It is a wonderful honor to get a call from a past client asking us to return to their home for another project, a second phase, or the next dream renovation. As needs and lifestyles change, so must our houses. In the Hillsborough Residence Revisited, we added a luxurious master suite and accessible bathroom to a house we had designed many years before. The result is a gracious and comfortable home ready for aging in place and many more happy years.
A new owner of the Nickerson House in Solterra, Durham, NC, who had deteriorating eyesight, asked us to renovate parts and add new places to the home we had designed several years earlier. We opened the kitchen to the eating area and relocated the main entry. We added a front entry porch, a south-facing screened porch connected to the kitchen and eating area, and an outdoor shower off the bedroom. The adjustments brought in even more natural light, supported her needs, and helped her enjoy her life in the house. She described with great enthusiasm the pleasure of taking outdoor showers while hearing the birds and the rustle of the leaves as well as sensing the breezes even though she could not clearly see her backyard.
We’ve also had the pleasure of revisiting homes we’ve renovated previously at the request of new owners. We’ve recently returned to an eclectic home in the Solterra community for a second time. While the original house was designed by its first owner/artist, subsequent owners had turned to Bizios Architect to transform a high vaulted studio space into a cozy living room below with a tree house bedroom above and a much-needed laundry and storage addition. Now inhabited by a third family, we have added a dramatic screen porch with a sunken hot tub, Juliet balcony, and stone fireplace. Read more on this porch addition here.
We are so grateful to work with old friends: people and places.