| Homeowner’s
Objective: Renovate Their Long Time Home to Make It Retirement Worthy
Remember when retiring meant buying a house on a lake a fishing
the day away? Well that was then and now, “Retirement Living”
means something completely different. Our clients are living proof.
Volunteer work and consulting have taken the place of the 9-5
job and travel and entertaining consume their “spare time”.
Therefore, a change in work-life, meant a change in home style
for this McLean couple.
Upon retiring from full times careers, our clients searched for
a new home to suit their new lifestyle. After much thought and
searching for other homes, they decided that they wanted to live
in their existing home for their retirement years. They are located
in a wonderful neighborhood on over one acre near downtown McLean.
However, they wanted to make the home, where they had raised their
two children, more conducive to their retirement lifestyle. The
homeowners wanted a larger home office for all the consulting
and volunteer work they would be doing, a first floor “get
away” space for reading or watching TV, a larger Dining
Room, Living Room, and outside deck for entertaining, an updated
kitchen, a better organized master suite and new private guest
quarters. With these new features, they could live more comfortably
and productively, while at the same time provide private guest
quarters for their children and grand children when they visit.
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Before Front Elevation.
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| After Front Elevation. |
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Before Rear Elevation.
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| After Rear Elevation. |
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| We recommended “repurposing”
their existing three bedrooms on the first level to accommodate
many of their lifestyle changes. One former child’s
bedroom was turned into the home office. The other former
bedroom was turned into a study for that “get away”
space. The existing master bedroom was larger than it
needed to be, but the bath and closet space were smaller
than they needed to be. So, we took away some of the bedroom
space and created a large walk-in closet. The bath was
also reorganized to remove an unused whirlpool tub and
install a large walk-in shower. Installing larger windows
made the former master bedroom and bath space brighter
with natural light. New cabinets and glass block completed
the updated look in the master bath. |
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Before Master Bedroom and Bath.
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Before Master Bedroom.
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Before Master Bedroom.
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Before Master Bath.
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| After Master Bedroom and Master Bath. |
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| To make the Dining Room and Living Room
larger, we added three feet onto the back of the house.
This was just enough space to create better circulation
in these living areas. The addition of coffered ceilings
and up-lighting made these spaces even more pleasant to
be in. However, to make the living space even more useful,
we added a sunroom off the dining room, to the back of
the home. The sunroom has French doors leading to a larger
deck that can accommodate a large outdoor dining table
and chairs and a sitting area. |
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Before Living Room.
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Before Living Room.
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Before Dining Room.
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| After Living Room, Dining Room, and Sunroom.
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| After Deck. |
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| The kitchen was renovated with new appliances,
cabinets, lighting and décor, but the most functional
addition to this space was the dumb waiter installed to
bring groceries and other items from the basement/garage
level to the first floor. |
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Before Kitchen.
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| After Kitchen. |
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Dumb Waiter.
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| The addition of the sunroom on the first
floor allowed for additional space below it on the basement
level. This new basement space is the perfect size for
a new guest bedroom. With full size windows, you’d
never now this space is in the basement. |
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| New Guest Bedroom. |
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| The addition of the sunroom on the first
floor allowed for additional space below it on the basement
level. This new basement space is the perfect size for
a new guest bedroom. With full size windows, you’d
never now this space is in the basement. Adding the additional
three feet in the Living Room on the first floor also
allowed for an equal expansion in the basement family
room below. This new basement space is an ideal living
and entertainment space for guests. We also changed the
ceiling lines and lighting in the basement to make the
space more inviting. |
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Before Basement Recreation Room.
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Before Basement
Recreation Room.
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| After Basement Entertainment Area. |
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| For finishing touches, we were very conscious
about how the newly renovated spaces related to the rest
of the home. In order to tie it all together, three other
elements were addressed. First, we created an entry courtyard
in the front of the home. This new courtyard establishes
a much more welcoming feel to the entryway. Secondly,
the first part of the house you experience after the front
door is the foyer. We added a coffered ceiling with up-lighting
to mimic the living room and widened the passage way from
the foyer to the Living Room. Lastly, with all the great
new or renewed spaces in this home, we had to refresh
the first floor guest bathroom. |
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Before Front Elevation.
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| After Front Elevation. |
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Before Foyer.
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| After Foyer. |
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