We worked with Saint Paul Lutheran Church of Villa Park on both the renovation of their church, and in converting this house into their new parsonage.  It was after we were hired for the church project that the church saw the opportunity to buy this adjacent property. Their original parsonage was adjacent to this house and their initial thought was to tear this down for parking.  While this house lacked aesthetic value, we encouraged the church to renovate this house and tear down the old parsonage so that all parking could be together and not surround the old parsonage.  In the future event that the church was sold, this property could then be treated as a separate property.

We did three studies for the house, two to add above and one encouraged by a construction manager who convinced the church that a two-story addition on the back would be cheaper, which turned out not to be.  it turned out to be more and that contractor was not hired.

The interior was fully gutted and renovated.  A central stair to the basement was removed and replaced with a new stair along an outside wall to allow for an open plan concept with the narrow house.  For the upper level addition, the stair to this level was stacked above the new basement stair.  The front stoop became a covered porch with a small sitting area.  The basement was originally not going to be renovated but remedial work was necessary and once this became living space, an egress window and window well had to be provided.  The village initially required three new egress windows to meet light and vent code, but we were able to talk them down to one window to minimize budget in that there were no sleeping rooms at this level. We added a small roof to the south side of the house to keep direct sunlight out of the living room windows and patio door, reducing cooling costs.

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This is a retirement home for a couple in St Joseph, Michigan. There is a school with a baseball field next door and we created a deck over the garage to allow them to view games from their deck…how Wrigley. The house has a full basement, but with the unique grades it is only a few steps down from the garage as the main house is elevated like traditional bungalows.  Interior Designer Donna Natale Mason added the gable features and selected the striking colors.

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