The Zavala House

Hello Dwell!

I'd like to submit our home in Lexington Kentucky for your Before and After series. It's a Queen Anne style house with an Attic that has been transformed. This converted attic space is a great spot for two young kids to play and develop. The addition includes (2) bedrooms, (1) dynamic hangout/play/study area, (1) bathroom, and (1) storage room. There’s plenty of space for daydreaming or to dive into some serious Lego building.

More Detail:
Like many cities around the world, finding a suitable home near a downtown with everything needed for a growing family can be a huge challenge. Not to mention with the cost of home buying aways on the rise. When moving back to Lexington Kentucky from the business of Boston Massachusetts we settled on a Queen Anne Style home within walking distance to downtown. While the original house, built in 1917, had tons of character, it lacked space for family to grow. However, it had an unfinished attic with the potential to create more livable space. Moreover, before the renovation, this unfinished attic space was freezing in the winter and unbearably hot in the summer, with no insulation between it and the first floor living space making this home incredibly inefficient for heating and cooling. It was a bit scary ripping the roof off in the fall and winter, but luckily the demo and construction went relatively smoothly.

When designing this renovation, care was taken to maintain the integrity of the original house design. The house already had a previous addition added to the rear in the early 2000's. We wanted to avoid a "patch quilt" effect with three separate areas stitched together with little cohesion. We achieved this from the exterior by maintaining the original top ridge height and incorporating the "Hardie" Siding from the previous addition, as well as matching the roofing throughout.

On the interior we kept the feeling light and airy with white walls, tall ceilings, and plenty of windows. This allows for the furniture and kid stuff (toy, games, sheets) to carry the bright pops of color. The large center oculus (round window) brings some unique geometry to the front façade and second floor interior. From the interior the oculus frames the maple tree in the front yard. The oculus, combined with the skylights, and original square leaded window bring in an incredible amount of daylight. During the summer, while the maple is in full bloom, the center play space feels like a tree house. With the (2) separate bedrooms flanking either side of the play area our kids can play independently when they "need their space" and then come together again in the center when they're ready to be together.

Thanks

Jason Zavala
859.489.6051
www.jasonzavala.com