Belmont Modern

The wonderful clients of this home reached out to me after viewing concrete floors featured in another AHI project. Ironically, concrete was already a major feature in their home where the family of four had resided for 13 years before deciding to renovate. The house was built in 1948 during the start of the Cold War. When other homeowners were building bomb shelters in their back yards, the original owners of this Belmont residence, built an entire house of concrete. The walls, including the non-structural interior walls and the floors were constructed of concrete. Even sections of the ceiling were concrete. This, of course, became THE major challenge during renovation, especially for the electrician.

The interior décor of the home veered towards a Mediterranean style with dark woodwork, stucco walls and tile floors. Yet the basic design, fenestration and layout was mid-century modern, with a mostly open floor plan in the main living area. The result was a dreary and confusing cacophony of styles. The client wanted a modern, clean and consistent aesthetic.

The first phase of work was to gut the existing kitchen, Powder Room, Living Room, Dining Room, sunroom, and hallway on the first floor – everything but the bedrooms and Main Bath. Though the client initially wanted new concrete floors, there was no access in the basement to much of the 1st floor footprint making radiant heat and the proper demo and re-construct too difficult. So they opted for a concrete fireplace surround and cantilevered bench instead, and white oak flooring, and new oak staircase and railing to the basement.

In keeping with the mid-century modern style, we chose a colorful mosaic tile kitchen backsplash and a mixture of white oak and pale blue painted cabinetry. We extended the existing soffit above the peninsula, clad it with oak, and angled it to meet the adjacent wall of kitchen cabinetry. The same pale blue was used in the Sunroom opposite the kitchen, for a new bank of drawers beneath the windows.

We retained the original windows, but by painting the dark trim and window frames the same white as the walls, the whole place brightened and took on a more modern feel.

A year and half after the first round of renovations were completed, the clients were ready to complete their home renovation including the exterior and the yard.

After much discussion between husband and wife over whether or not to add an additional floor, the decision was made to add a floor above one wing of the existing footprint to create a Master Bedroom suite that included a bedroom, Main Bathroom and Bonus Room, where the couple could relax at the end of the day. The new Bonus Room features a wall of built-ins that include a small fridge, wet bar and large screen TV.

The existing lower section construction transformed the former one bedroom shared by the two twin girls, into two bedrooms, a larger updated children’s bath as well as added space for a waiting room for the couple’s two offices. The couple are both psychologists who occasionally worked from home prior to the renovation. They were thrilled to have updated home offices just before the 2020 Pandemic began, when like so many professionals, they began working at home full time.

His office has a pull-out sofa so it can be used for guest and family stays, and the updated bathroom outside the offices includes a shower giving guests their own private wing during their stay.

The basement floor did not escape the renovation. The former Storage/Work out Room with rough concrete floors and walls, became a finished work-out space and Mud Room with oak built ins including cubbies, cabinets, benches, and art on the walls. A Powder Room as well as an additional pantry supplanted the former full bath. Red rubber flooring was laid throughout the basement giving the basement a finished, cohesive appeal, while also being a practical choice for the rooms’ functions, especially given prior basement flooding.

An outdoor kitchen was created as well, completing the transformed grounds that showcases new plantings, a large patio, and a fire pit. Let the party begin!