Re-imagined: Transforming a Brookland Farmhouse

• January 13th 2012

by Lori Steenhoek

In Re-imagined this week, Lori Steenhoek helps envision how various features of a 1920s farm-house style home in Brookland (map) could be transformed. Though it needs a bit of rehabilitation, Steenhoek felt there was great potential in the details. Check out some of the before-and-after images below to see what sheʼd update.

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The Dining Room

The dining room is already in very good condition and has some features in the detailing of the columns and trim-work worth highlighting. To give it a more modern feel while maintaining the historic features, we went with a simple black and white paint scheme. We added two sliding, pocket-style glass doors to the rear of the room, which allows the space to be opened up for maximum light or closed-off for an intimate dinner. The hard-wired chandelier remains as a centerpiece of the room, and the original wood floors were refinished to make them shine.

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The Guest Bedroom

We kept the majority of the elements the same in this third-floor room, and added some touches of color to create a space that could be used a guest bedroom. The stair banister was painted white, and the wood ceiling fan blades were replaced to create a cleaner look. We kept the recesses on the angled wall in place, but removed the trim to make them better proportioned. For the floors, we added a new coat of high-gloss, true white paint to really brighten up the space.

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The Bathroom

At first glance, the bathroom looked like it needed a complete overhaul, but upon further inspection, we realized it has some parts worth keeping. The sink stand has some good character, so we kept that intact and added some funky drawer knobs and a new top with a glass bowl washbasin and updated faucet. We took out the old shower structure and replaced it with a single glass pane and ceiling-mounted showerhead. We matched the existing tiles to complete the floor and wall surfaces, and added a new mirror and light fixture to complete the transformation.

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The Backyard

For the backyard, we decided to remove the awkward step-down associated with the raised deck, and went with a simple, at-grade patio space created with two different types of pavers. We added some horizontally-aligned privacy fences to both sides of the yard for a more intimate space, and lined the sides with potted plants to add some greenery. Some additional built-in planter boxes at the rear of the house would be a great place for a fresh herb garden.

Lori Steenhoek is a Digital Artist with over six years of experience creating architectural renderings. She is the founder of Capital Pixel, a DC-based rendering company, and is currently finishing her Masters thesis in Animation and Visual Effects. She can be reached at lori@capitalpixel.com

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Do you know of a home that needs some re-imagining? If so, drop us a line at editor2011@urbanturf.com.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/re-imagined_transforming_a_brookland_farmhouse/4916.