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Tenafly East-Hill
This property featured an outdated existing raised ranch home with a partial basement and was located on the east hill of Tenafly. The house required full renovation as well as a second floor addition to expand and make it comfortable and efficient for a modern family.
The existing house had an T-shape configuration and segmented interior spaces that poorly related to each other, to its site, had disjointed circulation, and featured little daylight. Additionally, the site has a depressed driveway between the living space and back yard that forced people to walk around the house to access the rear yard.
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The design had to provide
1. Open and visually connected public spaces (kitchen, living, dining, patio).
2. Clear and efficient circulation through the house.
3. Bring in plenty of daylight.
4. Engagement between living spaces and rear yard.
5. Four total bedrooms including a master bedroom suite.
6. Basement mud room entrance from the garage.
7. Basement rec space.
We began by analyzing the site, zoning, and building structure to identify the limiting factors and possible options. The existing T-shape configuration lent itself to separating the public-private functions of the house while the zoning allowed for a second level expansion to accommodate the new master bedroom suite.
The second level addition was deliberately located over the remodeled first level bedrooms to allow the public spaces (living, kitchen, and dining) to feature cathedral ceilings to bring daylight and create an open sense of space. An elevated deck was designed to connect the living space to the rear yard, provide an outdoor dining and seating, and overcome the depressed driveway.
The cathedral ceiling design allowed for new special and window configurations. We used this opportunity to create a contemporary interpretation of the mid-century modern aesthetic of post and beam architecture. The space features floor to ceiling windows, large sliding glass doors to the outdoors, and plenty of daylighting. The same aesthetic continued through to the dining space and new master bedroom suite. The end result was a well thought out, proportioned, beautifully daylit and interconnected home.
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