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Living room.

Can a renovation make the main part of a house seem bigger The scheme opened up the first floor, turning it into a single
while actually making it smaller? space with clear sightlines, and reorganized it by swapping the
That seeming feat of magic is what KUBE architecture locations of the kitchen and dining room. The kitchen, which
accomplished with Balance House, a project that renovated was previously toward the rear, is now in the middle, adjacent to
a 1912-built row house in Washington’s Mount Pleasant both the living and dining spaces, while the dining room, which
neighborhood. Janet Bloomberg, FAIA, a firm partner and was previously in the middle—cut off from the house’s front
founder, was the project’s partner-in-charge and lead designer, and back windows—is now at the rear, where it receives ample
while Andrew Baldwin, a firm design associate, was the daylight from a sliding window wall that also provides access to
project designer. a back yard designed to serve as an extension of the living space.
The clients, a professional couple, asked for a modern The design for the second floor reduced the size of the
residence that would accommodate their passion for bicycling middle bedroom, which was larger than it needed to be, and
and yoga—activities that incorporate the concept of balance. The used the freed-up space to add a second full bathroom to
program also called for maintaining the existing house’s total that floor. As a result, the master bedroom now has its own
of three bedrooms—a master bedroom, a second bedroom for bathroom, making it a proper master suite, while the two other
their daughter, and a third for guests or a future second child— bedrooms have their own bathroom.
as well as adding an office/studio space, a second upstairs And here’s where the magic comes in: KUBE’s design
bathroom, and a bicycle workout and storage area. makes these changes while actually reducing the sizes of the
“They wanted a warm but minimal house, somewhat first and second floors. The design shortens the length of the
Scandinavian in feel,” Bloomberg said. “They also wanted the first floor in the back by 10 feet while filling in a small dog-leg
house to feel welcoming and comfortable—and livable. They space on one side, resulting in a net reduction of 50 square feet.
didn’t want to live in a museum.” But the result is a space that meets the owners’ needs—and
KUBE responded with a design that reworked the house’s actually reads larger than it did before because of its open plan,
two main levels, finished out the basement, and added a new clear sightlines, and visual extension into the back yard. The
third-floor office/studio. second floor, meanwhile, was shortened in the back by four feet,
reducing its size by 55 square feet. But because it was shortened

STRIKING THE RIGHT BALANCE 43