Sometimes, it makes sense to have an “out with the old, in with the new” approach to renovation. But sometimes, like in the case of this Ridgefield Park project, it makes more sense to modernize the space while honoring its history.
During our initial meeting with this family, they showed us the original hand-drawn blueprints of their house, which was built in the 1930s. More than 80 years later, they are only the second family to own it! Believe it or not, the original owners raised 7 children in this 3-bedroom home.
Cut forward to today: our clients’ two children (a teenage son and an elementary-school daughter) share a bedroom. The family uses the third bedroom (which is so small it couldn’t fit a full-size bed) as an office. The kids are dying for their own rooms. Houseplay to the rescue!
Existing Kids Bedroom
The house has a perfect space adjacent to the kids’ existing room where we plan to add a second bedroom on top of the TV room.
Rear Facade Before
The goals for the design for the reconfigured bedrooms are to create good built-in storage and a flow that makes sense for furniture to fit well.
Our intention is to integrate the addition into the space so it feels like it could have always been there – from both the interior and the exterior. We’ve proposed a change to the roofline to accommodate this from the outside.
We’re also renovating the family’s main bathroom, which is about 50 years old, with some minor repairs made to it in that time frame. (Cue our shock imagining the previous family of 9 sharing one shower!) Our design proposal optimizes the layout while modernizing the fixtures and finishes, maintaining a classic look and feel.
Bathroom Before
We’re happy to take part in making this home more livable for the family for many years to come!
After Photos
View the finished Project Gallery: Modernizing Space while Honoring History
New Bedroom
New Rear Facade
New Bathroom
