What a wonderful experience it was to bring out this beautiful, old Art-Deco house from underneath layers and layers of bad taste.

It was love at first sight. Although the house showed little of her Art-Deco beauty, due to years of careless renovations and sloppy adjustments, it was pretty clear to the new owner and to us this could become a gorgeous gem all over again. There wasn’t much left that recalled the original Art-Deco architecture. We stripped her of the accumulated layers tasteless floral wallpaper and brought her back to her pure, nude shapes. She was modernized, her spaces were once again brought to their crisp, clean and legible state.

kitchen, with view of the garden and the pool

And there she was again; fresh, clear and rejuvenated. The monochromatic furnishing enhances the spaciousness of the house. Today, in all her pureness she leans more towards the purety of Bauhaus than Art-Deco architecture. We respected her original spatial organization as much as possible. She has gained a 21st century kitchen: a large open family kitchen across the full width of the house. The special relation between the kitchen and the adjacent dining room on one side, the garden on the other side are amplified.

The project also included a new swimming pool with poolhouse and terrace at the back of the house.    The positioning of the pool and poolhouse required an act of balance. Challenges included: Respecting the monumentality of the existing house Respecting the proximity of the delicate and monumental cedar and protecting it during construction. The difference in level between the garden and low-lying house. The orientation of the garden, being situated north of the house The privacy in respect of the driveway and the street The connection to existing living areas The urban complexity of the site.   The renewed garden is a collaboration with Groener. The interrupted hedges are alternated with native wildflower meadows.

private house

2015-2016

total renovation

added pool and poolhouse