For many of our clients, a home renovation project is a huge undertaking in many respects – they’ve saved money and set aside time to finally fix something in their house that never quite worked for them or perhaps was okay when they bought it but no longer works for them now. And once that first project was complete, and they realized what a huge impact that “one change” had on their daily lives, they came back to us for more. This edition of Building with Hope and Faith will feature homeowners who worked with us on multiple projects, sometimes years apart.

The beginning of each story starts with an initial project that was a necessary change: a fix to a problem in their current house. And once we brought them a customized solution, often even better than they dared to dream, they were overjoyed. More than a renovation, we truly transformed their home into a place they loved.

Often that first project is an outdated kitchen, or a too-small starter home; or perhaps they’re making space for extended family to move in. And before you know it, we hear, “that part of the house is so nice… now we want this part of the house to be as nice”.

The second (or third) project is started with confidence and excitement – they already know the result is going to be a dream come true. Let’s take a quick peek.

How It Started: Kitchen Renovation, Addition

It started out a center hall colonial, with an outdated kitchen shut off from the other rooms. We designed an addition out the back, made the kitchen bigger, and created an open floor plan. The exterior got a bit of a facelift with a new front porch and additional craftsman detailing on the interior.

Why They Came For More:
4-Car Garage, Workshop, Multi-purpose Room 

The second project was an addition with a 4-car garage that doubled as a workshop. Above the garage we created a large multipurpose room, which had separate areas that were used as a music room, an office and a gym. A new mudroom was added that connected the new garage to the house. From outside, you can enter the mudroom from the driveway and also from the backyard. Additionally, we created a staircase so you can get up to the new multi-purpose room, and to the second floor of the original house.

Check out the photos: https://www.zimarch.com/project-mcd-0408/

How It Started: Family Room Addition, New Master Suite 

This was originally a Sears kit house from the 1920’s or 30’s. Yes, back then you could buy a kit and build the house! This home was too small for a family of 4.

We created a family room addition out the back with a new master suite above it. As a small house they didn’t want the addition to overpower the rest of the structure and take away the feeling of a small home. It started as a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom home. After the addition, they now had a master suite with a private bathroom and each child had their own bedroom.

Why They Came For More: New Garage, Sun Room

The second request was to replace a dilapidated detached garage – it was supposed to have been for 2 cars, but in reality, it was barely wide enough for both cars, and in desperate need of major repair.

In this project, we built a new garage and a connector from the garage to the house. The first idea was to make this connector a covered walkway. But as we worked with the client, it evolved into a sunroom: a lovely spot, with lots of glass and a full view of the backyard. Too beautiful to ignore, it became the customary primary entrance that most visitors use to enter the house.

How It Started: Kitchen Renovation, Finished Basement 

The first project was renovating their kitchen. We added a cathedral ceiling, skylights and lots of cabinets. They came back for a second project, to refinish their basement. Our design turned the unfinished basement into a new family room with a built in bar (and decorated with a fun cowboy theme).

Why They Came For More:
Mom’s Apartment, Artist Studio, Dream Kitchen 

Several years later, the 3rd project was a large addition to create an apartment for the homeowner’s aging mom: it had a kitchen and small sitting area, a bedroom for mom, and another bedroom for the caregiver. Atop a portion of this new addition we created a roof deck, with access from the main part of the house.

And our most recent project for this client was an artist’s kitchen. Now was their chance to make the kitchen even larger so they could entertain in a big way. It was their dream project – they went for everything they wanted because they could now afford to do so. And even though it was ‘big’ there was nothing pretentious about it. It was spectacular without being ostentatious.

Where You’ve Seen it Before: https://www.zimarch.com/the-artists-kitchen/

For some of our clients, one project takes care of all their needs and desires. They’re thrilled with the result and can’t imagine why they didn’t do it sooner.

But as you can see, for many clients, their needs change over time, because our lives naturally evolve. A starter home for a couple now needs to expand as they welcome children. Young adult children move out – and sometimes move back in. Older parents now need help and our clients feel safer when all are under one roof.

Whatever is happening in your life’s journey, we’ll make sure your home is continuing to adapt to accommodate your needs and lifestyle. We always want to make sure you LOVE coming home to your house.

Do you have transformational dreams for your house and
simply can’t “see it happening?”
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