Opposites Attract

Classic on the outside, contemporary on the inside—this house proves that with the right design, this unlikely pairing can succeed.

The old adage that you can’t judge a book by its cover applies to this 1990s Colonial in Cincinnati. The home’s traditional exterior hides all clues to the contemporary vibe of its renovated interior—well, almost all. The new glass front door, with an etched grid and a mahogany frame, hints at the modern meets-traditional blend inside. “The front door doesn’t jump out at you as something from another period,” architect Cynthia Williams says. “But then it’s like, ‘Oh, wait a minute, there’s something a little different going on here.’”

The homeowners challenged Williams to overhaul the interior without adding square footage or running afoul of the home’s classic roots. While some designers might find this daunting, Williams believes new and old can blendin interesting and refreshing ways.

The first step was to open the main level’s choppy floor plan. The architect removed a half-wall and supporting columns between the cramped dining room and living room. A bathroom was relocated from its awkward spot off the foyer to a discreet setting near the basement stairs. “Before, the space really was tight in some spots and cavernous in others and didn’t work for the family,” Williams says. “Now it’s much more usable and intimate.”

The home’s new transitional style came about through carefully balancing traditional and contemporary architectural details—and adding warmth with wood.“So many contemporary houses feel cold,” Williams says. “By using a lot of wood details, I was able to create a contemporary feel that still had traditional style and warmth.” Crown molding added throughout the house and beefier ceiling beams in the living room keep the architecture on the traditional side. In the living room, a traditional, carved-wood mantel on the new fireplace takes the modern edge off the sleek, flat-front built-insthat surround it. Rich cherry gives the elements a classic look and helps visually link the two styles. To complete the effect,Williams trimmed the cabinets in the same white-painted molding she used in the rest of the house, creating a smooth transition between rooms. For symmetry, the shape of the living room’s fireplace and built-ins mirrors that of the new windows and doors on the opposite wall. French doors that stretch 8 feet high and double-stacked windows create the solarium effect the family desired without the expense of building a new room. The architect credits the home’s clean, simple look to the cohesive finishes and details. Without them, the modern and traditional elements would have been muddled. In the kitchen, custom cherry cabinets carry through the look of the living room’s built-ins. Rooms also make a flawless transition from the main to upper levels. Contemporary built-ins in the master bedroom, for example, mimic the style of those in the living room. In the bedroom, though, they wear a light maple finish for modern flair.

After months of planning and hammers banging, this unassuming home has taken a leap into the future while embracing its past—not that anyone could tell from the outside.

Congratulations to Cynthia Williams Architect on recently winning the CORA Award – Honorable Mention for Design Addition or Remodel. AIA Cincinnati’s Congress of Residential Architecture (CORA) committee recognizes the best in residential design at their annual Residential Awards.  The award was for the whole house renovation in Amberley Village.

Lead safety has been an important issue for a number of years.  Even more so with the adoption of a new Environmental Protection Agency Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule.

For all buildings constructed before 1978, professional contractors are now required by law to take extensive job site precautions to protect themselves and a house’s inhabitants from the potential health hazard effects of lead dust.

Recently, Alan Haire, partner at Ryan Remodeling, completed two courses: Lead-Based Paint Renovation, Repair and Painting and Ohio Lead-Safe Renovation. Alan will perform inspections, lead tests and direct any required abatement prior to the initiation of any new project that falls under the new EPA rules.

It all started in 1975 with one person and a 1969 Chevy van full of used tools. Dennis Ryan started out doing rental property rehab and repair, primarily for his landlord.  From those modest beginnings Ryan Remodeling has continued to grow in both size and expertise. Today, Ryan Remodeling boasts an organization of 20 craftsmen complemented with a team of valued architects and subcontractors.

In 2005, Dennis passed the baton to long-time Ryan remodeling associates, Alan Haire and Tim Taney.  Tim and Alan  continue to follow the Company’s credo of building to exacting standards with quality materials and attention to detail.  They have expanded the Company’s areas of expertise into both commercial and restoration projects.

Frank Woodside loves to give tours of his family’s lake house, and when you see the before pictures, it’s no surprise why. He and his wife, Julie, turned a relatively modest A-frame cabin into what their contractor calls “a 3,700-square-foot summer extravaganza.” Gorgeous views of the water extend from almost every room, and light streams in from all directions. If you couldn’t see the original A-frame’s outline inside and out, it would be hard to believe this is the same house at all.

The first stop on the tour reveals the driving motivation behind the project: a small room to the right of the entryway that’s nearly adjacent to the living room. Before the renovation, this space served as the couple’s master bedroom, and its location meant they could hear everything else going on in the cabin. Often, that was quite a lot. Since purchasing the house in 1990, the couple and their two sons have enjoyed countless weekends at their Lake Lorelei retreat, about an hour’s drive east of their primary home in Cincinnati. Many of those trips included enough of their sons’ friends to fill the original four bedrooms, the couch and, with the addition of sleeping bags, even a fair amount of floor space.

As their sons grew (they’re now 28 and 30), the couple began to think about creating their own private retreat within the home. The boys decided to settle in Cincinnati, and one of them is already engaged, so it only seemed natural to create a vacation house where everyone in this growing family could enjoy different activities without being on top of each other.

Extreme Makeover
This simple wish eventually blossomed into a renovation project that more than tripled the structure’s square footage and transformed nearly every corner of the existing home. It’s such a radical change that one of their sons’ friends came out to visit and thought he had pulled into the wrong driveway.

Expansive hardwood flooring greets you when you step into the house, and the back of a fireplace separates you from the living room. The kitchen and dining room are on the left, and a doorway to the right leads to two bedrooms. A mudroom between the garage and the kitchen is where the vacationers drop their towels and sports gear after spending the afternoon in the lake.

The project’s architect, Rod Sidley of Rod Sidley Architects in Wyoming, worked hard to maximize the lake views—a new luxury since the original A-frame provided only one view. There’s a long view of the lake from the dining room, and the living room’s soft, inviting furniture places guests right between the fireplace and glass doors with an entirely different look at the water. To bring more sunshine into the room, Sidley added skylights to the original A-frame’s slanting walls. Even the family’s dog, a Lhasa Apso named Cocoa, knows this is the perfect spot for an afternoon nap.

It’s the upstairs where you’ll find Frank and Julie’s new retreat. “This is what started it all,” Frank says, opening the door to the master suite. The first room features a desk for catching up on work and a sitting area where it would be easy to lose a Sunday morning with a good book. This space opens up to the bedroom, where the couple’s bed is surrounded on either side with built-in cabinets. On the other side of the room, there’s a fireplace, an oversized bank of arched windows and glass doors to a small, private deck. Outside you’ll find what’s arguably the best lake view in the entire house. With a few well-chosen snacks, it’s not hard to imagine spending the whole weekend in the master suite. An impressive bathroom with golden limestone completes the space.

There are three more bedrooms on the second floor along with another full bathroom. In all, the home includes six bedrooms and four-and-a-half bathrooms. You’ll also find two garages where the family stores a boat and two jet skis, along with a huge deck off the back of the house complete with hot tub. The Woodsides are adding a fire pit to the yard, so they can sit outside during cooler weather.

Frank and Julie say they spend more weekends than not at the house and even some weeknights. “Last year I probably spent 75 nights here,” Frank says. “It’s 42 miles to my office. I can get downtown faster than people in Mason.”

The main attraction, they say, is the chance to unwind. “We’re type A’s who keep going and going,” Julie says. “You come out here, and there’s nothing to do but relax. There’s no time where you have to do anything. I can’t get in the car and run to the cleaners and do all the errands.”

It’s also a quiet spot where you can listen to the crickets chirp and take in the pitch-black night. “Even the dog sleeps better out here,” Frank adds. “There are no cars—nothing to wake anybody up.” And if the kids are playing poker or watching sports, Frank and Julie can now head upstairs to the master suite where it’s always peaceful.

Behind the Scenes
But while the house seems effortlessly comfortable now, it took a lot of sweat equity to make it happen. Sidley worked with the family on the design for six or seven months, then brought in Ryan Remodeling, a company he’s worked with on countless other projects. The home’s plans were complete in spring 2005, but the team waited until the fall to start construction, so the family could enjoy the summer season. With a crew working through the winter, the project was finished in time to celebrate the following Fourth of July in the house.

Unlike some clients, the Woodsides didn’t have the time or inclination to pick out every tile and doorknob. Instead, Sidley presented them with suites of materials for approval, and they trusted in his reputation—and the impressive photo gallery of past projects on Sidley’s office wall.

“The truth of the matter is we wanted him to make it what he thought it should be,” Frank says. “I told him when he was done we wanted him to be proud enough to put it on the wall. He said he thought he could do that.”

While the family’s primary home in Wyoming is quite formal, Sidley describes the lake house’s style as “casual elegance.” All the materials are nice, but none are wildly expensive. The hardwood floors on the ground level, for instance, are actually grade two oak, which means the boards have more knots and imperfections than better grade wood. But in this natural setting, those “defects” simply add interest and texture. Many light fixtures look like they might be just as comfortable outdoors, which adds a rustic, comfortable flavor. Natural materials, such as slate and limestone in all the bathrooms, create a unified look.
These kinds of well-thought details make the house more inviting, and you find them everywhere you look. Sidley replaced the old wooden deck railing with decorative metal for a more sophisticated look that doesn’t obstruct the view. He also designed a staircase that’s easier to climb at every age. Each step is a little longer than normal with a little less rise, so you actually feel like you’re gliding up to the second floor. Once you’re there, you can admire Sidley’s built-in beds for the two smaller bedrooms. They tuck into the sides of the slanting A-frame roof to save precious floor space.

Attention to detail was also a goal for Ryan Remodeling, according to Tim Taney, the company’s president. And though this project was out of town, Taney says it didn’t require much extra work for the homeowners. He dealt with many issues over the phone, talking with Julie two or three times a week after the roof went on, and the job foreman, Jim Barrick, kept things on track at the lake house.

Things turned out so well that the Woodsides decided to make a few improvements on their house in Wyoming, and they’re working with the same team once again. But as time goes on, it may not be so easy to tell which house is the primary residence.

“We can go from one house to the other with no problem,” Frank says. “We just walk through the door, adjust the thermostat and enjoy. It’s like going home.”

Three years ago, as the youngest of Larry and Kathy Smileys’ four children prepared to graduate from high school, the couple were ready for a commencement of their own. They were in the market for rural property where they could keep their three horses: They found it on an 11-acre spread on a Ross Township ridge.

“Originally, we thought we wanted a log house, but then we found out about timber-framed post-and-beam houses,” Kathy says. They contracted with Dennis Ryan of Midwest Timbercraft in Over-the-Rhine (www.midwesttimbercraft.com), who had built a post-and-beam house once and was eager to do another. The design came from Timberpeg, a specialty company they discovered online.

Looking for something “farmy,” as Kathy says, the Smileys were charmed by a plan that included an early American style exterior, complete with cupola. Its simple lines would harmonize with the barn and other outbuildings the couple planned, and it was large enough to provide one-floor living for Larry and Kathy, bedrooms to accommodate their children during occasional visits, and a spacious lower-level walk-out family room. With a few modifications to the plans – and their Wyoming house on the market – they were ready to start.

As they worked with Ryan, the Smileys’ goal was to integrate a variety of elements that would make their home rustic, yet comfortable and visually interesting. Kathy’s training as an interior designer proved valuable, as she and her husband drew on ideas for design and materials they noticed elsewhere.

From the stables at the Biltmore Estate came the idea to combine light knotty pine paneling and black metal accents. The Smileys used this wood paneling extensively on the home’s interior walls and ceiling, punctuating it with black metal hardware and fixtures. It’s also used in the staircase, where curving hammered metal balusters connect the wooden rails. The idea came from a picture Kathy found on the Web.

“We were always looking for things we liked,” Kathy explains, adding that she carried a camera with her during their house planning phase.

The home’s front door opens directly into the great room, with a dramatic cathedral ceiling and a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace at one end. The dining area and kitchen are at the opposite end of this welcoming space. Thanks to several large windows and two ranks of clerestory windows, the room is bathed in light. One cluster of living room furniture is grouped near the large window that overlooks pastureland and woods. A small square table and comfy chairs are situated in front of the fireplace.

“I like older furniture,” Kathy says, noting that the new house is furnished with what she and her husband have lived with for years, including a few cherished heirlooms.
Kathy Smiley is an accomplished cook. Her large and well-equipped kitchen is separated from the rest of the great room by a wide, granite-topped counter that serves as work and eating surface. Whether she’s cooking for her husband or a crowd, Kathy’s able to enjoy the company of others as she works.

Deciding that the kitchen woodwork should complement (but not duplicate) the knotty pine paneling, the couple chose knotty alder for the cabinets, which were made by Mark I Custom Carpentry in Lockland. The granite countertops are a mottled pattern in black, cream, brown and gold; the sink and faucets are black, like the cabinet hardware.
The open staircase leading up to the second floor carries out the wood and black metal look, with curved hammered metal balusters between wooden rails. Kathy found a design online that Ryan used as a starting point.

Family treasures are at the heart of the Smileys’ home. A framed collection of lace made by Kathy’s great-grandmother hangs on one wall of the master bedroom, a perfect complement to the room’s traditional Americana décor.

Shallow shelves in the hallway between bedroom and bathroom display a collection of small pottery objects. And the Smileys designed the master bath around an antique cabinet that they bought for $1 when they were dating, complementing its weathered wood with textured tile and river stone finishes.

The powder room, likewise, has several nostalgic touches.

“This is the first mirror I remember ever looking into,” she says of the antique piece that hangs above the sink. That basin, made of sculpted black metal, was a find on a trip to Mexico. Holding up the basin and its granite counter is a stand of wrought iron made by Hartwell-based Lukens Blacksmiths.

Throughout the house, there are nice surprises: On the open, mezzanine-like walkway between bedrooms on the second floor is a wide space that the couple has made into a music alcove, with grand piano, two chairs and a small table. A simple flight of stairs from this space leads up to a loft.

Another, narrower loft is built into one wall of daughter A.J.’s bedroom.

“Our neighbor kids love to come over and play up here,” says Kathy.