Portfolio

Portfolio

Our projects range in size, budget, and scale from whole houses to screened porches, tiny bathrooms to newly constructed carriage houses. The focus throughout is compatibility with the original character of the existing structure, making sure that the old and new speak a common language.

Lawndale Primary Suite

The owners of this vernacular cottage needed another bedroom and bathroom. We added an addition with a Primary Suite with a reading nook, Office, Laundry and Screened Porch.  

Midcentury Kitchen

This architect designed 1961 split level, had a cramped kitchen that led directly to a carport. We moved the side entrance and opened up the kitchen to the dining room. Custom cabinetry and vintage lighting help the new space blend seamlessly with the old.

Morehead Hill Addition

This early 1900s vernacular cottage had generous public spaces, but lacked laundry, bathrooms and closets. We opened up the center hall and added a screened porch. Two bathrooms with laundry and a walk-through closet give the owners the storage they need. 

Ten Mothers Farm

 A modern farmhouse with a modest footprint, passive solar features, and open floor plan is a first for us – but captures what we love about views, light, and planning for the future under one sweet roof. This two-bedroom, one-bath house has a loft with office and guest space and a plan for an addition when their family grows.

 

Minimal Traditional Addition

This 1940s Minimal Traditional had served its owners for many years, but they needed a little more elbow room. We added a Dining Room that connects to a Primary Suite and Screened Porch. On the basement level, we added a TV room, Art Space, and Music Room. 

9th Street Renovation + Dormer

Originally a c.1900 gable-and-wing cottage, this house got a bungalow dress in the ’20s, then ranchified in the ’50s – time to modernize! Initially the goal was to update the kitchen, bring in more light, and add a bathroom to the second floor. Raising the ceilings to their original 10′ height, bringing in a lot more light, and creating an office on a new landing happened along the way.

Englewood Garage Studio

The existing garage had been partially finished and wasn’t a particularly inspiring space. The new homeowners needed a dual work from home space and storage for their books.  The garage got general repair to the exterior, new lighting, and radiant heating in the floor make it functional and comfortable into the future.​

 

Deck House Kitchen

This deck house had a cramped kitchen and a dining room far away from the living space. We swapped the kitchen and dining room, removing the wall between. Alteration was needed with the big sliding glass doors, but we otherwise worked with the existing windows, ceiling line, and materials to create a beautiful family kitchen/dining area.

Edward Street Renovation

Closed off from the sunshine in the back yard, this vernacular Victorian had been a rental for many years. We reconfigured the kitchen and created a cozy dining area that is also the exclamation point at the end of the long hall. A new primary bath, laundry space, and fantastic color palette bring the light in.

Duke Park Kitchen

 A midcentury ranch with terrible flow and a cramped kitchen had served this couple adequately for years… but with retirement they wanted a place they could really enjoy and entertain. Moving the kitchen and dining room closer to the living space created an easy flow and site lines all the way through the home.

Farmhouse Kitchen + Mud Room

The owners of this Old North Durham home needed to update their kitchen and do some necessary structural repairs. A tiny butler’s pantry and uncomfortable laundry room separated the kitchen from the dining room and cut off the view of the backyard – so we rearranged the spaces and opened the kitchen to the rest of the house.The navy cabinets, handmade tile, and butcher block worktable give the kitchen a vibrant and modern feel. 

Knox Street Screened Porch

While this 1948 brick Cape Cod was remarkably intact, the rear fell flat and was disconnected from its woodsy yard and play spaces. By adding a mudroom and a screen porch, we gave this family function and gathering space. The gabled porch – with detailing matching the home’s original plans – added visual interest and opened up the garden to the playroom via large french doors.

Club Blvd. Restoration

The back of this 1921 Craftsman style four square was clogged with several enclosed porches and an incompatible 1980s addition. We changed roof lines, matched original windows, and added a screen porch to connect the house with the lovely backyard. Inside the scope included a powder room, mudroom, kitchen, master suite, and hall bath. Focusing on timeless finishes and fixtures, the renovated areas feel just right.   

Markham Renovation + Addition

An ungainly master suite and awkward kitchen cut the living spaces off from the beautiful backyard on this 1920s bungalow. Touching every room on the first floor and adding a hangout space with fireplace to the rear, created a home made for entertaining.  

Iredell Attic Conversion + Garage

The owner’s of this brick bungalow wanted to add a master suite in their unfinished attic.  A new stairway was seamlessly tucked into the center hall and two new dormers were added for light and elbow room.  A brand new freestanding garage sits along the alley, complementing the home’s lovely, original architecture.

Kitchen and Master Expansion in Duke Park

A 1970s enclosed porch off the rear of this little house was dingy, drafty, and a junk pile. Capturing that space into the kitchen and master made both rooms open and bright.

Old North Durham Restoration

This bungalow was hiding under aluminum siding and had lost its way. We restored the front porch with period appropriate brackets and a new railing.  A rear addition including a screen porch completes this renovation. 

Iredell Update

A turn-of-the-century cottage with a huge yoga studio on the back, this house had an awkward floor plan and layers of poorly done renovations. Some clever reconfiguration, a new screened porch, and all new finishes and it’s ready for another hundred years. Lots of photos here!

Englewood Kitchen

Sometimes it takes a whole new view to solve the problem – like the dark, tucked away kitchen in this 1950s home. Relocating it to the end of the long living/dining space and repurposing the kitchen into a mudroom made all the difference.

Duke Forest Ranch

A little bit staid ranch, a little bit mid-century modern, this architect-designed home from 1956 needed a little push towards the modern. We designed a screened porch with all the right details and improved the back facade.

Rockwood Kitchen

A terribly dated 1980s kitchen with failing appliances and an odd side door entrance was not doing this 1930s Colonial Revival any favors. A new kitchen plan and mudroom within the existing footprint gave the family all the elbow room they need and color they wanted.

Old West Restoration

This 100-year-old vernacular Victorian needed all the things – and got it! We reopened the center hall, added a screened porch and primary suite, and reconfigured the kitchen with a banquette dining area. The high ceilings, gracious trim, and proportions of the original spaces get to shine again.

Book a Consult

hi.there@fouroverone.com   (919) 339-1411
Office Address: 1235 Berkeley Ave, Durham, NC, 27701
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 355, Durham NC, 27702

All the Little Details

All the Little Details

Too Many Pictures

The important part: four new projects have been added to the Portfolio! Long promised, I know, but well worth it, as a real photographer got into each project and brought out a lovely set of pictures. While getting the overall scope, she also documented so many lovely little details that would overwhelm the galleries – but I can’t resist sharing. After all, it’s the little things that you touch every day that really make a place special.

Book a Consult

hi.there@fouroverone.com   (919) 339-1411
Office Address: 1235 Berkeley Ave, Durham, NC, 27701
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 355, Durham NC, 27702

Happy Clients

Happy Clients

Happy Clients

I popped through an almost-completed project today to get the closing tax credit photos, and had a lovely conversation with the homeowner. Still unpacking into the renovated space, she was already relishing the remodel and addition to their Trinity Park bungalow. Little things that I had campaigned for – like a connection from the back hall through to their hangout space and kitchen – were making sense to her as she inhabited it. Views through the space that I had envisioned on paper were there in reality, and the good folks at Catherine French Design had sourced gorgeous finishes throughout. The homeowners are excited about the last pieces of furniture arriving and getting everything set up, and I can’t wait to share the final photos once it’s ready. In the meantime, I managed one good snap as a preview.

 

Trinity Design/Build contracted this one. I did the space planning, overarching design, and preservation tax credit work. Finally, CFD took care of the fixtures, finishes, and furnishings.

Book a Consult

hi.there@fouroverone.com   (919) 339-1411
Office Address: 1235 Berkeley Ave, Durham, NC, 27701
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 355, Durham NC, 27702

Cerise, Chartreuse, and Aqua!

Cerise, Chartreuse, and Aqua!

Over the winter holidays, I was introduced to this little ditty… it obviously belongs right here. Happy New Year to all!

Book a Consult

hi.there@fouroverone.com   (919) 339-1411
Office Address: 1235 Berkeley Ave, Durham, NC, 27701
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 355, Durham NC, 27702

Another Before & After

Another Before & After

Befores & Afters are the best, right? Here’s one that has been finished for a bit, but I just got a decent photo.

This 1960s Colonial Revival sits in a sought-after neighborhood in Chapel Hill.  The homeowner loved the site and the way the interior worked, but thought the outside was drab.  She came to me with plans to replace the already-replaced windows, remove the aluminum and put up hardiplank siding, and… do something to bring it up to date. But what?

Original aluminum siding, replacement windows, not a lot to work with.

Original aluminum siding, replacement windows, not a lot to work with.

A few little architectural details were all it needed.

A few little architectural details were all it needed.

Turns out it didn’t take much: we added corner boards, a skirt board, wider door and window surrounds, and some color – just enough to give some definition between the siding and the trim – while keeping the palette very traditional.   Away went the shutters, the brick retaining wall for the front walk, and the oddly proportioned windows. We picked out two accent colors: a bright, yellowy green and a deep, almost black purple for her to use as she decorates the front porch and fills out the planters.

It’s rare that 4/1 takes on a project that can just be filed under ‘curb appeal,’ but sometimes that’s all it takes to make the house perfect for the family inside.

Book a Consult

hi.there@fouroverone.com   (919) 339-1411
Office Address: 1235 Berkeley Ave, Durham, NC, 27701
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 355, Durham NC, 27702

What a Difference (Decent) Windows Make…

What a Difference (Decent) Windows Make…

I’ve been waiting to see how this project on Club Boulevard was turning out for a while, and just got a chance to walk the house with the contractor and homeowner earlier this week.  The house is a lovely 1910’s Craftsman that had been added onto in some odd ways over the past 40 years, and our mission was to make the rear enclosed porches and additions more useful, add a screened porch, and unify the exterior.

Someone in the 1980s added a rear master bedroom on the second floor and a breakfast room off the kitchen without considering the existing roofline, original window pattern or proportion, or the exterior materials.  It made the new pieces feel very pasted onto the original house, and brought lots of attention to the unbalanced rear facade.

South Facade

The rear of the house before renovation. The previous work to the house reused a few of the original windows (on the left) and used 1/1 windows in the rest that were wider and shorter than most of the original windows.

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The new rear facade has a single roofline connecting the breakfast nook, screened porch, and mudroom, which balances the asymmetrical rear gable. New, taller windows that match the originals replaced the 1/1 units, and cedar shake pulls together the exterior.

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The original house, visible under the hipped roof to the left, has plain wood weatherboard on the first story and cedar shake on the second.

DSC_5754

The mudroom’s addition on the left and the screened porch on the right are connected by a single hipped roof with exposed eaves, matching the original house.

Riverbank Construction, a pleasure to work with as always, has a few pieces to wrap up before it’s all said and done. I’m looking forward to seeing the final details in place and taking photos of the rest of the project in the next couple of weeks.  It’s one that will be featured in the portfolio to be sure!

Book a Consult

hi.there@fouroverone.com   (919) 339-1411
Office Address: 1235 Berkeley Ave, Durham, NC, 27701
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 355, Durham NC, 27702