We designed our latest home renovation with a distinctive curved cedar siding addition and a salvaged birch tree to achieve architectural harmony with nature.
This 1940s-era Georgian revival home sits adjacent to a beautifully landscaped backyard anchored by an old Birch tree. Commonly found in older Chicago homes, the house is characterized by disconnected interior spaces and a vintage main bedroom. The unique challenge for this home renovation involved safeguarding both a cherished birch tree and a dilapidated porch appendage. Throughout the pandemic, the porch served as an impromptu home office, effectively partitioning the main living spaces from the yard.
Our clients, a couple who adore plants and their dog, approached us with their vision of creating a feeling of openness in their home. They envisioned a more expansive gathering space, a luxurious bedroom suite, and a better connection to their backyard. To meet their need for more space, we removed the back porch and designed an extension for the sunken family room to ground level. The extension features heated floors, a wood-burning stove, and a massive sliding door that opens up to the yard. The new spa bathroom with a skylight and elegant walnut millwork defines the main bedroom suite while offering views of the garden below.
Split Level Addition Floor Plan & Backyard Connection
The split-level home design has several benefits that work well with this cedar siding renovation. These include loftier 12-foot ceilings in the family room, an open layout in the main living spaces, and a bonus partial basement level for the laundry room. We maintained the original floor configuration at the front of the house to preserve the existing facade and its connection to the front. The entry, living room, kitchen, and powder room are located on the existing first floor level. From there, the ‘split’ begins.
Traditional Chicago houses often have living spaces elevated 2-6 feet above ground level. This poses challenges connecting to outdoor spaces, particularly private backyards. In place of the porch, we devised a more elegant solution by removing the porch altogether and lowering the first floor to ground level. We installed a large, energy-efficient sliding glass door, and floor-to-ceiling windows that bring in natural light and fresh air during the summer. Our clients love the feeling of being visually connected to their garden.
A peak of masonry, formerly the rear exterior wall, now appears as an interior finish. The polished concrete staircase finished with a frameless glass railing, combines the family room to the kitchen and dining spaces. The custom millwork cabinetry in the kitchen provides additional storage and bookends the dining room, creating a buffer from the cooking clatter.
Hygge Vibes: Heated Polished Concrete Floor & Wood-Burning Stove
We like radiant heat concrete floors because of their resilience, sustainability, and easy upkeep. We generally recommend these floors for high-traffic spaces and pet owners who have to tend to muddy puppy paws. Another benefit is the added warmth and efficiency without the drying effects of central heating. The new polished, heated concrete floors combine functionality and aesthetics and pair well with the Rais wood burning stove.
Just outside the patio slider, we designed an integrated firewood storage into the side of the house. The hidden firewood is easily accessible, protected from the elements, and doesn’t muck up the minimal fireplace design.
Treetop Bedroom Suite Sanctuary: Warm Walnut Tones & Tiles Like Snakeskin
The bedroom suite’s focal point is undoubtedly the bathroom, which was inspired by our clients’ stay at the Langham Hotel. A frosted glass wall separates the spacious soaking tub from the bedroom. This unique detail enables light to flow between the two areas and establishes a visual frame for the distinctive Serpentine tile. Unlike Granite or Marble, Serpentine belongs to a distinct class of stone known for its snakeskin-like appearance. The Serpentine used was extracted from the quarries in the Valle d’Aosta region of northwestern Italy. There’s a functional skylight positioned directly above the bathtub where the owners can indulge in a relaxing soak, marveling at the stars and pondering the enigmas of the cosmos. Clerestory windows located above the medicine cabinet and floating walnut vanity are placed to maximize the entry of natural light. Additionally, the frosted glass encircling the bathtub contributes to the enhancement of the room’s illumination.
Stepping out of the bathroom leads you into the dressing area with a custom-made walnut closet. This wardrobe not only stores clothes and an extensive sneaker collection but also doubles as a room divider with integrated bed nightstands. Walnut millwork creates a sense of continuity throughout the main bedroom, incorporating a bed nook and dressing room closets. New windows in both the dressing area and bedroom illuminate the room and provide garden views below—a rare, tree-house-like experience in an urban setting.
Passive Heating & Solar Panels
The building had some unusual integrated dormers that ‘popped up” on the existing” structure. To incorporate solar panels into the preserved exterior, our approach maintained the current dormer positions and reconfigured the roof slope into a single direction facing south. This strategy offers multiple benefits. including optimizing the roof for solar orientation, streamlining roof framing and structure, and creating a connection to the dormers of the traditional building form. When our clients decide to invest in a solar system, they won’t require additional infrastructure for installation apart from the system hardware.
Instead of using the same vinyl siding that already exists on the dormers, we chose glazed walls at the end of the dormers. These glazed walls highlight the dormers, adding more light and providing views to the front. This amplifies the sense of space and establishes a connection to the outdoors for anyone within the dormer-clad room.
Before Photos of Cedar Siding Home Renovation
