Kitchen Retrofit & Renovation Design

This entry shares something that I really enjoy doing...

Renovating, Recycling, and Design....

The following pictures are a kitchen remodel project that I designed and installed.  The thing to remember about this project is, it is a retro-fit kitchen.  This means, I took the kitchen out of one home and put it in another home.  The home the kitchen came from was getting a new kitchen (one that I participated in the re-design).  The home that the kitchen is going into...has a kitchen, and it's in a completely different room.

In the home that is getting a new kitchen, there is a kitchen already.  It's a small simple galley style kitchen.  The new kitchen - the re-purposed & recycled kitchen, is going to go into what was formerly the family room.

Here are some pictures of the existing family room - as it were, a family/office/school room.

The existing fireplace wall

The existing rear/exterior wall.

The cabinets, after transporting them from their old home in VA to their new home in PA.

The Design Proposal

Using all the existing cabinets (except for one wall cabinet).  I design a layout that is functional and appealing, while reusing as many of the existing pieces as we can. We removed 3 windows and 1 door, and  installed one new window and one new door.

Re-purposed materials as a utensil rack.

Using some left-over 3/4" copper pipe and 12 gauge copper wire bent around the pipe, we have an effective and somewhat industrial looking utensil rack.

We could not reuse the counter from the other kitchen, since the cabinet layout is not the same.  But we were able to have one manufactured for us to fit our new layout.

A view of the "finished" kitchen 

Another view of the 'new' kitchen.

The refinished fireplace wall

This was a fun project.  One of my favorite types of remodeling is when I get to help people save money while improving their home and living.  For the cost of a U-haul rental trailer, and a few new materials - this kitchen was designed and installed for under $6,000...and added a whole lot more than that to the value of the home.  The old kitchen from this home was donated to Habitat for Humanity, and the space is currently being re-purposed to make a 1st floor laundry room and a new bathroom.

See It Before You Build It.

It is not often that I get to see my design projects when they come to completion. So, it is nice when I get progress pictures sent from the homeowners.

I just received some pictures emailed to me of a house that I worked on sometime throughout 2010.

This house is being built in Wilmington, North Carolina.

They broke ground sometime over the Winter months.

Below are three images.

The foundation under the main house (taken in January 2011).

This is my conceptual computer generated rendering from June 2010.

This is a photo of the front of the house as it is now - from about the same angle as my rendering.

There are more trees in the photo than my rendering, and the bay behind the house isn't as much of an open water-way as I have in the rendering - but the house looks nice. :)

Over all, the process of design can be lengthy. But, if you are able to work out your design "kinks" and issues before the first nail is hammered, before the first block is laid, before the first hole is dug...even before your building permit, you will save yourself time, money, and problems later. Certainly, changes can happen along the way - there are always unexpected things to come up - but the overall process of design will return the favor "in the field".

And, it is always exciting to see the project unfold in reality.

Entry and Landscaping Design

I am currently working with a client on the redesign of an entry way, including removal of the existing porch and installing a new walkway from the driveway to the front door.

We are also renovating some interior spaces including the kitchen. I hope to share some of those designs with you later.

Here is the existing entry and walk.



Below is a design proposal showing the new walk from the driveway to the front porch. These are computer generated renderings from a 3D model I have created.

We are adding a circular walk with flagstone capping. An 18" seat wall along the South East side of the walk. We will also be installing a new front door with lots of glass to let more natural light into the foyer area.


I will share more as I am able.

Custom Home Design

This post shows another custom home design project.

This particular home is now built in the Baltimore area.

Here is the design model.



3D computer generated rendering viewing the rear of the house, showing the pool and patio area.






This is the actual house (finished months after design) viewing from roughly the same perspective.



It seems, the homeowners did some other landscaping, and selected some more patio furniture. But, overall - this turned out really quite well.





The front elevation











Interior - the "Family Room"

Custom Deck Design Project

Here is a recent deck project. It's a simple deck.

The client had many ideas, including a covered screen porch, but decided to go with the simple deck.




This image shows the back of the house, before the deck. They had some of the grading cleared away already.





Once I have the dimensions of the existing property and all their ideas of what they would like to do, I go back to "the drawing board" and come up with some ideas.

Here are a few proposed design ideas:



One idea - they wanted an open deck with a bench seat.






They also thought they might like to have a roof over their new deck.






And, of course, a screened in deck.





After much consideration, the client decided to do a simple open air deck with a basic railing.
These computer renderings show how the deck could look once it is completed.









This is the finished deck as it is now.












This is one of the many ways using 3-D modeling and rendering can help in design. I can show you what your project could look like when it is finished.

This is a simple deck, but the clients are quite happy with the design and they knew what they were getting before anyone even started digging.

Screen Porch Addition.

I am currently working on the design and construction drawings (working drawings) of a screen porch addition for a client's project in Haymarket, VA.

I created the virtual model of the porch for a conceptual design presentation.

I processed renderings for the current design proposal. I thought they turned out really nice - so I just wanted to share.

(click on the images to view in full screen)





Existing house - View from the rear left.







Design Proposal - View from the rear left.
Rendering generated from my computer model.

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Existing house - View from the rear right.












Design Proposal - View from the rear right.
Rendering generated from my computer model.






What do you think? I hope to have pictures of the finished project soon.

Custom Detached Garage and Shop Design

The following is a garage project addition I was contracted to work on in the fall of 2008.

The design/build went as follows:

• I meet with the client (in this case, over the phone and via email with photos), and we discuss their vision for what they would like to accomplish in the new garage.
• Based on their ideas, I derive an estimate for the design project. This includes conceptual designs and detailed construction documents for permits and for the contractors to build the project.
• Once we agree on design concept, I create the construction documents.
• Once construction documents are ready, the client submits for their permit, finds their contractor, and work begins.

My Design Proposal:
After some time and discussion in design, a concept has been agreed upon.
The cars are my added extra - no charge to the client.
This is a rendering that I presented to the client to show what their garage could look like. (click on the images to view in full screen)











The finished project:
Note the similarities from my proposal to the final project.

Custom Deck Design - Outdoor Living

The following is a deck addition I was contracted to design.

The design/build process is as follows:

• I meet with the client and we discuss their vision for what they would like to accomplish in the new outdoor living areas.
• Based on their ideas, I derive an estimate for the design project. This includes conceptual designs and detailed construction documents for permits and for the contractors to build the project.
• Once we agree on design concept, I create the construction documents.
• Once construction documents are ready, the client submits for their permit, finds their contractor, and work begins.

The existing house and deck:

My Design Proposal: I create a virtual model of the house and the new outdoor living area and present a "photo" rendering to the client as well as 2D plans.

The finished project: