Middle Garden “utterly transformed the experience of living in the house,” a judge said. Indeed, for a center-hall colonial on a tight urban lot, this was accomplished with a rear kitchen and screened porch addition no larger than 420 square feet. Fitted with skylights and floor-to-ceiling metal-frame windows, the sunny kitchen extends partway into the garden, combining the wife’s love of cooking with the husband’s passion for gardening. An adjacent screened porch shades the east-facing kitchen as the sun comes around the house. It connects to the existing living room, and to the backyard via wide stairs that double as casual garden-side seating.
“As architects we try to connect an addition back to the original house, and in some cases sort of torture the original footprint and back elevation,” says Colleen Healey, AIA. “In this case we really let the floor plan stay as it was and let the addition do the talking to the garden.” Still, the existing kitchen was reconfigured as a butler’s pantry serving the dining room. And a powder room was moved into the addition, opening a sight line through the center hall to the garden. White paneled cabinetry and white oak flooring help tie together the new and old architecture. “The window patterns are beautiful,” a judge said, praising the addition’s lovely execution of form and details.
Citation
Renovation
Colleen Healey Architecture
Middle Garden
Washington, D.C.
Project Credits
Architect: Colleen Healey, AIA, Colleen Healey Architecture, Washington, D.C.
Builder: Matt Proper, Freeman Builders, Washington, D.C.
Engineer: George Norton, Norton Engineering Consultants, Fairfield, New Jersey
Project size: 420 square feet
Site size: 0.18 acre
Construction cost: Withheld
Photography: Jennifer Hughes
Key Products
Bath Ventilation: Panasonic
Cladding: HardiePanel
Cooktop/range: JennAir
Decking: TimberTech
Dishwasher: Bosch
Entry doors: Western Windows
Faucets: Brio
HVAC system: Mitsubishi
Icemaker: JennAir
Insulation/house wrap: ZIP System
Lighting: WAC
Lighting control: Lutron Decora
Paints: Benjamin Moore
Refrigerator: JennAir
Roofing: EPDM
Sinks: Kraus
Skylights: VELUX
Windows: Windsor Windows