Studio Robert Jamieson has remodelled a 1950s ranch home in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, outside Philadelphia. The studio opened up the closed, low rooms and paired the old stone walls with new cedar cladding inside and out.
The house before
When the owners bought the house, most of its original features were still in place. It offered almost 3,500 sq ft of living space on one level, but the rooms were shut off from one another and every ceiling was a low 8 feet.
Stone, cedar and black windows
The architects kept the existing stone walls of the exterior and set new wood cladding against them. The faux shutters came off, the roof was replaced, and new black aluminium-clad windows and trim completed the update.
The cedar does not stop at the facade. It runs inside onto the ceiling and onto the wall between the living room and the kitchen and dining area.
A vaulted living room
The old living room was long and low, with green carpet. It is now a bright vaulted room with a large cedar-clad wall fitted with custom steel pass-through shelving.
Next to the cedar wall stands a fireplace mass finished in artisan plaster, a cooler surface against the warm wood. Like the cedar wall, it stands free in the room, with a way through to the entry behind it.
Kitchen and guest bathroom
The original kitchen had dated wood cabinets and a round dining table. The new one combines tall walnut cabinets with matte white base units, giving plenty of room for cooking and entertaining. A large island divides the kitchen from the dining area.
The guest bathroom now has a floating walnut vanity, herringbone tiles on the walls and encaustic concrete tiles on the floor.
Remodelling a single-storey house
As a general point, low single-level homes from this period often have a generous footprint. Removing internal divisions and raising ceilings where the roof allows can change how the whole house feels while keeping the original shell.
Project credits
- Project: 1950s ranch home remodel, Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, USA
- Architecture: Studio Robert Jamieson
- Photography: Studio Robert Jamieson (before photos), August Haeuser (exterior), Sam Orberter (interiors)
- Source: Contemporist