“When I first saw the house, I felt it was something I’d love to work on and make into a home,” says Jim Blasi. His partner, Michael Tozzoli, had just the opposite reaction: “I felt overwhelmed—it needed so much work.” But Blasi prevailed, and the two-story house became theirs.
Luckily, the previous owner had made few improvements. “In some ways, that was a plus,” Michael believes. “She hadn’t put walls where they didn’t belong and mainly hadn’t wrecked it.” The house, which dates from the 1920s, is a classic bungalow. Aware of its origins, Jim did some research and found that bungalows of that
vintage usually had covered front porches. Instead, this one had an enclosed sunroom. Removing the windows and glass door, the siding and interior panels, the owners discovered a fairly intact front porch that mainly needed coats of paint.
But most of all, the house would need to grow. Set at the front of a 50-by-150-foot lot, it could only be expanded to the rear, and since both floors would be involved, it was clear that professional help was
needed. Enter Xiomara C. Paredes, AIA, and Glenn A. Grube, RA, of Paredes-Grube Architecture in Glen Rock, New Jersey.
All of the exterior was replaced by new siding and stucco was applied more than halfway up the two-story walls. The front porch, now open and airy, had been enclosed prior to the renovation.
Originally, the back of the house had a shedlike roof over utilitarian steps. Adding personality here was a priority for the homeowners.
No comments:
Post a Comment