A Striking Home Remodel In Bluffview

Leap of Faith
The Waldrep family found their dream house in Bluffview and then raised the roof (literally), changing everything except its spirit.

Just imagine finding the home of your dreams days before  you’re scheduled to break ground on another house with a set of plans you’ve had in the works forever. Would you take the safe route and forge ahead with the new construction, or would you trust that this was where you and your family were meant to be? The Waldrep family decided to take the leap.

WATERFALL: Once the team decided to include a water wall, David and Guy set out to figure out how to make it work. The problem with most water walls, David says, is that they splash onto nearby surfaces. Guy found the perfect model “in a hotel in Japan “and borrowed a few of its best features, including the angled cuts on the stone’s face that not only eliminate splashing but also cause the water to flow in a mesmerizing, random pattern.

When our Realtor called to say she’d found the house, David says, I really didn’t want to see it. We had the plans for the other house, the lot, the team “we were ready to build. But I agreed to look. I stood in the entryway, silent, for a few minutes. Then I told the Realtor that she was right; this was it.

That was Tuesday, he says. On Friday, we owned the house.

So now they were the proud owners of a nice enough, modern ranch house on a fabulous 3-acre lot in Bluffview. But there were a few changes they wanted to make. Standing just inside the door, looking into the living room, you could see some of the backyard, David says. But the back wall of the living room blocked part of the view. We thought we’d like to open that up.

And we wanted to improve the interior spaces somewhat, his wife adds. The flow wasn’t always ideal. We also wanted our youngest child’s bedroom to be on the same side of the house as the master suite.

LIGHT AND BRIGHT: Daughter Kristen holds a degree in architecture. She had distinct ideas for her bedroom, including this comfortable nook with storage. (Below) Redstone Kitchens designed the Waldreps sleek, new family kitchen.

And to raise the ceiling in the entry hall, David says, looking over at her. There’s a moment of mental telepathy, when husband and wife communicate so much with just a single look. We can’t forget that ˜little improvement. They both smile.

As it happens, that little improvement was the impetus for a whole-house remodel. The couple’s original plans called for a reconfiguration of interior spaces. But when the ceiling was demolished, their interior architect, Guy Courtney of Wilson and Associates, saw a problem: the home’s original metal roof was disintegrating; it would have to be replaced.

David was on-site at the time; I told him about the roof problem first, Guy says. It’s one of those moments in life that you never forget. He immediately said, ˜If we have to replace the roof, I want to raise the ceilings throughout the house. I laughed. I thought at first that he was joking. Raising all of the ceilings would necessitate a major change in the plans”and increase expenses. But I quickly realized he was serious. The Waldreps always had very clear ideas of what they wanted for this house, and they never hesitated to act on those ideas.

As the Waldreps interior designer Brenda Stephenson, ASID, says, That blew the top off the project. Raising the ceiling height affected the proportions of the exterior, which affected window and door placement…and height…and even shape. Or, in Guy’s words, Everything from the floor up had to be redesigned.

Everything and everyone involved in the remodel was put on hold for three weeks while the couple collaborated with Guy and Brenda on new plans. This house was designed at night, Brenda says. We always got together late in the evenings, shared dinner, and swapped ideas.

My mantra through the whole project was Why not?David says. If we could come up with an idea, I thought, surely it could be translated into plans and materials and a finished product.

NIGHT LIGHT: Though the house is attractive during the day, it is simply stunning at night, thanks to its architectural lines, expanses of glass, and a superb lighting plan by local firm 2clighting. (Below) The floating his-and-hers vanity was one of Brenda’s ideas; David thought of lighting it from within.

Less than a month later, they had new plans and elevations detailing an extensive remodel. The new house is a contemporary beauty, but the footprint is almost identical to the original ranch. I’m not sure what the original architect had in his mind, Guy says, because the shape of the footprint is unusual; it uses some strange angles. But in the end it has contributed a lot of interest to the house. The building looks complicated, but it’s really very simple. It follows the topography of the land “there are several step-downs as you move through the home “so it fits organically into the site and really takes advantage of the views.

Interesting or not, the footprint did present one or two problems: a wing that jutted off the front of the house at an awkward angle and a square-footage shortfall. To address the first issue, Guy created a hinge “a rounded, two-story tower that houses an office-cum-workroom (this is a creative and craft-y family) and an exercise room “and swung the awkward wing out to a more pleasing angle. And by extending the footprint of the rear wing of the house, Guy created a wonderful master suite that is also close to the bedroom of their youngest child.

Opening the front of the home to the street, designing a sleek and modern fade, and adding windows to the front of the house have given it strong curb appeal. But the back of the house might be its crowning glory: the rear exterior seems almost transparent because of the number and size of the windows. The public areas of the house open onto the rear exterior, taking advantage of the beautiful terrain and adding a seamless indoor/outdoor quality, Guy says. One way we emphasized that was by running the limestone in the living room straight out onto the patio. Given the transparency of the glass, that surface draws the eye straight outside.

Despite its strong modern character and expanses of glass, the house is not stark, cold, or commercial-feeling. What the Waldreps wanted, Guy says, was a home that welcomes people “friends, family, guests “so we designed warm, generous public spaces. A large amount of the square footage is dedicated to a family room, media room, and game room.

We really want kids of all ages “our friends included “to come here to play, David says. Hence the pool table, the media room, the pool, the patio, and our plans for a fire pit in the backyard. And we also designed generous bedrooms for our adult children to entice them home often.

I think home is a place you go to get away, Guy says, and one of my favorite things to design is a resort. I tried to marry those two ideas while working on this project. And I think it worked. I know I’d like to vacation in this house.