Measure Up Your Split-Level Spec House

It is not surprising that many Americans live in homes built from programs. There are good reasons for this, the most important of which is to maintain prices low. Most people don’t have the resources to construct a custom home.

There are drawbacks to spec homes, of course. Adaptations to the standard plan to accommodate variations in building a lot and household dynamics often are not possible. Nuances of views and specific household living patterns can be lost in the drive to keep costs down.

However, as these homes age there exists the real chances of altering them in important ways. Each update to siding, windows, plumbing, kitchens and bathrooms offers an opportunity to tailor each home to fit each website along with the homeowners’ needs and wants.

Below are three such homes, each one of the split-level selection. All seem to be initially built from standard plan collections, but each has undergone a significant transformation. From the process of remodeling these split-level homes, each is becoming more effective and more pleasurable — less home and more home.

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The Streetside View

Split number one, like all the three houses, is configured with a major level at the same side and a two-story section in the other. The exterior has been completely altered, giving clues to the lively and light-filled spaces within.

Gardner Architects LLC

Split number 2 retains much of its original appearance and texture in the front, or street, side. But wait until you see what happens in back!

Bud Dietrich, AIA

Split number three is less about an explosion of form and also more about calmness and tranquility. Not many changes were made to the original arrangement, to maintain the look in line with its fellow community splits.

KUBE architecture

The View from the rear

Split number-one has the back side all open with big windows and doors, making a smooth transition from indoors to outside.

Gardner Architects LLC

Split number 2 explodes with developments of different kinds on its back side. What appears to be a set of changes in the front gives way into a riot of new structure at the trunk.

AIA, Bud Dietrich

Split number three extends the living room to the outdoors with big glass doors connecting the main living area into the terrace. New and seamless connections between exterior and interior are common to all three houses.

KUBE architecture

The Additions

Split number-one appears to have all of its additional space in the front, making it clear to anybody passing by.

Gardner Architects LLC

Split number two retains its developments at the trunk, researching a different dynamic altogether.

AIA, Bud Dietrich

Split number three tries to blend any inclusion effortlessly to the first.

KUBE architecture

The Interior-Exterior Relationship

In divide number-one a row of sliding glass doors leads in the kitchen and adjoining rooms out to a deck that stretches out all across the back of the home. These doors bring abundant natural light into the inside when enabling for the barefoot lifestyle many men and women cherish now.

Gardner Architects LLC

Split number two connects inside and out throughout the expanded living space. Much like all the breaks glass doors seamlessly mix in and outside.

AIA, Bud Dietrich

In divide number three a corner of glass windows and doors connects inside and out. The height of these elements (more than 10 ft) generates an almost completely open space and light-filled space.

KUBE architecture

The Stairs

Directly inside the front door are the stairs that connect each one of the levels in a split. And every level is just half a flight in the next level. In divide number-one all of the wall openings, the mild and the linear design of railings and treads create a lively and wealthy spatial experience.

Bud Dietrich, AIA

In divide number three the stone surfaces, iron railing and wall of pictures produce a more subdued and traditional space.

KUBE architecture

The Main Level

The main levels of split level homes can be beautifully spacious and bright, as here in divide number-one. The space of the room carries over the railings upwards into the tall ceiling and beyond the surrounding walls. A feeling that each and every room of the home is interconnected is created.

Gardner Architects LLC

In divide number two the blond wood components tie the rooms and components collectively as the space travels round corners, and the skylight bathes the inside with light. The result: a simultaneous feeling of being distinct and separate while being one and connected.

AIA, Bud Dietrich

Back in split number three the big rectangular space of the most important amount can be considered from the balcony of the top level. From this vantage point there is a feeling of quiet repose in lieu of dynamic spatial interaction.

KUBE architecture

The Kitchen

Each of the kitchens were totally redone. Split number-one obtained a galley kitchen.

Gardner Architects LLC

Split number two uses a middle space between family rooms along with other living areas.

AIA, Bud Dietrich

The kitchen at divide number three, a more traditional layout, takes up a corner of the main level and can be used as a room to entertain in.

Gardner Architects LLC

The Home Office

These houses are big enough to incorporate a home office. Split number two‘s is connected to the outdoors for when the deskbound require a breath of fresh air.

Bud Dietrich, AIA

The home office in divide number three is about the top level in a space that could, for another household, be a child or guest bedroom. Large windows and a vaulted ceiling maintain the workplace airy and bright even without direct access to the outdoors.

KUBE architecture

The Toilet

The bathrooms were also renovated and enlarged. The aesthetic so evident through the renovation of divide number-one is carried into this bath too.

Gardner Architects LLC

Split number two‘s is in preserving its Eastern-inspired renovation.

AIA, Bud Dietrich

And divide number three follows the traditional style seen throughout the remainder of the home.

Inform us : Perhaps you have remodeled a split-level house? Share your story in the Remarks below.

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Home Designs: Split Personality

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