BEFORE
The Owners: The Owners of this home, an Artist and a Medical Software Developer, found the house after a lengthy search for an affordable, Mid-Century Modern home. Although it looks like it was built in 1955, this home in the older Denver suburb of Arvada was actually constructed in 1975. With a young child at home, the quiet, established neighborhood and close-by elementary school were additional deciding factors.
The House: Built over a full basement, the main floor is post and beam construction with a vaulted ceiling through-out. The ceiling is 2.5" thick, tongue-in-groove structural wood decking, on top of which the original roofing was installed. This structural decking is supported by rough-sawn wood beams that rest upon a heavy wood ridge beam in the center of the house. To the south side, the beams span over the space between the house and the garage. The exterior finish was dark brick wainscot on the ends, with wide, rough-sawn wood siding above that. The two long sides of the house were all brick, while the detached, two-car garage had brick with wood siding on all sides. On the north side, the house roof extended over a concrete porch off the living room.
The Issues: The Owners had problems with both the appearance and the floor plan of the house. As seen on the Original Floor Plan, to enter the house, you had to go through a seven-foot-wide walkway to get to the front door. Upon opening the door, you were immediately confronted with the basement stairs, referred to by the owners as "The Stairs of Death". These stairs and the ¾-height wood partition that separated them from the living room both cluttered and complicated the public space of the house. The interior was dark; the kitchen was worn and dated. On the exterior, the original design included two fixed windows on the front of the house whose top edges sloped with the roof slope, giving the house a "sad-eyed" look. The Owners also did not like the look of the wide, wavy-edged wood siding. In addition to resolving these challenges, the Artist wanted space in which she could exhibit her paintings (as well as those of her grandmother, also an accomplished artist).