hecht scherding architects, belmont, mass
From the front, this suburban Boston remodel doesn’t appear too different from its “before” photographs. But a peek inside reveals its dramatic transformation from a two-bedroom, 1,700-square-foot-cottage to a four-bedroom, 3,700-square-foot house. Architect Tom Hecht sliced off the home’s low-ceilinged second floor and swapped it for one with more headroom. He also altered the back of the house, expanding the kitchen and dining area and adding a new family room.
The project works because Hecht kept the comfortable scale of the old house intact. “It was important to the client that the house not feel overwhelming,” he says. “So none of the new spaces are gigantic.” The woman of the house, an ecologist, asked that the house indulge her love of nature, so Hecht devised a greenhouse just off the living room and an interior palette accented with greens and earth tones. “This a true remodel,” said one judge.
project architect: Thomas Hecht, AIA, Hecht Scherding Architects
general contractor: David Bardes, Paris Building Group, Boston
project size: 3,700 square feet
site size: .32 acre
construction cost: Withheld
photographer: Warren Jagger Photography
