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The home at 406 Happy Creek Road in the Lake Of The Woods subdivision. DesignCraft (cq) Homes worked with an architect and an interior designer to change a 1970^BENT^0027^EENT^s era "getaway" at the Orange County community into a Craftsman-style second home. (No known date.) (Photo provided by the current owner, Charlie Kimmett.) ------ three col color photos
The Lake of the Woods house has been transformed into a family vacation home in the Craftsman style.
Establishing an open floor plan was a key objective in the renovation. The kitchen was relocated and is entirely new, providing the dining area in the foreground. The bank of windows in the main living area overlooks the water.
Rather than adding downspouts to the front corners of the home, 'rain chains' were used.
An island in the kitchen provides just the right added counter space in the completely new kitchen.
The oiled bronze bathroom sink hardware was chosen
The main-level guest room (above, left) shares a full bathroom with the rest of the first floor in the portion of the home that was added. The interior color scheme extends A new addition to an older home at the Lake Of The Woods community features a guestroom and a full bathroom. DesignCraft (cq) Homes worked with an architect and an interior designer to change a 1970^BENT^0027^EENT^s era "getaway" at the Orange County community into a Craftsman-style second home. (July 26, 2011) (Robert A. Martin/The Free Lance-Star) ------ three col color photos |
BY RICHARD AMRHINE
At first, it was a getaway home
It had the necessities: a bulkheaded waterfront with a small dock, a wooded lot and a modest two-story house with a combination deck and screened porch overlooking the water.
But as owners Charley Kimmett and Jennifer Grishkin and their family began to outgrow the place, they decided that it had potential for expansion. So today, thanks to a collaborative effort involving Bill Tucker of William B. Tucker Architects, Andrea Hickman of A. Hickman Design and Dave Karfgin of DesignCraft Homes, it is a very special home away from home in a classic Craftsman design.
Kimmett said the couple saw the looming project as "intimidating," but ended up thrilled with the results.
In an email, Kimmett credited "Bill's perfectly crafted plans," "Andrea's help on every aspect of the interior [making] the finished product even better than we had hoped for," and "Dave's superb and efficient work--the project was completed in just six months."
THE ARCHITECTURE
Tucker, who is based in Fredericksburg, started the ball rolling about a year ago, providing drawings that showed how the original house could be expanded into a more efficient and family-friendly structure. It would involve a three-story addition that would extend and reorient the house.
Living space would be increased by about 50 percent, from 2,600 square feet to nearly 4,000, and the main entry moved from the side to the end facing Happy Creek Road.
To free the main living area of a load-bearing post right in the middle, steel plates were sistered to one of the existing exposed beams in the main living area. The exposed beams were a feature of the original design, and were retained for their rustic look.
"It was important to open up the space and make better use of light," said Tucker, adding that he thought the structure was a "kit house" dating to the early 1970s.
"There were only small windows facing the water, and you really couldn't appreciate where you were."
Now a wide bank of windows fills the wall that overlooks the water.
The addition required excavation to enlarge the basement and extend the foundation. Another major architectural change was lifting the roof to create dormers and add volume to the secondary bedrooms upstairs.
THE DESIGN
The close collaboration of the three was crucial in creating the Craftsman design, which unites the old and new portions of the house.
"Craftsman style means simple, square construction, not carved. It's also known as Mission style," said designer Hickman, who worked with the owners to choose the colors, moldings, flooring, exterior and interior doors, and light fixtures.
"There are eight different styles of tile in here," said Hickman, who also is based in Fredericksburg.
She said it was important to remember that this was a vacation house, not a primary residence. The Craftsman style provided the informality she wanted in the moldings, doors and cabinetry. The colors are generally neutral to make decorating easy, but they also contrast to provide visual interest.
"Limiting the colors provides a more relaxed feel," she said, "and that's what you want in a vacation home."
The island kitchen, for example, incorporates cream-colored cabinets, a beige tile backsplash, quartz countertops in a mottled granite-look brown-beige, and medium-brown paint on the small areas of exposed walls. Details down to the drawer and cabinet pulls follow the pattern of square and brown, like the oiled-bronze sink fixtures used throughout.
Given the young children scurrying about, Hickman used shoulder-high wainscoting in high-traffic areas to make fingerprint cleanup easier.
"It's a vacation house," she said. "You don't want to spend a lot of time on maintenance."
In bathrooms, Hickman employed various design tricks. She chose larger floor tiles in the more spacious master bath, and smaller ones in the secondary bathroom. In both cases she turned the tiles 45 degrees, also for visual interest.
In many instances, Hickman explained, cost considerations and low maintenance can be achieved without sacrificing design that's both relaxing and pleasing to the eye.
THE CONSTRUCTION
Builder Dave Karfgin's headquarters are just a stone's throw from the Lake of the Woods entrance on State Route 3. He has done plenty of work in Lake of the Woods, so he knows the lay of the land. Though his company, DesignCraft Homes, specializes in new-home construction, he welcomed the challenge of this remodeling project.
The big difference in working with existing structures is that there are always surprises, he said.
"We got in there and thanks to some bad flashing there was some wood rot under the fireplace that had to be ripped out," he said, adding that the chimney was beginning to separate from the house.
Thanks to the decision to replace the existing wood-burning fireplace with a vented gas model, the chimney could be removed.
Karfgin said the house got all new plumbing and wiring. The existing heating and air-conditioning system was nearly new and in good shape, but it was supplemented with a second zone for the upstairs, with the air handler installed in the attic.
Karfgin said every window in the house was replaced with a new, energy-efficient one--except those in the soaring second-story A-frame that overlooks the water. They had been installed more recently.
The entire exterior of the house was re-sided in maintenance-free brown HardiePlank. The new main-entry porch has flooring made of everlasting Brazilian walnut and uses milled cedar posts that contribute to the Craftsman look.
To avoid the clunky appearance of downspouts, "rain chains" were employed on either side of the house.
About the finished product, Kimmett says, "Although we've been in the house for weeks, we still enjoy walking through the place and taking in how dramatic and successful the renovation has been."
Richard Amrhine: 540/374-5406
Email: ramrhine@freelancestar.com
