John and Denise, a couple with twin boys of middle-school age owned a townhouse and was ready for their first new home. They wanted a yard for their vegetable garden, a driveway with space for playing basketball, and a kitchen with dual dishwashers that makes clean up after cooking significantly easier. After a decade of cramped quarters for a family of four, they desired a comfortable home that was large enough for extended stays from their out-of-town, extended family.

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Siting A Home On An Existing Lot

Proper siting of the house is one of the most important things that can be done in the home design process. With three-dimensional computer modeling, our design team was able to position that the house in a way that overcame a slope that presented potential issues. The home was sited within the existing topography of the lot to minimize the number of steps, reduce the grade of the driveway and expose a wall for a basement bedroom and even install a much-desired basketball court for the twins.

A Grand Entrance

The house was designed to have a breathtaking view when you enter the front door. It looks all the way through, across the dining room, and out to the back patio and private tree-lined backyard. There is an axis of symmetry from the front door through the middle of the dining room table, and out the back.

Rooms With A View

The layout of the home was designed with the site in mind. Large windows in the great room overlook the backyard, bringing the exterior in. The kitchen sink overlooks the backyard as well, with beautiful windows, transoms, and fantastic millwork.

 

French Country Design

The design of the home is “French Country.” This entails a sort of comfortable luxury. French Country style has tall narrow windows, mullions, Dutch hips, wood shutters, stucco, stone, and beautiful views. A palette of neutral colors creates depth and feels natural. The windows are from Jeld-Wen. Along with the fabulous window trim, the rustic beams are exposed in the great room. The placement of the beams allows for a seamless feel to the dining and great room.

A Dramatic Fireplace With Built-In Bookshelves

The Marquis by Kingsman fireplace is direct vent. It has floor-to-ceiling Dutch Quality Stone with a custom blend of 90% Autumn Blend and a10% Columbus Blend Limestone pattern. The fireplace is flanked by a pair of built-in book cabinets. The television is placed so that it is visible from the kitchen and has a comfortable viewing angle from the sofa. The wood flooring is a 7 ½” wide pre-finished engineered hardwood in English Pub Hickory with Applejack stain color.

 
 

A Kitchen Designed For Home Chef's

A key feature in the design of this home was the kitchen. One of the particular needs that they had was room for two dishwashers. Denise cooks extensively. They requested a large island for seating and for and food preparation. The quartz countertop is by Wilsonart in Sangda Falls. The three large windows placed over the kitchen sink provide a view of the backyard. The cooktop is opposite the island, and a separate wall oven is located near the refrigerator. There are a walk-in pantry and a kitchen desk, workstation area. The kitchen floor plan is designed to make preparing meals easy and provide a view of the fireplace. View the new kitchen design project page.

 

Finished Basement With Bedrooms

The basement contains an expansive family room, a pair of bedrooms, and bathroom for the twin boys, as well as a home office. The children's walk-in closets are unique. They are positioned back to back with a short, secret door in between. As twins, they have shared a bedroom their entire life up to this point, and so having their own bedrooms is unique and something that their parents thought would make them more comfortable. See the master bathroom suite project page.

 
 

Project Design

The Team at Degnan Design-Build-Remodel

PJ Ender - Lead Carpenter, CLC, CRPM.jpeg

Lead Carpenter

PJ Ender CLC, CRPM

 
“Creating the perfect home for the Murray family was a dream come true. Working with the sloped site to carefully achieve numerous goals was a fun challenge. It’s the little things like creating a flat spot at the top of the driveway, having an exposed basement with bedrooms for the boys, and a beautiful patio in the back yard. Siting the house to protect trees was vital! But the secret closet door for the boys was the winning element.”
— Abe J Degnan, Degnan Design-Build-Remodel