Launch Slideshow

Architect Amy Gardner spoke with the clients about the Asian roots of the bungalow, which helped inform the design of this 1920's home. Sustainable, recycled, and reclaimed materials, as well as lighting and HVAC strategies have a significant role in the second life of this house.

A Great Transition

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A Great Transition

  • Architect Amy Gardner spoke with the clients about the Asian roots of the bungalow, which helped inform the design of this 1920's home. Sustainable, recycled, and reclaimed materials, as well as lighting and HVAC strategies have a significant role in the second life of this house.

    http://www.remodeling.hw.net/Images/tmp2959%2Etmp_tcm17-202481.jpg

    Architect Amy Gardner spoke with the clients about the Asian roots of the bungalow, which helped inform the design of this 1920's home. Sustainable, recycled, and reclaimed materials, as well as lighting and HVAC strategies have a significant role in the second life of this house.

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    Celia Pearson

    Architect Amy Gardner spoke with the clients about the Asian roots of the bungalow, which helped inform the design of this 1920's home. Sustainable, recycled, and reclaimed materials, as well as lighting and HVAC strategies have a significant role in the second life of this house.

  • Before: The clients wanted to keep the same small, cozy feel of their 1920s-era bungalow.

    http://www.remodeling.hw.net/Images/tmp2960%2Etmp_tcm17-202530.jpg

    Before: The clients wanted to keep the same small, cozy feel of their 1920s-era bungalow.

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    courtesy of Amy Gardner

    Before: The clients wanted to keep the same small, cozy feel of their 1920s-era bungalow.

  • All over the home, existing trim was salvaged or replaced where necessary; existing doors rehabilitated, and existing floors were refurbished and refinished.

    http://www.remodeling.hw.net/Images/tmp295C%2Etmp_tcm17-202502.jpg

    All over the home, existing trim was salvaged or replaced where necessary; existing doors rehabilitated, and existing floors were refurbished and refinished.

    600

    Celia Pearson

    All over the home, existing trim was salvaged or replaced where necessary; existing doors rehabilitated, and existing floors were refurbished and refinished.

  • The living room, before.

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    The living room, before.

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    courtesy of Amy Gardner

    The living room, before.

  • The living room during renovation. The second floor, which had been an oddly congifured inefficent attic, was removed.

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    The living room during renovation. The second floor, which had been an oddly congifured inefficent attic, was removed.

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    courtesy of Amy Gardner

    The living room during renovation. The second floor, which had been an oddly configured inefficient attic, was removed.

  • http://www.remodeling.hw.net/Images/tmp295D%2Etmp_tcm17-202509.jpg

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  • Visible from the living and dinig rooms, the stair and inglenook are finished with a rich wood palette of open knot cherry and oak. Hidden cabinets underneath the stair have doors that match the pantry cabinets across the space: open-knot cherry, in this case glazed with translucent resin with an interlayer of pressed ferns. Stair materials include ebonized oak treads, orbital-sanded copper-face risers, and oak balusters with steel channels in the edges.

    http://www.remodeling.hw.net/Images/tmp295E%2Etmp_tcm17-202516.jpg

    Visible from the living and dinig rooms, the stair and inglenook are finished with a rich wood palette of open knot cherry and oak. Hidden cabinets underneath the stair have doors that match the pantry cabinets across the space: open-knot cherry, in this case glazed with translucent resin with an interlayer of pressed ferns. Stair materials include ebonized oak treads, orbital-sanded copper-face risers, and oak balusters with steel channels in the edges.

    600

    Celia Pearson

    Visible from the living and dining rooms, the stair and inglenook are finished with a rich wood palette of open knot cherry and oak. Hidden cabinets underneath the stair have doors that match the pantry cabinets across the space: open-knot cherry glazed with translucent resin with an interlayer of pressed ferns. Stair materials include ebonized oak treads, orbital-sanded copper-face risers, and oak balusters with steel channels in the edges.

  • The pantry area, with open knot cherry cabinets, is a good transition from the original front of the home to the new back addition.

    http://www.remodeling.hw.net/Images/tmp2954%2Etmp_tcm17-202446.jpg

    The pantry area, with open knot cherry cabinets, is a good transition from the original front of the home to the new back addition.

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    Celia Pearson

    The pantry area, with open knot cherry cabinets, is a good transition from the original front of the home to the new back addition.

  • The clients wanted to keep the intimate feel of their bungalow but still have a lot of space for entertaining. Easy garden access brings in light and makes adjacent rooms feel spacious.

    http://www.remodeling.hw.net/Images/tmp295A%2Etmp_tcm17-202488.jpg

    The clients wanted to keep the intimate feel of their bungalow but still have a lot of space for entertaining. Easy garden access brings in light and makes adjacent rooms feel spacious.

    600

    Celia Pearson

    The clients wanted to keep the intimate feel of their bungalow but still have a lot of space for entertaining. Easy garden access brings in light and makes adjacent rooms feel spacious.

  • The original kitchen didn't take advantage of the back yard in ways the new kitchen does.

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    The original kitchen didn't take advantage of the back yard in ways the new kitchen does.

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    The original kitchen didn't take advantage of the back yard in ways the new kitchen does.

  • The kitchen includes: Premier cabinets; fittings by Kohler and KWC; a Gaggenau oven and range; and a SubZero refrigerator.

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    The kitchen includes: Premier cabinets; fittings by Kohler and KWC; a Gaggenau oven and range; and a SubZero refrigerator.

    600

    Celia Pearson

    The kitchen includes: Premier cabinets; fittings by Kohler and KWC; a Gaggenau oven and range; and a SubZero refrigerator.

  • In the kitchen, Premier cabinets hide the microwave oven.

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    In the kitchen, Premier cabinets hide the microwave oven.

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    Celia Pearson

    Premier cabinets hide the microwave oven.

  • Open to the kitchen, the new "garden living room" helps connect the home with the outdoors. Rooms on the garden have ten-foot-tall sliding doors, designed to be reminiscent of shoji screens

    http://www.remodeling.hw.net/Images/tmp2953%2Etmp_tcm17-202439.jpg

    Open to the kitchen, the new "garden living room" helps connect the home with the outdoors. Rooms on the garden have ten-foot-tall sliding doors, designed to be reminiscent of shoji screens

    600

    Celia Pearson

    Open to the kitchen, the new "garden living room" helps connect the home with the outdoors. Rooms on the garden have ten-foot-tall sliding doors, designed to be reminiscent of shoji screens

  • The sitting room off the master bedroom

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    The sitting room off the master bedroom

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    Celia Pearson

    The sitting room off the master bedroom

  • The master bath contiunes the Asian theme developed throughout.

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    The master bath contiunes the Asian theme developed throughout.

    600

    Celia Pearson

    The master bath continues the Asian theme developed throughout.

  • Back of the house, before. The remodel improved the yard and made it more accessible to the interior.

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    Back of the house, before. The remodel improved the yard and made it more accessible to the interior.

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    courtesy of Amy Gardner

    Back of the house, before. The remodel improved the yard and made it more accessible to the interior.

  • In the back, carefully planned overhangs and skylights illuminate spaces, yet shade rooms from direct sunligiht.

    http://www.remodeling.hw.net/Images/tmp2955%2Etmp_tcm17-202453.jpg

    In the back, carefully planned overhangs and skylights illuminate spaces, yet shade rooms from direct sunligiht.

    600

    Celia Pearson

    In the back, carefully planned overhangs and skylights illuminate spaces, yet shade rooms from direct sunligiht.

Location: Bethesda, Md.
Contractor: Jeff Fiehler, RHK Construction, Rockville, Md.
Designer: Amy E. Gardner, AIA, LEED-AP, Gardner Mohr Architects, Chevy Chase, Md.
Kitchen designer: Jennifer Gilmer, Jennifer Gilmer Kitchen & Bath, Chevy Chase
Landscape designer: Tom Jasick, Quarry Aquatics, Centreville, Va.

The owners’ goal for this 1928 bungalow was to maintain its intimate, cozy feel while providing space for entertaining.

The house was in rough shape. Razing it was not an option because of zoning restrictions. Architect Amy E. Gardner kept the existing first-floor 1,400-square-foot footprint and rebuilt the second floor, popping the roof, which added extra habitable space. She then designed a two-story addition — a guest suite with a private entrance — for the back.

“[The clients and I] talked about the Asian roots of the bungalow style,” Gardner says. “As you move from the front to the back garden it becomes a reflection of Asian alliances. You don’t notice as it happens, yet you get to the back of the house and realize it’s different from the front. It’s an experience of blending rather than contrast.” Rafter outriggers, which were structurally necessary, were installed on the front porch. They provide an Asian feel and hint at what’s to come on the garden side.

The judges noted the “good transition between indoors and outdoors” and the “nice details appropriate for the style of the house.” The gestures the architect made are “the right scale and are simply detailed,” they said.

Although the owners didn’t have specific sustainability goals, the home has many green features: reclaimed oak floors, recycled roof materials, and an efficient HVAC strategy. The home’s orientation and reshaped eaves’ overhang address solar gain.

--Stacey Freed, senior editor, REMODELING.