Page 90 - ArchDC Spring_2017

ArchDC Spring 2017.qxp_Spring 2017 2/22/17 2:56 PM Page 88

Dining room of the Court House. Photo © Stacy Zarin Goldberg
Foundry created a spacious screened porch that extends the
kitchen and dining areas and functionally increases the use of
the house’s small footprint with minimal cost. The screens and
their decorative steel security bars are hinged to fold back and
completely open the space to the garden.
While the renovation added only a few hundred square feet
to the original house, upstairs the original layout of two bedrooms
and one bath was expanded to three bedrooms and two baths by
building above the new ground-floor porch. The rear wall of the
back bedroom has been pulled out with a contemporary take on
a bay window to provide more light and views and add a bit of
additional space. Drawing in natural light above the stair is a
large skylight and right next to that is a clerestory window
extending up through the roofline. Equipped with a fan, the
motorized clerestory can be opened to pull in breezes and
provide ventilation throughout the house.
Downstairs, the porcelain tile of the walkway and steps
leading from the street to the house continues in an uninterrupted
flow into the entry court dining area, through the downstairs
living spaces, and out onto the screened porch. The kitchen is
equipped with budget-friendly Ikea cabinets with custom fronts
crafted by a local millworker. The interior reflects O’Brien’s
preference for a contemporary black-and-white palette.
“If I do another project, it will definitely be with Foundry,”
said the homeowner. “First of all, they listened, and they have a
great eye for style. They definitely designed for function, but
form was never far behind.”

88 MAKING ROOM Upstairs landing of the Court House. Photo © Stacy Zarin Goldberg