Our team at Dover was honored by NARI with a 2018 Contractor of the Year (CotY) Award: Second Place, Interior Renovation ($100,001-$250,000), for a garage-space-turned-living-space home transformation. For the next few weeks, designer and guest blogger Amy Tilow will take you on a behind-the-scenes tour of this award-winning project. Enjoy the fabulous design and the beautiful finishes!
BLOG #1 of 3 IN A SERIES:
CotY Award Entry: Residential Interior: $100,001 – $250,000
Adding living space—without a home addition
Often when we look to create more living space in our homes, we immediately think the way to go is to add an addition. But in some cases, gaining extra space can be achieved by simply reconfiguring the home’s existing layout and working within its original footprint.
This CotY-award winning project is one such example. The homeowner called Dover Home Remodelers to put an addition on her 1963 split-level home. Her design vision was to relocate the laundry room and expand the kitchen. The diagram below shows the original floorplan.
After the initial walkthrough, and considering the homeowner’s design goals, we suggested that rather than add on, we re-purpose an underused garage bay to create a spacious kitchen with fabulous function and flow—as well as add a full-size laundry room. This solution was not only more cost-efficient than adding on new square footage, it offered a bonus: The homeowner would get the interior space she wanted while maintaining her two-car garage.
Here is the new design layout:
The homeowner was excited about our unique approach to her renovation project—and she was even more thrilled with the results. The new space checked all the boxes, including a beautiful, spacious kitchen with loads of added storage and a totally updated, sophisticated look – all in the former garage space and old laundry room.
- A double-sided fireplace that can be enjoyed from the kitchen and family room
- A lovely laundry room with quartz counters and a farmhouse sink
- A new mudroom and storage closets
- A new half-bath
By using these old spaces in a new way, we were able to create a large kitchen complete with a nine-foot island and a view of the lake in the front yard—no addition required!
BEFORE
AFTER
In my next blog, I’ll dive into the design elements – including a few challenges – and share some great before, during and after project photos.
Amy Tilow
