Family Room Addition to a Village Home- final pics

New Family Room looking toward back yard

This project was a fairly simple and small addition off the back of a historic village home, in the place of a former covered back porch, but it creates a huge change in the house for the family living there.

Like many historic homes, the kitchen is not open to the living area. While new home layouts often have a family room open to the kitchen, layouts in older homes usually have the kitchen tucked away from public, socializing spaces and in a more "service" role. This doesn't really work well for our more casual lifestyles today.

Pocket door to kitchen and Sliding glass door to Covered side porch

Standing in Kitchen looking thru pocket door

This project created a new first floor family room, connected to the back yard with a large deck and to the kitchen with a glass pocket door. This simple change expands the family's space dramatically, allowing for separate teen hangout room, entertaining space between kitchen and yard, possible guest bed space, and even, if needed someday, a first floor bedroom for an older person who can no longer climb the stairs. (The owner created a full first floor bathroom already- another element not often found in older homes.)

Deck notched around tree & connected to side porch & new room

New Window over Kitchen Sink

One "Aha" moment in the design was when I suggested a large back deck off the back of the new room. It offers outdoor living space and helps focus the room toward the large (for the middle of a village) back yard. The deck shape notches around an existing shade tree and has contemporary materials and a large size.

Ditching the idea that because it's an addition on an older home, we needed to mimic historic materials and details, was the other "Aha" moment. The new spaces have a bold color scheme and interior trim that is sleek, not fussy. The window and glass doors are decidedly contemporary in their layout/style/shape/color. The new room has a bit higher-than-standard sloped wood ceiling and recessed lights. The deck has a funky "cattle panel" wood and metal guard rail design.  All this gives it a very different, updated feel from the rest of the historic home. (The exterior woodwork does match the existing home. Siding will be painted to match in warmer weather.)

To see the earlier post about this project click here:

cwb-architect.blogspot.com/family-room-addition-to-village-home