How we took a dated home in Drum Point and gave it new life.
Our clients reached out to us in 2019 in hopes of renovating their split-foyer home. The house, built in the 1970’s, is located on a waterfront lot in Southern Maryland. It was inherited from family and needed to be updated both outside and inside.
The problem:
As is typical with older homes, the house was very divided. The entryway did not flow with the rest of the house, and there were walls between all of the main living spaces. Although the home was on the water and there were windows facing the creek, there was no cohesive flow connecting the beautiful views outside to the inside living areas. The house had three bedrooms and two small bathrooms on the main level. The basement featured a rec room, but since it was so closed off from the main level and was under a low suspended ceiling, it was under-utilized. The exterior of the house needed some curb appeal as well.
Our solution:
To bring new life to the outside of the house, we created a shaded covered porch seating area between the carport and the house. The existing brick was “washed” to give it a different color, and we installed new black-framed windows and exterior doors, new fiber-cement siding, and a new metal roof. All of these changes made the home look updated and inviting.
Moving inside, we opened up the front entryway by removing a closet. We flipped the direction of the stairs, so that the steps leading down were open to the basement rec room, and the steps leading up to the main living area were open as well, with steel cable railings allowing a better view inside. The new glass entry door with a transom above allows more light into the house, making it more welcoming and inviting guests to the rest of the home.
We opened up the main level living areas by removing the walls around the kitchen and creating a sloped ceiling with exposed collar ties. This increased the volume of the space, and added beautiful structural detailing. The kitchen was completely re-done with new cabinetry and a large island, perfect for entertaining.
To max out on the waterfront views and make a connection with the outside, we designed a 4-panel sliding glass door and window combination to replace the two large windows facing the creek. This allows more natural light in and creates access to the new deck, adding a nice flow between the indoor and outdoor living spaces. We used the same cable rail on the deck as we used on the stairs, to keep the theme and allow an unobstructed view of the creek.
We joined two of the bedrooms together to create a large master suite, which features his and hers walk-in closets. The third bedroom was converted into an office space with a vaulted ceiling, allowing plenty of light to filter in from the living area.
We gutted the two existing bathroom spaces, plus a bedroom closet, to create a beautiful new hall bath with a pier-tub in the shower as well as the new master bath.
The last area we wanted to focus on was the under-utilized basement. Opening up the stairs from the foyer made the space feel more inviting and open to the rest of the house. We also moved the furnace from the laundry room, in the center of the house, to the utility closet at the end of the house. This allowed us to widen the center hall, making it more usable. It also created space for a new full bath, featuring a shower with a deep tiled niche. We were also able to remodel the laundry room and leave it open to the hallway. We added additional volume to the basement by removing the suspended ceiling, gaining nearly a foot of height. We moved a wall between the existing storage rooms to create two bedrooms. We developed practical solutions to make the space more usable and inviting for the family and guests alike.
Remodeling this split-foyer home for our clients, making it more beautiful, functional, and updated, was truly a pleasure.
Do you have a well-loved home that needs some updating? Contact us today to request a consultation. We would love to help make your house feel more like home.
