Redesign A Modest Victorian Home

Before renovation, this is a modest Victorian house in poor condition. The former home has rooms with small window and dark interior spaces were separated from one another. The foot print of this house is small. The house was re-envisaged as a vertical loft – an open, four-storey volume reaching from the basement to the ceiling of the new roof. The new main level and former basement are open to each other by a wide stair.

The original windows are replaced with large windows at the front and rear of the new parlour. There’re some private spaces such as a study space that could accommodate several thousand books, a den, and a master bedroom suite. The study space, den, and book vault are designed as distinct volumes suspended inside the large in order to achieve the seemingly paradoxical request for a loft like home but with private space.

The private spaces of the redesigned house are arranged along the south wall of the house. Those spaces are also shielded by a three-storey hickory modesty screen. The master-bedroom suite cantilevers over the entry. Besides that, the former attic space is redesigned to provide light and views where none existed before in the original home. It’s also due to its elevated position.