The Power of Great Residential Design
We all long for homes that bring us comfort and tranquility. If we are lucky, we live in a home like that. Now that we are spending more time than ever in our houses, we recognize the importance of a comfortable home. Great architecture and residential design recognize the need for private and public spaces in a home because we need places where we can both socialize and recharge. The vast majority of our residential design work at the Jersey Shore involves designing, building and renovating second homes, or Reunion Homes as we call them. Because they are places that accommodate multiple generations and/or lots of guests, it is of paramount importance that we design homes that are both comfortable and comforting, places where families can gather and celebrate, and then retreat to tranquil bedrooms and private spaces.
By moving the home’s stair tower DDB added square footage to the kitchen and enabled great sight lines, all while solving for the kitchen’s traffic flow problems.
The original kitchen included an often-used entrance door from the breezeway fronted by a door to the basement stairs, which provided some challenges to the traffic flow for the homeowners.
In this transformation that DDB designed and built a few years ago, the design challenges were numerous: small kitchen, awkward traffic flow, too few bathrooms, not enough usable space where space was needed for the homeowners in this their second home. Through a collaborative process of goal setting and prioritizing the challenges, the DDB team worked with the homeowners to help them envision a home they would look forward to visiting with their extended family and friends, and eventually one they would love to live in full time.
By building the room out 4 feet (on the right wall of these photos) DDB created a new space that is both comfortable and cozy.
The original living/family room though charming, lacked square footage and functionality.
It’s been said that good design gives people what they say they want where great design solves people’s problems in unexpected ways. At Degnan Design Build we believe in the power of great residential design, in creating thoughtful spaces where families can come together to celebrate life’s joys with friends and family. We take pride in playing a small part in designing and building homes where families come together and make memories, in a place that we hope becomes their favorite place in the world…home.
Collaborating with the team at DDB the homeowners were able to fulfill their wish list for their second home, and create brand new spaces to gather with friends and family, like the new front porch.
The original cape cod style home was charming but lacked essential features like central AC, an updated kitchen and sufficient bathrooms.