About This Project

Renovation and Expansion of Cape-style Home in Melrose

When our client purchased this cape-style home in Melrose, MA, she could clearly envision its future potential. A solid property in a desirable community, the house needed a fresh look, structural and functional improvements, and the ingenuity of a homeowner and a design/build team working collaboratively to completely reenvision it, inside and out.

While the initial project was intended to expand and finish the second floor of the home, in our early conversations with the homeowner, we discovered her desire was to eventually renovate the first floor, including a completely remodeled kitchen. With her plans considered, we were able to incorporate structural elements into the build-out of the second floor that would allow for an easier, less costly, and more accessible eventual renovation of the first floor.

Our client’s overall goals for the second floor were to incorporate more usable space into the home. An initial one bedroom, one bathroom floor plan was reconfigured to expand to four and two bathrooms. Within the phase one (second-floor expansion) project, we provided an overall conceptual design for the future (phase 2) kitchen renovation to help visualize how the kitchen layout would fit into the remodel and support decision-making efforts.

In the original home, the second floor was unfinished, so our first priority was to provide necessary structural support to accommodate the bedrooms, bathroom, and living space, and bring it up to code for today’s standards. Architect Nancy Twomey reconfigured the home’s exterior design to seamlessly integrate the additional space into a stunning finished project that looks like it was always meant to be this way.

Incorporating industrial style accents with modern functionality, we designed the new bathroom to give the homeowner a luxurious, spa-like retreat.

To complete the project, we recommended hardscape designers to re-envision the home’s exterior function and curb appeal. They delivered a streamlined and inviting finished space that has clearly earned the seal of approval from our client’s dog, Lewis.