Whole-House Remodel $250,000 to $500,000: Desert Embrace | Bedford Corners Homes

Categories: Bedford Corners NYWestchester NY

Whole-House Remodel $250,000 to $500,000: Desert Embrace | Bedford Corners Homes

Priorities

• Improve the connection between interior rooms • Provide a better visual connection from the house to the lush landscape

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Opening up walls created a better interior flow.
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The original layout did not allow for good traffic flow.
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The fireplace in the existing living room.
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The new living room is open to the kitchen and dining rooms.
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The original kitchen was cut off from the living areas.
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The custom cabinets are made from Douglas fir.
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The original interior walls were sheetrock made to resemble adobe.
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The kitchen countertops are Caesarstone and concrete.
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The original side porch was enclosed to create a theater room.
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Architect Rob Paulus incorporated the original fireplace in to the theater room wall. The large projection screen takes up one wall.
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The original bathroom.
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The bathroom has the same clean, contemporary lines as the main living area.
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The original wood porch.
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The roof canopy is not attached to the existing building. Architect Paulus says this design makes it look like it’s levitating and makes it clear that is separate from the original structure.
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The canopy structure is made of steel and rough-hewn Douglas fir. It ties in to the new masonry and landscaping.
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A before view of the house from poolside.
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The canopy connects the home with the pool and backyard.
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The architect’s original sketch of the canopy included a round opening, but it was more cost-effective to follow the lines of the structure and make it rectangular.
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A during photo of the project shows the construction of the steel canopy frame.
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The steel and Douglas fir pieces fit together seamlessly.
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The original master bedroom (right) didn’t have a great connection to the outdoors.
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A small, side porch off the master bedroom provides a more private outdoor setting for the owner.
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The steel pieces of the canopy and the steel shade boxes for the theater room were lifted into place with a crane.
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Two steel boxes frame the windows and provide shade to the theater room.
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Architect Rob Paulus designed these steel frames to be more delicate to contrast with the strong structure of the canopy. Vines are now growing on the canopy, which connects the structure to the outdoor landscaping.
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The home is set in the foothills of Tucson.
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The original floorplan.
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The new floorplan shows the home’s connection to the outdoors. The small structure on the other side of the pool is a guest house.

Solutions

Not only was this house poorly laid out, but architect Rob Paulus describes the Spanish style as “Santa fake.” “A lot of what we did was more subtractive—taking things away and bringing it back to a simple box. From there, we opened up as much as we could,” Paulus says, by removing walls to create a better flow. Some of the sheet rock was made to resemble adobe walls, so he simplified those for a cleaner, more modern look.

The owner purchased the house because of its mature landscape and setting. He wanted the interior spaces to have a better connection to the backyard. Paulus increased the glazing on the rear wall to capture views.

The owner, a film enthusiast, also wanted a media room with a large 14-foot projection screen. The living room didn’t have enough wall space to accommodate a screen that large, so Paulus enclosed an outdoor porch and incorporated the existing outdoor fireplace.

The second phase of the project involved improving the outdoor spaces. A 20-foot by 40-foot contemporary steel and Douglas fir porch trellis shades an outdoor living space with an outdoor kitchen. It has direct access from the home theater, great room, and master bedroom.

The interior kitchen cabinets are made of Douglas fir, but a more polished and smooth version that fulfills the owner’s request for a natural element. It also provides a contrast to the rough-hewn fir used for the trellis ceiling.