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This Colonial Cottage
was built in the early 20th Century in an exclusive section of Ridgewood,
New Jersey. It had a footprint 28 feet wide by 22 feet deep (616
square feet) and consisted of a Living Room with a masonry fireplace,
an L-shaped stair to the second floor, a Dining Room, and a Kitchen.
A three season Sunporch was accessed through the Livingroom. Access
to a cellar was only available through an exterior door in the rear.
The second floor had three very small bedrooms, one with a fireplace,
and one bathroom. Bedrooms, though small, were unique and charming.
This was achieved through the use of dormers and low knee walls
on the front and rear of the residence. A small detached 2car garage
was located at the rear of the lot. This garage accented the character
with its proportional size and its sweeping roof line over a narrow
raised panel man door adjacent to two single garage doors.
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Specific details worth noting on this structure were
the exposed rafters on all of the roof overhangs. This left the
underside of the roof sheathing visible, justifying the use of the
bead board sheathing at all of the roof overhangs. The shaped rafter
tails were a nice finishing touch. In addition, unique and aesthetic
pleasing building elevations were achieved by extending the front
and rear walls up 2'-9" beyond the level of the second floor.
The gave the overall structure a taller slender appearance, which
makes it stand out against other more conventionally framed Colonial
and Cape Cod homes. In addition, the use of shed dormers with the
same open soffits details found on the primary roof structure further
enhanced the appearance. This extended second floor provided more
usable floor space than a conventional Cape Cod, but was more economical
to build than a traditional two-story Colonial.
This home was purchased by my Client in 1991 after
being vacant for almost two-years. It had fallen into a state of
disrepair. However, the purchaser had the vision to see the potential
and retained my services to plan the restoration and expansion to
serve the needs of his future Family.
The Restoration
The interior finishes, doors and hardware were replaced
or restored, depending on there condition. Electrical wiring was
removed and replaced throughout and Mechanical systems were upgraded.
The cedar shake siding was stripped and restored. Windows were replaced
and the original exterior door with its elliptical transom was restored.
The original hardwood floors were refinished. The masonry fireplaces
were serviced and the exposed brick construction was re-finished.
The Initial Expansion
The small structure with less than 1000 square feet
of living space was by no means adequate to serve the needs of a
growing family in today's society. The original floor plan was modified
as follows.
The first floor Livingroom was oversized, so it could
function fairly well in its existing form. The diningroom was enlarged
by adding a full height bay window, which added two feet of floor
space, permitting the use of a standard size Diningroom table. A
19 foot extension was added off the rear of the house that was the
full 28 foot width of the house. Eighteen feet of the 28 foot width
included a sunken Family room with a fireplace. The 10 foot by 28
foot space remaining was used to extend the Kitchen and add a Breakfast
Room, Rear Entry Foyer and Powder Room. Another bay window was included
in the new Breakfast Room that matched the Dining Room bay window.
The three season Porch was converted to be used year round and an
outdoor Terrace was construction above it which was accessed through
the Master Bedroom.
Two of the three bedrooms on the second floor were
far too small to function today. The existing bathroom on the second
floor was also too small. The existing plan configuration permitted
the conversion of the existing bathroom to a walk-in closet with
a vanity area. The two small bedrooms were split up to create larger
bathrooms. One to serve the Master Bedroom, and one to serve the
two new bedrooms located over the rear extension.
As this extension brought the structure close to the
existing 2-Car Garage, Variances were required and it was determined
that the best course of action was to apply for a varaince to connect
the Garage to the residence, and treat it as part of the primary
structure. Side yard, Rear yard, and even Front yard setback variances
were required to proceed. All Variance were approved, and the structures
were connected via a covered porch which provided shelter at the
entry points to the house and the garage.
The focal point of the design was toward the southern
side of the residence since it was located on a shallow double lot,
with a large open yard to the South. There is a very shallow rear
yard, and a side yard to the North wide enough for vehicular access.
The Southern side yard is the focal point from the interior and
rooms were designed to view this area.
A second project included further expansions and upgrades the residence. Modifications included a 1 st floor Great Room with a high ceiling and fireplace, a larger Kitchen, larger Breakfast Room, larger Dining Room, 1 st Floor Laundry Room, Mud Room, interior access to a 2-Car Garage, and a Workshop in the Garage. Cellar and Basement expansions included a storage Cellar and a Playroom. 2 nd Floor expansion included a larger Master Bedroom Suite, an isolated Guest Room with a Bath, a Billiard Room, Office, and an additional bathroom with direct access from the daughters bedroom, and Variance approvals.
On the 1 st floor, the Den was removed and a larger sunken Great Room was designed in its place with a fireplace and a stair wrapping around the fireplace which accessed the basement Playroom beneath it. The Great Room walls were all glass with transoms. A trellis projects out the front wall of the same design as the exposed rafter tails. The existing Kitchen and Breakfast Room were both extended out the North side of the residence by 4 feet, increasing their size. The form defining this projection continued as an open porch as it passed the Dining Room and wrapped around the front of the house, terminating at the beginning of the new Great Room. The rear Porch and Garage were removed and a Mud Room with a Laundry Room was added in place of the porch, being quite a bit larger than the Porch, with a storage cellar beneath it. A new larger 2-Car Garage with a Workshop was added behind the Mud/Laundry Room. An open L-shaped stair provided access to a Guest Suite above the Garage, as well as the Billiard Room and the Office. A portion of the space above the Mud Room was used for a Bathroom with direct access to an existing 2 nd floor bedroom. The balance was used for the Guest Bath and a hall. The Billiard room features a Fireplace, a wet bar, and a Balcony viewing the side yard to the South. Roof profiles were kept low to match the character of the existing construction .
Documents were prepared for significant variances on front and rear yard setbacks for primary structures. A number of presentations were required and approval was obtained.
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