SOCIETY HILL ROWHOUSE
Kitchen
We completed all pre-construction, permitting, design and construction on this whole house renovation. The home is an architecturally unique rowhouse built in 1980. The house had not been significantly updated in any way since that time. We made significant changes to the layout on the first and third floor. On the first floor we opened up the floor plan, creating a full line of sight from the front of the house to the floor to ceiling glass at the rear.
On the third floor we created a master suite, where the bedroom connects to the bathroom and closet via a glass lined catwalk over the original light well that runs through the middle of the home.
In a three story Philadelphia rowhouse full bathrooms are normally on the upper floors, with a powder room on the first floor. For this project, we wanted to have a full bath at ground level in case our clients weren't able to use the stairs at any point as they aged. The spot we found for this bath was tucked under the stairs, but you don't have to duck to get under these stairs. The ceiling in this area vaults up to 20', and a vertical ribbon window fills this space with light and a view of a tall evergreen. The walls and bench under the window were tiled up to eight feet with large porcelain slabs. There's a handheld shower in case the dogs come in muddy from a walk, but this shower is too good to leave to the dogs.
“Buckminster Green did a whole house renovation for us. It was seamless from start to finish. The first floor had to be fully gutted. We did not employ an architect. The design team drew up a plan that we then modified. That we could do the planning and execution all with one team was a big advantage, as we did not have to coordinate with an architect and a builder separately. Communication was excellent. We started work just as COVID was hitting. Buckminster Green kept us up to date every step of the way, especially as we had to stop work because of the lockdown. Our stress level was kept low because of the regular updates we were given. Kenny took care of all the myriad formalities that comes with renovating in a historical area. Permits were obtained in a timely manner. Kudos to Kenny for navigating all this through Covid. Scott and his team who did the work on the house were great. They were very flexible and accommodated our changing wishlist. They had to do the construction with the rules changing constantly because of Covid but they managed it well. Buckminster Green were realistic with their budget estimate and the only additions to it were because of the changes we made during the construction. Bronwyn helped us make decisions on the multiple purchases we had to make including a full kitchen, 4 bathrooms, floor tiles, paint choices etc. Her taste is impeccable and having her by my side guiding me through the process was a stress reliever. All in all I would recommend the Buckminster team very highly. I have heard of horror stories of renovations going wrong but this experience was great for us. I would not hesitate in recommending this team to anybody. You will not have to micromanage the process and can be as hands off as you want to be.”
- L. Vadaketh
