This month we share a small piece of an extensive historic renovation project commonly referred to as the "Castle House", an English Tudor built in 1925. The owners came to us for a whole home remodel inside and out, which presented it's fair share of challenges as a historic building.

"John (Lewis) is a much needed force in a process that often can get very bogged down," noted Kierstyn Berlin, Creative Interior Designer at Lewis Builders listing the planning and permitting departments, the vendors, the subcontractors, the clients and in this case the historical review board. "He likes to be efficient and he wants things to go quickly."

"This project was really unique because it was a historic restoration of an old English Tudor home without having a landscape very well delineated that supported the house, that extended the lines and the forms and the materials out into the site," said Michael Bliss, Landscape Architect hired to design the outdoor space.

Because of the historical status of the home our designers were required to retain certain exterior design elements for the house. "I was secretly very very excited that the existing original steel windows were going to be restored. It was a lot of extra work but to replace steel windows, you simply can't do it anymore" said Berlin.

All original doors were kept and restored and several areas of stone work on the home's exterior were seamlessly repaired to a perfect match.

“The fire pit and semicircle bench really complement the opposing turret and draws you outside from the living room, master suite or guest house" said Scott Julian, President of Lewis Builders. The design can easily accommodate 10 people comfortably.

Windows and doors were added to create a much more interactive space with the exterior.

"This was our first time working with Lewis Builders and it was really an amazing experience. They're at the top of their game, really professional" explained Bliss, appreciating the level of communication and diversity of the Lewis Builders team. "It was a pleasure being incorporated into their team in a way that really felt like we were integral to the process, that our voice was respected and the project was so much more successful because of that."

We hope to bring you more of this landmark project in the near future!