With ranch houses getting razed in favor of grand new builds complete with soaring ceilings and open floor plans, the decision to remodel a 1960s ranch with small, dark rooms and low ceilings can be a tough one.
Anthony Matula
But, as one Forest Hills couple discovered, in the right hands, a ranch can be manipulated into a serene work of art that’s perfectly well suited to the rolling hills of Middle Tennessee.
When the couple, who had been living in the husband’s childhood home since 1992, decided to start looking at new homes, they quickly discovered they didn’t want more square footage; they just wanted smarter square footage. They also realized it would be nearly impossible to find a lot that surpassed what they already owned. So, they reached out to architect Michael Goorevich to draw up plans for a tear down and rebuild on their existing property.
Goorevich drew up the plans as requested, but also saw real possibilities in the existing structure.
“A ranch can be a mean-spirited curmudgeon on the inside,” he says, “but it is not a terminal condition; their simple bifurcated floor plan with access to services above and below lend themselves to full modern renovations.”
Anthony Matula
At 3,100 square feet, 600 square feet of finished space in the basement, and a common space that wrapped around a pool, there was no need to add square footage or drastically alter the existing footprint. Instead, Goorevich teamed up with Worcester Bryan, of Bryan Contractors, to execute a design strategy that would introduce clean lines, warm wood, and an abundance of natural light to the space.
An existing central basement stair that could not be relocated became an integral part of the plans. Rather than viewing it as a hindrance, Goorevich came up with a creative solution, making a “donut” around the stair, and opening up the adjacent rooms around it, creating a series of linked spaces. The donut’s rich millwork also functions to mask the laundry room and pantry in an artful way.
Anthony Matula
Large expanses of Unilux windows were added throughout the home, framed in a warm, honey-toned white oak. The same wood was used for the kitchen cabinets and island, this time showing off the wood’s gently swirling natural grain. And, on the floors, there’s even more white oak, unstained for a subtle contrast. Throughout the home, clean wood slats cover the previously unsightly intake registers, and are also used to create light-filtering privacy screens between rooms.
On the exterior, landscaping will soon grow to cover the lower layer of the home, and here, once again, the white oak makes a statement in the boxed window frames. “You don’t often see white oak on the exterior of a home,” Goorevich explains, “but it’s an extremely handsome hardwood that used to be used on ships, so it works beautifully.”
Anthony Matula
For the wife, who grew up in Seattle, amid light-soaked rooms filled with clean-lined Scandinavian furniture, the wood was a key component of the redesign, but she says the most celebrated feature is easily the new kitchen. (It was a regional finalist in a recent Sub-Zero, Wolf, and Cove kitchen design competition).
“For the last 20 years, I’m cooking and everyone is somewhere else,” she says. “Now, we have a flow of space where 10 people can be in there having a glass of wine and an appetizer while I cook. I wish I would’ve done this 10 years ago.”
Goorevich, for his part, is always glad to see these mid-century homes being saved. “They really make great neighbors, and sit on their sites well,” he says. “I think the real goal is to make them the homes they always wanted to become.”