Click Image to enlarge.
Master bedroom hits new heights
The original ceiling was removed, adding light and
drama and giving the master bedroom an elevated,
loftlike feel. Triangular fir trusses reflect the era of
the original construction. The reading and writing
nooks are now inviting with high ceilings and
pushed-back walls. Accent lighting highlights the
exposed trusses and emphasizes the openness.
After years of watching real estate
prices go through the roof, more
people are willing to raise theirs
rather than seek out a bigger new home and a
fresh mortgage. And these homeowners aren't
just looking for an extra spot to hang their hat;
they're creating spaces of true solace and retreat
like this second-story master suite project in
Minneapolis.
The homeowners, Jenneane Jansen and Kris
Palmer, are busy professionals, with Kris's
office located in their 1926 Tudor home. Nearly
two years ago, they decided to convert their
large first-floor bedroom into an expanded
work space for Kris and turn the attic of their
1-1/2-story house into a spacious master bedroom
escape.
Their fantasy was to transform their second
story, with just over 500 sq. ft., into a master
bedroom suite. The final plan, which cost nearly
$200,000 and took eight months to complete,
included an inviting bedroom with a walk-in
closet and a luxurious master bath - all done
without disrupting the early-century charm of
their historic home.
Max headroom
Before the remodeling, it was impossible to
bring even ordinary-size furniture up the stairs
because of the incredibly low slanted ceiling and
the awkward 90-degree turn at the first-floor
landing. "You had to literally duck and stoop
down low to get up the stairs," says Jansen. "My
hubby jokes about whoever planned and built the old landing, saying that you should
never drink and build."
To address these problems, the team
from Mike Otto Construction made the
stairwell a straight shot, punching the
stairway out through a room downstairs.
They also altered the roof to create adequate
headroom on the stair's upper landing
and in the master bedroom as well.
"We put a lot of effort into designing
the roof alterations we needed without
disturbing the stonework on the exterior
of the house," says Otto.
Before
More headroom,
please!
Before the renovation,
one required the flexibility
of an acrobat to
ascend the stairwell
and a ladder to access
the window.
After
A challenge in any second-story conversion
is avoiding that "cramped attic" feel.
Rather than furring down the rafters an
extra 6 in. to accommodate a thick blanket
of fiberglass insulation, they used closed-cell
urethane to attain a high insulation
value in minimum thickness. This allowed
them to use the existing rafters without
losing ceiling height. "When you're working
on a room with slanted ceilings, even
an inch or two can make a big difference
in the visual comfort," Otto says.
Max space and style
Click Image to enlarge.
To get the most out of the limited space,
architect Joseph Metzler's design captured
unused footage over the stairwell to cantilever
"his" and "hers" bathroom sinks. Another inactive zone,
the area behind the existing knee wall of
the hallway, was converted into a recessed
house "library" with custom bookcases
and cabinets. This addition lends warmth,
as well as sensible storage, to what would
otherwise be an unremarkable passageway
to the bedroom.
Vanity secrets
The opened bathroom
vanity doors
show the upper
enclosure of the
stairway. The sinks
were built over it
to save space.
Book smarts
Replacing the knee wall with custom cabinets and bookshelves made
the passage to the master bedroom both functional and beautiful.
"The builder was able to cleverly
camouflage the cold air return vent
within one of the shelves and hide the
filter unit to the air conditioner in a
cabinet," says Jansen. "All in all, the
bookcases provided many solutions."
A particular design challenge came
from the existing rooflines, which created
quirky little nooks within the master
bedroom. Squeezing even more
lemonade from the lemons the project
handed them, the designers and clients
together decided to open these spaces up.
By eliminating some of the roof crossties and dressing up others with decorative
trim and accent lighting, the team
transformed these corners into cozy reading and writing nooks. "The warm wood
ceilings and trusses bring the eye upward,
and these areas have become inviting
focal points instead of awkward eyesores,"
Otto says.
Surprise, surprise!
Houses have stories to tell, and during a
remodel, they'll wail tales of woe. The
demolition of a floor above the garage
revealed 2x4 floor joists that were not only
undersized, but also improperly fastened
to the walls. "I always thought the floor
had a spring to it. Now I understand how
lucky we were not to have crashed down
through it," says Jansen. The floor had to
be completely rebuilt, adding unexpected
labor and expense.
Another headache came up when they
were finishing the ceiling in the master
bedroom. The hand-framed roof and
knee walls were a mishmash of angles
and pitches, lending credence to Kris's
"never drink and build" caution. The
solution was to painstakingly level and
"shim out" each rafter.
"There are a lot of coffee mug stains
under the flooring representing hours of
pondering while shimming and remeasuring
and doing the dance of happy
mediums until everything looked right,"
says Otto.
Design
details
The architect provided
authentic
building details
throughout the
project. Here, the
balusters were
positioned close
together, replicating
building practices
from the
1920s.
Max comfort
Despite their love of historical details,
Kris and Jenneane didn't want to live with
the discomforts of yore. The couple chose
heating and cooling systems that eliminated
radiators and floor vents, adding
precious space to the floor plan.
They used a retrofit-friendly high-velocity
air-conditioning system by Unico.
"We liked the discreet little portholes used
in this system to deliver the cold air. There
is no big air-conditioning grille mounted
on the inside of the wall to try to deemphasize,"
says Otto.
While the joists were exposed, Otto
took the opportunity to install hydronic
heating tubing to comfortably regulate the
upstairs temperature with hot water. Jansen
enjoys the simple pleasure of a heated
floor, saying, "It's really nice underfoot
when you get out of the shower."
Mini spa
This master bath, though small, packs spa-like qualities
with its 6-ft. period tub and modern rain shower fixture.
The reproduction tile matches the '20s flooring in the
original downstairs bath. The wood trim was milled to
the exact profile of the original woodwork in the house
and stained to match perfectly.
Bridging 2006 with 1926
Protecting the home's 1920s aesthetics was paramount to the
homeowners. The couple hit antiques-salvage shops and the
Internet looking for authentic period fixtures. But where their
hunt fell short, Kris and Jenneane again went to the Internet
and found knobs, handles, lights and even replica windows
from manufacturers
specializing in fixture
reproduction.
"We've been committed
to retaining the style of
our home. We found our
authentic claw-foot tub
on eBay and Kris drove all
the way to Pennsylvania
to get it," says Jansen.
Finding a fixture to work
in the antique, as well as
getting the tub's plumbing
to meet modern building
codes, was a real head
scratcher, but the couple
agree it was well worth
the hassle. "The tub may
seem like a small detail,
but it adds something
really special to the entire
project," Jansen says.
Old tub meets new faucet.
The artful stand that
cradles the shower wand showcases the graceful
lines of this vintage-looking, but new, tub fixture.
Faucet fit for a flapper.
The retro knobs and
sink-stopper pull tie the '20s style into the contemporary
vanity.
Old-style commode.
The knob on top of
the toilet tank is not
just for show; it's the
working flush handle.
Old and new knobs.
Can you tell which of these pull handles
are 80 years old and which are reproduced? The couple ordered
reproductions through salvage stores and on the Internet.
The new pull handles are the two on the far-right drawers.
Historical windows on the world.
Authentically reproduced windows
make a huge visual impact on the
reading nooks without the leaks and
drafts of ages past.
Buyer's Guide
Faucet: Grohe 4-in. mini widespread faucet from the Seabury line.
Product No. 20122. $233. www.grohecatalog.com/product/20122
Windows: Kolbe and Kolbe French in-Swing casement reproduction
window starting at $1,000.
www.kolbe-kolbe.com
Knobs: Hexagonal glass bridge pulls, 3-in. white, item No. 4152. $8.75.
www.rejuvenation.com
Toilet: Kohler Iron Works Tellieur elongated toilet K-3456. $818.
www.us.kohler.com
Tub fixture: Barclay leg tub faucet with hand shower. No. 4022 polished
chrome. Starting at $239.
www.homeannex.com
