“In my business I have the constraints of both the client and the contractor lots of times. But as the owner it was so easy to change my mind back and forth all the time.” Constraints aside, Myers transformed his 1890’s historic Kensington, Maryland home into a welcoming place where he, his wife, Janine Myers, and their children have the space and freedom to roam.
As Myers’s family grew to include four children, he and his wife realized more space was needed. They’d long admired a small colonial on the street they lived on, feeling it had potential, particularly because the property’s three lots comprised about 25,000 square feet of land. When the house came up for sale, the Myers jumped on it with plans to remodel right away. “We were coming from a bigger home and just needed a lot more space.”
The biggest obstacle to the remodel would be appeasing the Kensington historical society who wanted to maintain the exterior aesthetics. The new design had to fit in with the existing structure. Since it was a historic home, “we couldn’t knock it down even if we wanted to,” says Myers. Instead, the original 1400 square foot house was completely remodeled and increased to over twice its original size. “Trying to design it in a way that didn’t look overwhelming to the original structure was a challenge.”
The remodel was a success. Myers says people are always shocked by how big the house is on the inside. “It still looks like it has the same smaller scale from the street that it always did, which is what the historical society was looking for.”
While the original foyer was kept intact, a new hallway leads to added generous rooms.
To achieve uniformity, Myers maintained the style elements of the existing house while adding square footage. “The original house was Dutch gable with shingled gables. When we were adding on the square footage we were trying to maintain the same style, and the same proportions and the same size of things.”
The original structure remained the same, but was rearranged. Myers says the inside of the house was opened up because it was “chopped up into a lot of little rooms.” Additionally, the original stairs, windows, and fireplace were saved, as well as much of the flooring.
The remodel took approximately seven months and—with the exception of a few professionals such as builder, Pete Pappas of Peak Construction—was completely finished by Myers and his wife (who handled the interior décor). As architect for the project, Myers handled the construction management. A trained carpenter who enjoys working with his hands, Myers did the trim work himself, including casing, bead board, column details, and the mudroom cubbies. Luckily, the family was able to stay in their old house until renovation of the new one was complete, as the new home before renovation was too small to accommodate a family of six. “I don’t think we could have pulled that one off,” says Myers. With just a few homes separating the two properties, Myers and family had only a short commute to both work on the house and to check on progress.
A 21st century kitchen with farmhouse style brings modern conveniences to this 1890s home.
“We were trying to end up with a bedroom for each one of our kids. So that kind of dictated what we’re trying to get.” Additionally, the Myerses wanted one bathroom to each two bedrooms, plus one for the master suite. On the first level they felt they needed a big kitchen, an open family room, and an informal living space.
The Myerses are very easygoing and wanted a place that reflected their informal lifestyle. This resulted in a fluid floorplan. “There are no dead-ends anywhere. The kids use the whole house.” To aid in that free-flowing arrangement, a rear staircase was added for easy access to the living spaces. “You really can loop through the house. The circulation really worked out great.”
Planning around the kids’ lifestyle and for their comfort was key. While there are two spaces where the children can use computers on the first floor, the inviting nook off of the dining room, which serves as a computer room and office, gets the most use. The dining room is informal and doubles as a breakfast room. The Myerses didn’t want the typical separation and formality of creating two disassociated spaces. Kid-attuned and openness are themes that run consistently and playfully through the home.
The process of entering and exiting the house was important to the family. “We have a very big mudroom and a place to put all the junk.” Individual cubbies were created for each of the children’s outerwear, backpacks, and sports equipment. Wet shoes and coats can be removed here, instead of tracking water and dirt into the house.
A new dining room adjacent to the kitchen brings added convenience, useful for the contemporary lifestyle of a busy, growing family.
Myers is content with the outcome of the remodel, feeling he’s accomplished all of his goals. However, “you can always rethink things.” He says there are an endless number of projects on the grounds for him to embark upon because of the large size. He envisions accessory buildings. As a starter, an office space will be completed above the two-car garage that was added.
As a professional who normally doesn’t have to live with the choices he makes, the architect says this project “was probably good for me to do.” Since he does so much renovation for clients, it was an eye-opener to go through the process and see how difficult it really is. “Just going in and saying ‘what kind of cabinets am I going to have,’ my god, the choices are just overwhelming.” Myers says he found it hard to make a decision and stick with it. “And usually that’s not a problem for me.”
“I think designing for yourself is really difficult. It’s just too many choices. There are so many different ways to do things,” Myers says. But when asked if he’d change anything about the results: “No, I probably really wouldn’t.”
Tanyika N. Lewis is a freelance writer and frequent contributor to ChesapeakeHome.
Contacts:
GTM Architects: gtmarchitects.com or 240-333-2000
