Sometimes, a house is more than a home. According to Merriam-Webster, beyond just being “one’s place of residence”, a home can also be “the social unit formed by a family living together” and/or “a place of origin.” In the case of many Wills Company clients, these definitions can often apply to the structures that we are entrusted to restore and renovate.
One beautiful such property comes readily to mind – a 1930’s, stone, classical revival house in West Nashville. Our clients had successfully reared their children within its handsome walls. (As my grandmother used to say, “You can raise corn, but you rear children.”) Anyway, by now, this couple realized that their cherished home really wasn’t working well for them. It didn’t open up to their pool area. They didn’t have a family room for entertaining. And, although they had loved their custom, “St. Charles” kitchen with all of its metal cabinets and Formica, it was time go to! But they were concerned about making it all work together with their English sense of style and not marring their home’s architectural character.
And they were correct. A renovation that really looks and “feels right” is all to often a rarity! Have you ever been in that house with the small, original rooms in front and a Texas-sized, family room out back? Scale is important! Good design often goes unnoticed because it just flows and, again, “feels right.” Poor design can have the opposite effect. You may not know exactly why, but intrinsically, many people can just feel when something is off.
In my opinion, a well-designed remodel has to achieve at least one of the following to be successful. Either it can purposefully provide a counterpoint to the style of the existing house. (Have you ever seen a cool, glass enclosed addition to an existing, traditional style building?!) Or, a design can reflect and work within the style of the existing house – which is what we did in this instance. We added a wonderfully English style library of matching stone and connected it to the original house with a glass enclosed gallery.
The front entry and new, English style kitchen all flow readily off of this new corridor. The beauty of the rear yard is revealed, and it just feels right! Now, that is what i call a home!