A backyard oasis was part of a master plan that included a complete home renovation, the addition of a family room, and a new three-car garage with a guest suite above. See how Matt Wolfe, of Wolfe Architecture & Design, crafted a design that matches the new structures with the 1926 shingle-style home.
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Photography courtesy of Wolfe Architecture & Design
The colonnade on the west side of the pool ties the house to the outdoor spaces as well as to the garage. “During inclement weather the family can walk between the three without getting wet,” says Wolfe.
The pool is built on a slight plateau to minimize the difference in elevation, about 5 feet, between the family room and the pool deck. The open east side of the pool looks down on a hill toward an expansive swath of green. Four chaise longues add seating options.
When the family room was built, Wolfe removed and reused the shingles from the exterior walls and mixed them in with new shingles: “Everywhere we could, we tried to save materials.”
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Photography courtesy of Wolfe Architecture & Design
The new family room addition sits on the same axis as the pool and fireplace, giving the homeowners one long vista that ends at the pool house, which boasts a trellis draped with trailing vines. An arched colonnade connects the pool house to the garage both visually and structurally.
When the family room was built, Wolfe removed and reused the shingles from the exterior walls and mixed them in with new shingles: “Everywhere we could, we tried to save materials.”
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Photography courtesy of Wolfe Architecture & Design
The floors throughout the house are new, including the slate floor beneath the colonnade. However, the couple replaced every window on the house with boneyard windows from manufacturers. The lanterns, light fixtures, planters, and furniture are also scavenged. “They did a good job,” says Wolfe. “They’d drive all around the country. They saved a lot of money using recycled materials.”
The clients sourced most of the building materials themselves. Renovating homes is their hobby, so they know where to look. “If there was a nice facility being remodeled or demolished, they would get parts from it,” explains the architect.
Not knowing what the clients might bring home did, at times, pose a challenge. “A lot of things changed as we went along,” says Wolfe, noting that his crew had to reframe some rooms to make the boneyard windows work.
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Photography courtesy of Wolfe Architecture & Design
Ironically, the speed at which the project progressed was a challenge. “There was an army of men on this project, so things were going fast,” says Wolfe, but the “easygoing nature” of the clients far outweighed the challenges. “Jobs are great when the clients participate, and you can work with them like a team,” he says.
