Saturday, September 28, 2013

Our Family Home Project

I haven't been renovating anything recently, but have been focused on building a new home instead.  I love both new construction and rehabbing, but custom homebuilding differs enough from renovating that I've been feeling the new house is outside the scope of BSAPE.  However, my family and I are excited about what I've been digging into, so I wanted to bridge the gap between The Duplex and my next renovation by talking about Our Family Home Project to be built in Dorchester County, South Carolina. 

Although this is a new house, we've made a solid effort to have it appear like an older country home with it's accompanying barn.  The lot is on a prominent corner in the heart of a planned development and the side elevation will be just as impactful as the front view, if not more.  We'll have four bedrooms and three & one half baths.  The house is 2,118 sqft. with the heated and cooled space over the combination garage/carport being another 513 sqft.
 

Our detached garage is intended to resemble an old tobacco barn that has been converted into a finished living space.  The apartment here has a bedroom, bathroom, living room with efficient kitchen, as well as a small closet designated for a stackable washer/dryer.  This could be used as an in-law suite, a home office space, on-site caregiver quarters, an income producing rental unit, or just a place for visiting guests.  Also, my family has roots in the Pennsylvania Dutch part of the country and the barn signs will be meaningful to my family, but also a detail that'll add some color to our small outbuilding.   
 

I would like to conclude with a note of thanks to our architect Trevor McNeil Draper.  He took on our project with the thoughtful diligence we needed with experience and professionalism that allowed us to cruise through the developer's approval process.