BEFORE.
The challenge of working from home during the pandemic motivated a couple’s desire for more space. However, their 1924 dwelling in a historic Chevy Chase, Maryland, neighborhood made an addition problematic. After consulting Gilday Renovations, they turned their attention to a rarely used back porch. “By converting the porch into a room and incorporating part of an adjacent bathroom, we were able to create a brightly lit home office and an improved half-bath,” explains principal Kevin Gilday, who collaborated with colleague and interior designer Leslie Roosevelt on the project.
To capture space for the office, the team demolished a wall between the porch and the interior; this allowed them to reconfigure the area where porch and bath converged. The full bath became a half-bath and an adjacent laundry closet was removed. “The reconfiguration improved overall flow in the back corner of the house,” Gilday relates.
In the new office, a row of Pella windows keeps the room bright. A built-in desk tucks into a niche opposite recessed shelving. Botanical wallpaper in a William Morris pattern embellishes the powder room above white wainscot. A low roofline made installing a full-size outer door impossible; Gilday solved the problem by positioning the door deeper under the sloped porch ceiling.
Award: Finalist for Residential Historical Renovation/Restoration under $250,000. Renovation Design, Interiors & Construction: Gilday Renovations, Silver Spring, Maryland.