Three-pronged remodel for a handsome old house

Sunset, Feb, 1990

Three-pronged remodel for a handsome old house A big, handsome 1913 house in a pretty Seattle neighborhood was a real find for Jeannie and Neil Robblee, with their five children. But the house had some serious limitations: a dark and dated kitchen, a back porch badly in need of repair, and no bathroom on the first floor.

Architect Bill Zimmerman came up with a plan that handled these problems without compromising the style of the house.

First, he pushed the kitchen's back wall out 12 feet to match the depth of an existing music room wing (over the garage, in the small photograph above) and to accommodate a new breakfast area. Between these wings went a glass-roofed deck, outside French doors in both the music and breakfast rooms. In this protected space, the children can play outdoors, even on drippy days.

Along the kitchen's side wall, Zimmerman popped out a cantilevered, glass-roofed bay; though only 30 inches deep, it allows for an increase in counter space without a loss of floor area. And its generous glazing floods the kitchen with natural light.

With the addition of the breakfast room extension and the sink pop-out, the architect was able to borrow enough space from the old kitchen to squeeze in the needed half-bath.