Douglas Avenue Residence

This was an unusual house for New York City; it was originally built by a doctor from the Bronx, and his wife from California. The house had a pool, and high asymmetrical living room, and unlike most houses, in this one the major rooms were on the upper level. It had shed roofs and a long outdoor balcony, and in many ways seemed like a west coast house. For us, this was one its most attractive features.

On the exterior siding above the brick, we scraped the paint, and restored the natural cedar. The brick, the cedar and the trim are all earth tones, and help to ground the building on the site. On the upper level, we opened up the plan, creating openings, taking out doors and putting in glass so the spaces would flow into each other. We also renovated the kitchen, and re-designed the railing of the balcony overlooking the pool.
On the lower level, we brought in more natural light by freeing up the staircase and glazing the doors. We also created a new guest/pool room, with a new bathroom attached.