Archinect
Prime Draft Studio

Prime Draft Studio

Cedar Grove, NJ

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Montclair House

Think about this scenario.  You’ve lived in your neighborhood for fifteen or so years. It’s a quiet residential block in the suburbs. You’ve worked hard to acquire the house you and your family lives in. Maybe you just paid off your mortgage. The family is comfortable in the house; it accommodates them well and is a joyful place to live. The kids are growing up fast and making good friends in the neighborhood.

 

One day your neighbor across the street moves out and a developer purchases the house to renovate it. It’s a ranch house and you always thought it could have benefited from an addition or new siding and windows. You are hopeful the developer’s renovation will contribute nicely to the neighborhood and give you interesting architecture to look at from your front window.

 

Five months later the ranch house is completely gone and in its place is a monster of a house – nearly three full stories in height and nearly as wide as the lot it sits on. The materials are cheap, the windows look like might break in a strong breeze, the stone siding covers 110% of the front façade.  You now live across the street from and giant, architectural aberration, commonly known as a McMansion.  In your mind the neighborhood has been devalued by a developer who saw an opportunity to make a lot of money and who has no emotional investment in the neighborhood, as you do.

 

The owner of this project lived through that exact scenario.  So when the old ranch house next door to their current home went on the market, they bought it so they could control the renovation and keep it within the general character of the neighborhood; they wanted it very comfortable but also very low-key as seen from the street.

 

The original ranch house was around 4000 square feet. The owner wanted to add a second floor, bringing the total square footage of the new house to around 8000 square feet.  The challenge was to design a modest public face of the house while maximizing the interior for family use.

 
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Status: Built
Additional Credits: RTH Builders - General Contractor