When Tom and Shelley Niemeier decided to expand their historic 1,600-square-foot home to accommodate their growing family, they knew they wanted a modern addition. An architect and interior designer, respectively, they were aware of the importance of imparting a timeless addition onto the house, built in 1911.
“We tried to stay away from any sort of trendy materials or detailing to ensure that it was a good investment,” says Shelley.
“Considerations such as these are essential when doing a modern addition on a historic home,” says Susan Bower, a registered architect and owner of Bower Leet Design.
“The period of the house is important to understanding its style and what might be complementary or contradictory to it,” she says. “You always have to take your cues from the existing home and, through the creative process, test ideas and materials.”
Photography by Benjamin Scherliss
The Webster Groves home of Tom and Shelley Niemeier, by SPACE Architects + Designers + Builders.
Renovators should ponder whether a modern addition should match the original structure or stand on its own. Nick Adams, architect and owner of Mademan Design, says the answer is closer to the latter.
“I actually prefer, when you do an addition on an existing house, that it looks distinctively different from the original house,” he says. “I think it really separates the two and gives prominence to each without trying to regurgitate the old with the new.”
That said, Adams believes in honoring the value, or merit, inherent in the historic structure and in building the addition “respectfully” around that. “That means identifying its most notable characteristics and making sure not to cover them up or take away from their visual prominence,” he says, adding, “and, if you can, highlighting them in some way [in the addition].”
Adams emphasizes the importance of taking into consideration the scale of the house—how tall or wide it is, whether it’s imposing or set back, tiered or not—and its unique details, such as roofing or trim around windows or doors. Simulating, without mirroring, some of these features in the addition tie old and new together while remaining distinctive, he says.
Photography by Alise O'Brien
A modern garage addition designed by architect Susan Bower on a historic city house.
For the Niemeiers, respecting the integrity of their historic Webster Groves home meant more than just slapping vinyl siding on the addition and calling it a day. Instead, the couple elected a Brazilian walnut called ipe—often regarded as one of the longest-lasting hardwoods on the market–intermittently across the home’s exterior so as to tie it all together, creating what Shelley calls “a little bit of cohesiveness.”
Modern additions on historic homes are not without their challenges. The increasing cost of materials, such as glass—which modern construction is known for—can be prohibitive for some.
“One of the tenets of modernism is to do more with less, to make it look simple, reductive and refined,” says Bower. “That often costs more because it requires more or better forethought and craftsmanship.”
Gaining approval from an architectural review board as well as neighbors, often the more difficult of the two, creates a different kind of challenge for owners of historic homes. “Some of the things we come up with are not always interpreted by the neighbors as appropriate for the traditional neighborhood,” says Adams. “[However], I have never run across a house that I didn’t think could be modernized in some way to look appropriate for its neighborhood and setting.”
Bower refers to these opinionated neighbors as NIMBYs—Not In My Backyard. Her advice: Know before you buy (that is, restrictions and protocols around new construction in your neighborhood)—not to mention, always have a contingency fund in case of “unforeseen circumstances.”
In the case of the Niemeiers, the Webster Groves architectural review board approved their designs with little to no changes, which Shelley attributes to thoughtful design decisions. With the space and rooms that the historic portion of the original house lacked, the addition features floor-to-ceiling Marvin windows, with a view of the backyard, and a second-floor terrace, where Shelley says the family gathers to watch the Forest Park Balloon Race.
“It’s just a happy, cheerful spot.”
