ZIEGLER RESIDENCE ADDITION & RENOVATION

A small one-story ranch house constructed into a hillside in Milford New Jersey with a stunning view of the town and the Delaware River Valley. It was placed awkwardly without regard to its site or the view with only a small window group facing the river. The client, who recently inherited this house from her aunt whos husband constructed it in the 1950s, wished to add to it and make it into a home where she can retire with her new husband.

We proposed an addition to the south, open the plan up to reorient the house to the views of the Delaware from the back kitchen of the house and update the kitchen to accommodate the client’s interest in gourmet cooking. New openings between the breakfast area and the addition and the existing living room, now the sitting room, to the now Living room portion of the addition were added. This new arch was a highly detailed opening in the Arts and Craft style. On both sides of the arch were two built-in hutches relocated from the existing kitchen. This was an effort to reuse the custom pieces built by the clients uncle. A Pennsylvania bluestone wall cap in front of the stove was included in the opening from the kitchen to allow views to the river. The stone used matched the mantel stone of the original fireplace.

The west bedroom was opened to the river with a small bay with built-in seat and storage. The bathroom was reconfigured and all new finishes were selected to be more appropriate to the style of the renovation.

The exterior of the house was aluminum sided with no architectural detail. Upon investigation, original clapboard siding was found to be sound and suitable for reuse. The front elevation had stone veneer. The addition was proposed in stucco and cement shake siding with overhangs added on new and existing eves with distinctive rafter tails to offer weather protection and provide some stylistic accents to the new exterior spaces we added around the house as well as to tie the old and new exterior together. A shed dormer was added to allow for future expansion to the attic.

A large front terrace was added to the west to provide a place to view the river valley while entertaining. This terrace extends from the existing front entrance door to the end of the addition with access from the Living Room addition. A veneer retaining wall set the house on a plinth, which integrates the house comfortably into the hillside. The new stone was carefully matched to the original stone on the front of the house.

An unused and deteriorating raised concrete patio/garage addition in front of the existing basement garage was removed to create a two-car garage into the basement. A new drive was added to the rear of the house for secondary access to the kitchen. A covered rear patio was added to the south off the new dining room of the addition with access from the new kitchen and built-in breakfast area.

The house has now become a personal place for the Client to see the vista from all rooms in the house. The work to the hose has made it light filled. She said, I find my new house a refuge and hate leaving this house, even to go to work.