Project Description
This 1950’s home is located in the neighborhood of La Grande Orange Grocery in Phoenix, Arizona.
The home had several additions to the original structure making the original home barely discernible; a common occurrence seen in these neighborhoods (the home as purchased was 1496 sq. ft.). The home of the 50’s seemed to no longer meet the needs of the 21st century family. However, rather than adding more space to the home, we decided to demolish all previous additions and rework the original structure; attempting to create a living environment, functional in today’s world.
The original homes’ interior had been divided into many rooms (typical of a larger home) making each space almost too small to inhabit. In our solution, the kitchen, dining and living area were all allowed to co-exist in the same space. One of the smaller bedrooms was converted into a large master bathroom and the second original bathroom was converted into a walk-in closet with built-in cabinetry. The space gained from deleting the third bedroom was also used to make the second bedroom larger. This bedroom was also designed to have a built-in closet and dresser so that the floor remained free of storage furnishings.
The homes’ exterior space was treated as an extension of the interior spaces. The kitchen, living, and master bath are all connected to and exterior space. The visual and physical relationship of the inside spaces to the outside gave the house the “feel” of a larger house. Kinetic shade structures were added to the west patio off the kitchen to allow the house to have an exterior space that faced the neighborhood that would also be comfortable to use despite the intense sun exposure.
All of these moves served to create a modest 986 sq. ft. residence that could easily accommodate a family of three. Our hope is that this living environment will encourage the renewal of these older homes.