Designed by Bryan Anderson
With Jessica Wilder
Described by Inland Architect magazine in 1990 as a “deft manipulation of volume and façade, with a whimsical rooftop village of geometric shapes that seem to move in relation to each other,” this home, designed by MS&R in 1987 for its current owner, remains a playful and highly functional example of Postmodern residential architecture. In 2018, the owners still relished their rooftop village, now seemingly held aloft by the emergent tree canopy, but decades of domestic wear prompted a desire to upgrade finishes and features, and most significantly, to open an existing sunroom in the southeast corner of the main level to the adjacent kitchen and dining areas.
Recognizing and honoring the home’s original geometry was key to maintaining its integrity in this intervention. Since its inception as a sunroom, the skewed orientation of this “box” had been hidden from interior views. Opening this space to the others made its tall, angled volume recognizable inside and out. Now, a continuous soffit at the height of the kitchen ceiling flows between the revamped sunroom and dining rooms, identifying distinct functions like a child’s shape sorting toy matching rooms to voids. Along those lines—quite literally—the wedge-shaped kitchen island and reflected ceiling plane pinwheel around the nexus of all three spaces.
Nearly every remaining interior surface of the home was touched, with replacement products selected with respect to their predecessors. Expansive triple-pane windows replaced rows of less efficient casements, accentuating treetop views. Larch veneer was selected for custom cabinetry to create a warm transition between new (lighter) and original (ambered) Maple. White enameled accent cabinets recall the original melamine, all now bonded to NAUF substrates. In consideration of waste reduction and embodied carbon, original kitchen countertops were re-fabricated into bathroom vanities and the tub surround. New selections for stone, tile and steel all borrow from the original monochromatic palette bringing warmth to a substantial refresh that remains as whimsical as the original.
Construction by Terra Firma
Photographs by Troy Thies
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