The Story of a Historic Renovation

A few years after living in this 100-year-old home, the family decided it was time for a few changes. Enter our CBI team.

The home, with its white clapboard and Michigan Split Fieldstone façade, from the very beginning, was approached as one of historical sensitivity. The renovation began with removing the aluminum siding that covered the original wood and the original single car garage – building a laundry room, family room and mud entry in its place.

A new three-car garage replaced the single garage that was removed in the first phase of renovations. Pay attention to the arches in the feature photo. These and the quite perfectly matched (by hand) Michigan Split Fieldstone seamlessly connect the old and new additions to the L-shaped home. From the beginning, this kind of historical sensitivity was very important to the family – to expand the home to suit a contemporary lifestyle but to stay true to its original character.

That is what we delivered down to the finest detail.

Renovating the spaces of a historic home is always a challenge especially when reconciling the old and new, traditional and contemporary. One of our tips is to find ways to subtly reference the original in the new. In this foyer on the right, we created new arches that exactly match the original, historic proportions. And though new, the slate tiles reference the size and pattern of the original flooring throughout the home.

Another aspect of the project, a garden room, opens up to the patio as well as the adjoining living room. During the process, we designed the layout to be easily adaptable to any size and style of gathering. While there may not be many guests, for now, the hosts are enjoying the serenity of the room’s simplicity and sweeping views.