Creating Extraordinary Space

Our clients wanted to update, expand and re-configure their existing kitchen, breakfast room and family room; creating a new mud room off their expanded garage bays. Upstairs, they wanted to expand their master bathroom and dressing area. Lastly, they had a very modest outdoor patio that served a single purpose, dining outside. The homeowners wanted to expand their outdoor entertaining opportunities by adding a cooking area and sitting area around an outdoor fireplace. Bowers’ design met all these needs in a comprehensive design that accentuates the home; inside and outside.

Kitchen/Breakfast Room/Family Room:
Bowers added an additional four feet to the kitchen by expanding out the back of the house. It was just enough added space to make the kitchen area more functional and gave us the ability to tie the new living spaces together. We demolished the existing family room to build a new, larger space and re-configured the interior space to make it more functional for this family. Tying these new spaces together and making the support beams of this extension blend into the coffered ceiling design was challenging. We engineered a support beam that would accommodate the load, but at the same time, could be masked and made to look more integrated in the ceiling design. The end product is beautiful.

It’s all in the Details

Master Bath and Dressing Area:
The "before" master bathroom was small and the dressing was cramped. So, we added an addition on top of the new family room/breakfast room space that could accommodate a new master bathroom; turning the old master bathroom into the renewed dressing area.

Outdoor Living Area:
Lastly, we more than tripled the outdoor space, adding a cooking area, seating area, eating area, and outdoor wood burning fireplace. Most of the new outdoor space is covered by a timber beam and metal roof. This new space has created a very pleasant outdoor setting for all the homeowner's entertaining needs.

Rough timber beams are an investment and unlike other wood, you cannot sand down a small mistake or blemish. Every cut and drill execution needs to be perfect. To heighten the challenge, we wanted to increase the beauty of the finished product by building the porch so that you cannot see any of the brackets, fasteners, wires for electrical, etc.

To camouflage the “mechanics” of this project, we carefully bore holes into the timbers and tucked wires inside, reversed large bolts and fasteners to still meet building codes, but also hide these unattractive devices. Hand-made wood plugs and panels were used to hide the holes.

The client's are very pleased with the overall design and construction of this project. The kitchen expansion exceeds their needs; the materials we used are very pleasing to the eye, the appliances state of the art, and the windows beautiful. The master bathroom is so much more pleasant, spacious and functional. Lastly, the client's are extremely pleased with the functionality and beauty of the new outdoor space. They can now cook, dine, and lounge in a covered outdoor area. They have used the space nearly daily since construction has completed and it has become a safe gathering place for their sons and their teenage friends.

All in all, what was a perfectly adequate space before has been expanded and given a renewed life with loads more functionality and an inviting look that will be enjoyed for many, many years.

Floor Plan: BEFORE

Floor Plan: AFTER