The owners of this beautiful Riverwood home had been planning their first-floor remodel for many years. The 1960’s Cape Cod had an overabundance of exposed brick, a lack of light (both natural and artificial), and a closed floor plan, making the house feel dark and heavy.

The family wanted to create an open, bright, and welcoming living space on their first floor by removing the exposed brick, opening the floor plan, and bringing in more light. Several doors and windows also needed to be replaced.

The homeowner worked closely with architect Emily Fisher Paprocki, as well as contractor Doug Amlung, designer Ron Wolz, and Door Store and Windows to create a final product that the owners loved.

The homeowners had six distinct rooms on the first floor that they wanted to integrate: dining room, living room, family room, kitchen, breakfast room, and sunroom. The interior family room had no windows and was quite dim. Opening a wall between the kitchen and family room, and widening the one between the family room and sunroom, helped bring natural light into the family room. Removing these walls and widening some of their interior doorways helped harmonize these six distinct areas into one welcoming living space. It also helped bring an abundance of natural light into the formerly dim living room.

After years of planning, the homeowners are delighted with the results of their remodel. Their doors and windows are energy efficient and built to last, and their new ground floor is bright, airy, and welcoming.

“It feels like a new house. With the new bow window, all of the rooms are comfortable and draft-free. Our favorite purchases were the new sliding patio door, our new entrance door, and the new bow window. The whole house feels bright and open. It’s amazing how much of a difference they made to the overall look and feel!“

– Homeowner