Proposed redesign, exterior view from Northwest
Beginning the Upper Valley addition & renovation project
Kismet comes in unexpected ways. Sometimes it lies in wait in plain sight. Late last winter, a couple hired us to design a modern-spirited set of renovations and additions for a home bought earlier the year before. The home was a plain 1960s era single-level ranch with great bones and potential for creative design. It lay next to his working beef farm in the hills of Vermont’s Upper Valley in a spectacular sprawling meadow.
View of farm across the meadow.
He had his beautiful farm and property designated decades ago as a Vermont Land Trust property. He did this to keep it open and undeveloped in perpetuity. Set on a gentle hill, both properties had gorgeous wide-open meadow and pasture views of mountains beyond framed by groves of trees.
View of the single level home from the road.
She is a higher-education executive in the student travel sector, he a long-time farmer. They wanted our creative services and design ideas to help them transform this single-level ranch into a modern-spirited home to age in place.
He wanted to leave the big house at the farm for their adult children and their families to use when visiting, as well as others to use. He and his partner would live in this renovated house. That way, they would be close by to enjoy them while he worked and managed the farm, and she worked at her college, both in-person and remote from a new home office.
They excitedly invited us to visit last March right before Spring thaw. So, we drove down from Montpelier to meet them to learn about their design goals and begin the process. We were also excited to see the house to measure key details for later 3d model development and our creative architectural design work to come.
They enthusiastically showed us the living areas, entry, and garage, all mostly untouched from the 1960s. We saw bright turquoise shag wall-to-wall rugs in one room. Wild wallpaper and kitschy kitchen cabinets greeted us in the kitchen. Frankly, we saw lots of tired surfaces, leaky old windows, and doors, but the bones were in great shape.
By close inspection, the home’s conventional construction made it easier rather than harder to design a series of renovation and addition projects to make this plain home shine for generations to come. After an extended conversation and other follow-up interactive video calls, we designed the following together with them.
The Design Brief
Over coffee, they explained they wanted to create an open and flexible living space rather than the cut-up floor plan they had now. To do this, we needed to move the basement stair to the rear towards the meadow side of the house, which separated the kitchen and dining area from the living room. By doing this, we could open the space to create one large great room. The new stair would be open and act as an anchor for the new flexible living spaces.
They also sought a more effective and elegant entrance between the garage and the house, while removing the former front door which awkwardly entered by the dining area next to the kitchen. Inside this area, they also asked we design more effective coat storage and a nicer entry into the now more open kitchen-dining and living area. They also wanted us to redesign the kitchen workspace better to their liking and to align with the open dining and living area.
To enhance livability, they wanted a larger master-bedroom suite wing addition with a deck and an outside hot tub. The hot tub was important as it is a place to relax after a long day of very physical farm work. Tying together the master-bedroom wing addition and the rear of the house, they wanted a large deck for entertaining that opened to their backyard and its meadow views.
The Plan
Proposed Floor Plan
The project also includes upgrading the existing exterior with new insulation and replacing the original siding with new dark grey stained wood clapboard along with new upgraded windows. The new gabled entry porch between the garage and the house redefines the front of the house, creating a welcoming focal point missing from the original single-level ranch. It reaches out to the yard and nearby public road with an elegantly modern appearance.
The new entry connects the garage, the rear yard, and interior of the main house with a renovated fully-insulated interior with updated finishes, lighting, and reconfigured stairway. All of this cleans up what was a formerly awkward underutilized breezeway area. Large closets bracket the house internal entry door which leads into kitchen and great room area.
Open plan redesign
By removing removing interior walls and relocating the basement stair the interior really opens up into a large flexible living, kitchen, and dining area. Diagonal views to the stunning eastern farm meadow abound helped by floor to ceiling modern windows and a transom window roof popup. The basement stair, now set against the eastern wall occupies the edge of the open area acting as the visual anchor tying the open space together.
Exterior Elevations
The following proposed elevation show the changes to the exterior. Updating the siding and windows to casements, awnings, and polygon fixed windows removes all vestiges of the 1960’s single-level ranch house behind. The main entry with its exposed crisply detailed timber frame custom front door, cable railings, and modern lighting fixtures all work together with the updated crisp lines of the new garage doors.
Proposed West Elevation
The north elevation shows the master bedroom addition of the end of the house with a meadow facing porch and hot-tub. Large windows frame the farm view from inside the bedroom. The new addition tastefully blends into the existing house and its rooflines.
Proposed North Elevation
The east elevation reveals the side of the home that opens up to the views to the eastern meadow and views beyond. It is also the center of backyard entertaining and family fun. The new addition is cloaked in dark metal corrugated siding contrasting with the warm gray color of the new horizontal siding on the majority of the house and garage.
Proposed East Elevation
The southern elevation shows more detail of the side of new main entry on the left and how the master-bedroom addition, porches, and living area transom roof pop-up all work together. Replacing the double-hung windows with simple casements complete the modern transformation of the exterior.
Proposed South Elevation
Exterior Views
Southwestern proposed view
This view shows the complete transformation of the road side of the home with the modern update to the windows, siding, new garage doors, and reconfigured main entry. The new gracious porch reaches out welcoming visitors hinting at the open and airy interior that awaits just inside.
Eastern proposed view
The back side of the home opens up with the transom window shed roof over the now opened up flexible living area. The master bedroom addition embraces a large expansive deck with a private yet area enclosed by spare cable railings and punctuated by a hot-tub to the right. The goal is to create a true flow of indoor and outdoor spaces that opens out to spectacular meadow views, great for large or small family events or entertaining.
View from connector hallway door towards the Northeast.
This visualization does not do justice to the agrarian views that abound of meadow and mountain. It does however show flexibility and simplicity of the how the spaces flow together.
Interior views
View from entry looking across the open area
View from kitchen looking across into the living area and new stair.
Master bedroom view to the east.
View looking back towards the closet and bathroom wall where the bed nestles against.
A large picture window frames the view of the nearby farm and its landscape.
View of window wall facing east and open airy modern living area.
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Arocordis Design, a custom home architect and planner, has served Vermont families since 2010. We provide licensed architectural services throughout Central Vermont, including Waterbury, Stowe, Montpelier, Calais and beyond. We also serve the Burke, St. Johnsbury, White River Junction, Tunbridge, and the Woodstock regions. We specialize in modern-inspired home design that connects to Vermont’s past while providing a creative climate positive vision for the future.