Preparing a 1920s residence, once used as a boarding house, for life in the 21st century.

Studio Z Architecture's clients originally planned to remodel a different home, where they had lived for several years, when this house in the Burns Park neighborhood of Ann Arbor went on the market. After Dawn Zuber, AIA, principal of Studio Z Architecture, accompanied them on a tour of the house, the clients decided that their dreams for this new house were feasible, and they purchased it and cancelled all work on their existing home.

Although their "new" home was originally built in the 1920s as a single-family residence, it had most recently been used as a boarding house, with students occupying each of the home's five bedrooms. The bathrooms had been updated in the '70s in a style inconsistent with the character of the house, and the kitchen had been remodeled in the '50s. In addition, the garage, which was original to the house, was in serious disrepair and was barely large enough to accommodate one modern car. Laundry facilities were in the basement.

In order to make their new home more appropriate for life in the twenty-first century, the new owners decided to remodel several areas. First, they decided to enlarge a nine-foot wide sunroom on the north side of the house. To accomplish this, Studio Z decided to extend the existing low-sloped hipped roof structure to the north. With an original masonry fireplace, French doors, and windows on three sides, this room became a cosy place to watch TV or play the piano, while enjoying the view of the yard. Studio Z designed a wall of built-in bookcases which extend below the windows on the west wall of this room.

The owners gutted all three bathrooms and the kitchen, installing new ceramic tile, plumbing fixtures, and cabinetry in keeping with the 1920s character of the house. They decided to enlarge the kitchen slightly by bumping out a wall adjacent to the original eating nook, which they decided to remove.

The existing living room fireplace had been covered with wood paneling. The owners were disappointed to learn that the brick firebox would have to be rebuilt, but this gave Studio Z an opportunity to design a simple mantel which blends into the newly designed bookcases next to the fireplace.

The owners demolished the existing one-car garage and constructed a new laundry room, mud room, and two-and-a-half car garage on the west side of the house. This addition contains an informal entrance to the house, with bins for the children's book bags and a built-in bench relocated from the old kitchen nook. Studio Z Architecture designed this addition to reflect the design of the existing but enlarged sunroom/family room on the north side of the house, using the same low pitched hipped roof. The contractor, Pilon Construction, was able to salvage enough bricks from the demolished garage to face the lower part of the front of the new garage as well as the enlarged sun room, thus making the new additions look like they fit in with the existing partially bricked house.

The owners' older daughter wanted to use the existing attic bedroom. After careful analysis, Studio Z Architecture recommended reinforcing the existing attic floor, which had been constructed from 2x6 lumber.

Finally, the owners decided to construct a large screened porch on the northwest corner of the existing house. Again, Studio Z Architecture designed the screened porch to fit with the existing house by using the same low-sloped hipped roof.