window to frame the panoramic view beyond. The gained space between the dining and kitchen can be used as play area for kids during the cooking hours, or a secondary low seating area, or just a space to mingle for the guests. The bay projection becomes a perfect space for a small coffee table for the morning, or a tall vase for accent with a recessed spot light positioned just for it.

The side windows on both side setback should be taken advantage of. The gridded windows are replaced with double pane casement with retractable screen to provide adequate light and ventilation. A 10’ wide opening is carved out of the backsplash that frames the greens from the side yard, the slab from the carved portion becomes the island top. The veins of the arabascato marble stone is carefully placed to continue the profile of the branches beyond. The top of the windows is a datum set for all of the windows through out this floor, which is another attempt to architectural unify all the living spaces.

We must provide a thorough storage solution in order to maintain the minimalist vision for this entertaining space. By sacrificing 2’ in length, we were able to create a band of full cabinets that house the fully integrated refrigerator, floor to ceiling cabinets, and a 4’x8’ hidden walk-in pantry where small appliances can be stored away from view. No expense was spare on the natural walnut wood veneer finish panels composed of individual planks in various cuts, finished in a granite gray stain and matte coating. The taupe hue from the walnut echoes the tone of the floor while complimenting the blues from the arabascato marble.

The thickness of the counter top makes a signature statement that is truly original to this house. Starting with the vision of having a fully frameless backsplash window, thickness of the exterior wall will be noticed after wrapping the marble stone into it. This architectural thickness inspired the ambition of creating a 3” thick counter top that matched well with the heavier color tone of the wood cabinet panels. This 3” width inspired the selection of the telescopic hood with a 3” top, which should be installed 3” away from the backsplash. We then introduced a custom recessed finger pull that architecturally elevates this thickened counter top above the base cabinets. This rigor is important to the design of this kitchen.

The last design articulation introduced to this floor is the architectural treatment of the wall at the entry space. Once the header walls are removed, this wall has an even substantial stance in space. This wall is not only the point of focus at the arrival but also from the stairway coming down from the rooms. A venetian hand troweled plaster finish is applied on this wall to accentuate its presence in this light filled volume. This wall should become a backdrop for a family photo, or a sign, or a message, or a symbolic piece to the family living in this home.

As the stairway threads its way into the family room at the lower floor, having adequate window openings to let light in is key. This lower level should be an extension of the living space, the quantity of natural daylight must be extended to this lower floor. The 6’ wide vinyl sliding door system was replaced by a 12’ wide wood frame glass sliding door system. The bookshelves on the West is removed to make way for a 6’ wide picture window to register the presence of the familiar greens. The built-in seating arrangement is introduced, then elevated to create storage opportunities for toys. The former door to bathroom is patched to maximize wall space for a large television, a feature that any family room cannot ignore.

Continuing the sequence to the top of the stairs, the volume above the stairway deserves attention. The spiraling core of the house is the perceived nest for this home, registered with glowing birds hovering above its nest. Since this is a space that one interacts with on a daily basis, this becomes the heartbeat of the home. It needs to be symbolic to the occupants.

The set up of the master suite questions the usability of the square footage. At the length of 18’-10”, the closet is undersized and the master bathroom can barely pass for a full bath. If a king size bed only takes up a third of this room, the remaining square footages are under utilized and overvalued. By allocating 3’-6” of length out of the master bedroom, a walk through closet set up is made possible with full height closet system on both sides, which triples the amount of closet spaces compare to the original configuration. On the opposite side, a 7’ long walk-in shower can be created, along with a double vanity sink, becoming a well suited master bath. Furthering the architectural detailing for the this bathroom, we purposely furred up the floor just to achieve a ceiling height that fits two large format porcelain tiles perfectly with one horizontal joint line. It needs to be perfect. The custom master bed set is offset to make the existing window on the East fit with the scheme, and the space created from this offset creates an opportunity for a crib, or a comfortable lounge chair.

the rear facing rooms are kept as rooms, with upgrades to clear view picture windows. The panoramic picture window in the guest room is sized to align with the window in the dining room below, and the glass sliding door system at the family room. The alignment is critical, it has to be perfect. The picture frame window in the other room threads the view into the interior, and the side windows bring the greens into the kids room.

Every home is a unique canvas that requires the designer’s focused attention to carefully draw responses to each and every condition. The design process is a deep investigation in resolving conflicting conditions within the existing configuration, and more importantly, to uncover the hidden potentials of the house through architectural interventions. The stairway is undoubtedly the center piece of this house but it needs to become the core of the house that every part and every occupant evolves around. Again, the heartbeat of the building, the nest of the home. Blowing out a wall should not be our default strategy but an intervention that needs to be evaluated and considered. Every space should be thought out based on how i would use the space and how one would better use the space. Instead of designing the kitchen, design a space for the kitchen that incorporates lighting, proportions, functionality, materiality and architecture to make it special.

The other lesson is to recognize the original character of the building. Putting the same wide plank floor off of a catalogue in a house dated back to 1912 is not the right mindset to have in the improvement scheme. I need to bring a higher level of desire and inspiration to the design approach. I want to bring clean lines through the use of stepped baseboard moldings that matches the existing trims. I want a modern interior that works with framework from 1912 that flows like an open floor plan while preserving their individual space. i want a modern stairway without the use of glass rails or open tread stair design. I want a modern bathroom with retro style fixtures next to the original gridded window. i want to offset the bed frame to marry the existing window into the head board design. I want to create a material palette that works with hue and texture of the original herringbone floor.