A Historic Boulder Victorian Reimagined for Today
How do you add a bedroom, family room, laundry room, mudroom, and two bathrooms to a vintage residence—without adding a single square foot? That changed into the arithmetic required of the bold souls who offered this circa-1875 Gothic Revival Victorian in Boulder’s Whittier community, a historic district in which rigorous building regulations (supposed to hold the area’s appeal) make changing a home’s exterior nearly not possible.
“We knew we wanted something vintage, with man or woman,” the homeowner says of her house search. “When we determined this Victorian, we notion, Wellll…there’s no master bedroom.” But, propelled through a can-do attitude, she and her husband offered the house beside and hired Boulder’s Elton R. Construction and Denver-based JM Kitchen & Bath to embark upon a modern, yearlong preservation that added loads of functionality (and yes, an entire new master suite and kitchen) for their younger circle of relatives of 4—without pushing an inch over the existing three,000-square-foot footprint.
The design eye that brought it collectively belongs to Lindy Williams, major and innovative director of Boulder’s Westward Foundry design company. Says Williams of the venture: “[The homeowners] were excited about being in the ancient district, and that they wanted to do it right and honor the records of the house.”
The preservation came together in phases, beginning with the second floor, which becomes reconfigured to encompass the master suite, laundry room, and two youngsters’ bedrooms—changes that required approval from the City of Boulder’s Landmarks Board. Next, it became directly to the floor, where the crew borrowed some underused rectangular photos from the prevailing connected garage. Converting the slab-foundation garage on sandy soil into the livable area required creative trouble-fixing (and excavation) when it came to necessities like plumbing and a gas line. Still, the ensuing kitchen and circle of relatives room have on account that end up the residence hub.
Driving the design of each reimagined space turned into the own family’s need for storage. With two young kids and no basement or playroom to accommodate their stuff, constructed-ins (see: circle of relatives room and kitchen) had been crucial—and carefully designed. “We did now not need a big residence; it’s reasonably sized,” the owner of a house says, “however we controlled some high-quality garage. That wall of cabinets [in the kitchen] is like a built-in hutch; we love it because we can conceal the whole lot. It makes the house feel so much more green.”
For all its practicality, the residence exudes warm temperature and a polished eclecticism that’s rooted in the homeowner’s nuanced tastes—and become carried out with Williams’ assist. “I want to take numerous dangers; Lindy became incredible support for that,” the owner of a house says. “‘Yes, paint your kitchen blue!’ she stated.”
Combined with crimson brick, white marble countertops, and brass fixtures, that daring blue cabinetry lands someplace between a modern-day farmhouse and traditional Victorian on the style spectrum. But, as risks cross, the floor-to-ceiling mural that enlivens the dining room turned into possibly the most important—and yielded a large payoff. Created by way of the artist and Colorado local Naomi Clark, the ambitious floral motif gives a fanciful focal factor that riffs on the nice and cozy brick tones and pops of blue that make appearances throughout the home.
The complete layout scheme, in reality, feels stimulated and creative. “With old houses, you don’t just install emblem-new fixtures,” Williams says. “The owner of a house has an eye for antique fixtures, and he or she had a few exceptional family pieces.” Heirloom rugs anchor each living area with warm, rich shade, for instance, even as cooler colorations and blended styles (see: the striped ottoman and herringbone-tile hearth surround inside the circle of relatives room) add a clever fashion, but in no way precious. “They desired it to have a gathered look,” Williams says of the design. “They didn’t want something to appearance too best and pretentious.” The result: an antique domestic polished up for a brand new century.
An heirloom rug anchors the family room (previously the garage) geared up with a properly-edited mixture of textures and patterns: a leather Restoration Hardware couch, stripped Kim Salmela ottoman, and, around the fire, Nero Marquina marble tile from Ann Sacks. Photo by Kimberly Gavin.
