Like many homeowners, Peter Field and Kay Bhothinard were equal parts pragmatic and visionary when it came to their house. For five years, they lived in their 1930s Colonial Revival in Ridgewood, New Jersey, putting up with the flaws and imagining what could be.
Because they knew they would renovate one day, they patiently persevered. They lived with the cramped kitchen layout and the outdated cabinets—and never fixed a hole in the room’s ceiling caused by a burst pipe. They didn’t bother figuring out how to unlock the front door, which was nearly inaccessible due to overgrown shrubbery, opting to use the back door instead. Even though Peter’s daughter, Genevieve, who lived with them part-time, had often pointed out the unfortunate color of the house exterior, they let it be. They tolerated having just one full bath in the two-story, 1,700-square-foot house. And for the final five autumn-into-winter months that they lived in the house before the renovation, they put up with no heat after a catastrophic boiler failure by relying on the living room fireplace and space heaters.
When they were finally ready to renovate, they found the right partners with architect Jeff Jordan and builder Zack Dettmore. After a nine-month renovation, documented by This Old House as part of its 46th season, they are back in the renovated house—and reveling in the results. “It was so worth the wait,” says Kay. “The house respects the neighborhood but also reflects us—which is just what we wanted,” says Peter.
A Modest Yet Impactful Expansion
A two-story, 500-square-foot rear addition was the main agent of change, building in extra real estate where they needed it most without overwhelming the old house. In fact, the addition is not even visible from the front, which changed very little. “One of the things I love about this project is that Peter and Kay had real discipline about keeping the size of the addition modest,” says TOH host Kevin O’Connor. “They created a plan and stuck to it.”
The renovation plan left much of the house virtually intact: Aside from new windows, there were few changes to the living room, dining room, and office on the front half of the first floor and to the three existing second-floor bedrooms. To enhance flow from the original first floor rooms to the new rear addition, the architect’s plans featured a new hallway from the dining room to the rear, with a full bathroom and a pantry along the hall.
Although modest in scale, the rear addition’s impact is truly transformational, thanks to five-foot tall wraparound windows on both floors, facing the roomy backyard, which had been one of the main factors that led Peter and Kay to buy the house. “We love the big wraparound windows and the unobstructed view of the trees and plantings that we find so inspiring,” says Peter. “Every day is made better by the increased light that pours into most of the house now through the larger windows.”
A Kitchen Designed for Gathering
The first floor of the addition holds the new kitchen, now boasting items from the top of the homeowners’ wish list. Whereas the old kitchen only had one countertop area near the sink for prep work and barely had room for a table with three chairs, the new kitchen has spaces to work and gather. At 16-x-14 feet, it offers one-and-a-half times the square footage of the old kitchen, with countertops lining two walls, and a banquette along the wraparound windows facing the backyard.
To respect Peter and Kay’s modest budget approach, builder Zack Dettmore approached the kitchen as a chance to create a custom look but for significantly less money than custom would have cost. “With new construction, I knew it was less expensive to do the framing and drywall a certain way than it would have been to order custom cabinets, so we chose stock cabinets and I framed the walls to fit,” says Zack. Specially chosen cabinet doors and drawers add to the custom look. “We all love the new kitchen, and it’s become both a gathering place and a place for individual moments to quietly sit and look out the window,” says Kay.
A Serene Second-Floor Retreat
The second floor of the addition holds a Zen-like master bedroom, with a vaulted ceiling and collar ties wrapped in red oak for a minimalist, warm-wood feel. The wraparound windows accentuate the backyard view, and the room has become a soothing haven for the homeowners. “We really enjoy looking out from the new bedroom, through the trees, into the yard,” notes Peter.
Because of their modest budget, Peter and Kay chose to only have one full bath upstairs, but they gave it special touches such as a soaking tub under a skylight and double vanities. While the bath’s hallway door is a standard model, the door to the master bedroom became a work of craftsmanship: Zack’s team upheld the minimalist theme by creating a wall of red oak that includes the door with concealed hinges. TOH general contractor Tom Silva added a bit of flair with a red oak doorknob he turned on his lathe. Says Tom: “I really like the size of this project and the care they took to make the original and the new spaces feel right.”
Modern Comfort with Classic Charm
Another renovation goal was to increase the comfort and energy efficiency of the house, accomplished partly by replacing all original double-hung windows with casement-style windows, whose tight seal lends much better thermal performance, while also providing a desired modern look.
An all-new HVAC system was the real star: Out with the failed boiler, leaking radiators, and window AC units, and in with a gas-fired combi boiler supplying hot water for faucets, hot water for a radiant kitchen floor, and heat and AC delivered through a miniduct system. “Of all the projects we’ve done, this one benefited most from the miniduct system,” says TOH plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey. “With just one 7-inch supply trunk in the basement, one in the attic, and no individual returns in any rooms, this system took up so little physical space, it gives Peter and Kay hundreds of square feet of usable space in the basement and the attic that they can finish however they want.”
Bringing the Outdoors In
Peter and Kay also wanted to create better ways to use their beloved backyard. “Outdoor rooms are so important to a house and here they had enough space to do them well,” says TOH landscape contractor Jenn Nawada. A big new patio took shape in the area where the addition and original house meet, instantly creating a compelling indoor-outdoor connection, and providing room for an oblong dining table that easily seats eight. They also added a seating area around a freestanding firepit and created a water feature with help from TOH mason Mark McCullough and input from Peter’s daughter, Genevieve.
A Home That Finally Feels Just Right
After all the years of putting up with the house’s flaws, Peter and Kay are enjoying their house’s new spaciousness mixed with the old feel—reflecting on how important it was to really know what they wanted for the renovation. “We’re glad we had the chance to slowly and iteratively think through what we needed most,” says Peter. “In the end, it led us to a renovation project that evolved the house to fit our lives, needs, and budget in a ‘just right’ way, without making the project larger than it needed to be.”
