Fairmount Carriage House
We had worked with this family twice before, so we knew we were going to have fun with this remodel. Their family had grown since our first project, so when they bought a new property, they came to us to design a one-of-a-kind home. We took what had been a former artist studio, auto garage and carriage house back in 1869, and stripped the finishes back to the studs. We built a new 3rd floor addition with 360 degree views of the city and a wrap around roof deck. Because the building is wider than your average rowhouse, and no light comes in from the sides, we used tubular skylights and interior transom windows in the bedrooms to bring in natural light. There are three bedrooms on the first floor, as well as a home office, full bath, and a two level playroom with a desk for homework and a slide for fun.
Main living is on the 2nd floor, as well as the laundry and the primary bedroom. In the powder room we have a first for us. Many people have asked about installing a urinal, but no one had pulled the trigger before this. And what a urinal it is. To our knowledge, this is the first working installation of a BDDW urinal in the United States.
To support the third floor addition, which is narrower than the rest of the house, we had to install large steel beams and columns. Maneuvering these into place on a tight city lot was one of the challenges on this project. It was worth it, though. Now there is room for another home office, a wet bar, and a place to watch the Fourth of July fireworks.
Under the photo gallery is a link to a video of the process from start to finish. Make sure to turn on closed captions for the story.
A handwritten card we got from the owner after the project was complete.
