Blue Star Design Build reimagines a dated addition to an historic home in AU Park
“Sometimes tearing off a bad addition and completely replacing it is a better option because there aren’t as many surprises.”
Eric Goetz
| An oddly angular kitchen and family room addition was put on the back of a modest, 19th-century Italianate farmhouse in the 1970s. The tacked-on structure was rotting from years of water damage. | Wanting to preserve the contrast of old and new, Blue Star tore down the dated addition; they rebuilt it with a similar footprint and clean, modern lines to contain an all-new kitchen and family room. |
| Plexiglass windows and skylights leaked. The existing windows didn’t bring nearly enough light into the addition, and the awkward angles made the ceilings feel cramped and low. | Squaring off the new addition allowed for lofty 15-foot ceilings. Oversized windows and sliding doors create a back wall of glass, flooding the rooms with natural daylight and better connecting the new interior to the exterior deck. |
| Inside, the original kitchen and family room were in need of a stylistic facelift. Outdated cabinets and a country-kitchen backsplash depicting animals and fruit were well past their date stamp. | Expanding the addition by a modest two feet allows the kitchen layout to fit an island. Inset cabinetry, open shelving, a new luxury range and a light palette lend timeless appeal. |
Renovation Architecture, Interior Design & Contracting: Eric Goetz, Blue Star Design Build, Washington, DC.
PHOTOS: TRISH HAMILTON
