Renovation: Barre Upgrade From Builder Grade
Our clients built this home 15 years prior to our renovation work. It was spacious enough to serve their needs at the time as well in the future. With small children and a budget that allowed for builder grade finishes, their money was well spent in the bones of the home that could not easily be changed. For a home that was from the early 2000’s it was energy efficient and tighter than expected. Their previous builder did a good job in executing those details. This set them up for a “makeover” rather than a gut reno.
The clients old college roommate is an architect and conceptualized the renovations for them and then with our collaboration on some details and a few last minute alterations due to framing constraints of the roof, we executed the final details of the design and then the renovation. The clients moved out for the winter while we changed all the windows in the home, modified the great room, added air conditioning, and re-imagined the kitchen and dining spaces. The next summer we also renovated the back deck and added a pergola and outdoor living room space to their backyard oasis by the pool.
The kitchen was not only an aesthetic focal point it was a functional necessity. The wife owns a baking company that she needed a functional kitchen that could qualify under commercial food production inspections.
The husband had only one must have which was to have a real wood burning stove that replaced the gas fireplace that used to occupy a large feature wall in the living room. We integrated reclaimed beams and barn board into the living room and kitchen space which added warmth and character to this renovation. A new more casual dining space and island gave us the ability to remove the old formal dining room and expand the baking area as well as create a desk space for the wife to run her baking business from.
One major transformation was the addition for a front farmers porch and removal of the two story portico originally over the front door. This redirected the houses exterior curb appeal to a clean crisp Vermont mountain home. With the interior upgrades all around it sure is one of the nicest homes in central Vermont. The clients were intimately involved in choosing all the fixtures, finishes, materials and even went on a field trip to the salvage yard with us to pick out the beams and barn board for the great room. It was a massive renovation that completely transformed this home for our clients as they entered a new stage of their lives with teenagers almost off to college. It is a marvelous space for entertaining, a place for their children to bring friends to visit and entertain, and a future home base for their family.
