Houzz Tour: A ’60s Ranch House Grows Up and Out
A family’s ranch house gets an addition, high ceilings and new indoor-outdoor living spaces
Before: Sean and Laura Sullivan fell hard for this 900-square-foot 1960s ranch house, drawn to its potential and its walkable location in downtown Black Mountain, North Carolina. The house had not been touched in years, but Sean, a builder, and Laura, an interior designer, were well-equipped to turn the older ranch into a more open and comfortable home that fit their lifestyle but didn’t waste space.
“Our previous home was bigger than what we really needed or used,” Laura says. In addition to living smaller, they wanted to keep as much of the original structure as possible, use energy-efficient systems and minimize construction waste by using recycled materials whenever they could.
“Our previous home was bigger than what we really needed or used,” Laura says. In addition to living smaller, they wanted to keep as much of the original structure as possible, use energy-efficient systems and minimize construction waste by using recycled materials whenever they could.
The Existing Home Opens Up
After: They worked with the ranch’s original floor plan, taking down walls to open up the public spaces and combining two small bedrooms to create a master suite. An addition off the back added 550 square feet to the main level and 450 square feet of finished space beneath it for Laura’s art studio. They also dug out the original crawl space next to the garage to create a 600-square-foot lower-level space for an extra bedroom, full bathroom, wine cellar and utility space.
They ripped off the roof and raised the ceilings to 9 feet 4 inches and higher. A vaulted ceiling and soaring north-facing clerestory window adds drama and brings more natural light inside. The roof equipped with solar panels faces south. They removed and recycled the home’s original aluminum siding and added new insulation and siding over the original plywood board-and-batten exterior.
After: They worked with the ranch’s original floor plan, taking down walls to open up the public spaces and combining two small bedrooms to create a master suite. An addition off the back added 550 square feet to the main level and 450 square feet of finished space beneath it for Laura’s art studio. They also dug out the original crawl space next to the garage to create a 600-square-foot lower-level space for an extra bedroom, full bathroom, wine cellar and utility space.
They ripped off the roof and raised the ceilings to 9 feet 4 inches and higher. A vaulted ceiling and soaring north-facing clerestory window adds drama and brings more natural light inside. The roof equipped with solar panels faces south. They removed and recycled the home’s original aluminum siding and added new insulation and siding over the original plywood board-and-batten exterior.
Elsewhere, stone siding relates the house to its landscaping. A cedar overhang and braces enhance the facade and form a wraparound covered porch. “Having all of that outdoor space off the house makes the interior feel larger,” Sean says.
Houzz Guide: How to Find Your Renovation Team
Houzz Guide: How to Find Your Renovation Team
Natural Materials Warm the Interior
The entry opens to the living room and a view to the dining room and kitchen beyond. Stone walls bring in texture and an element from the exterior. Sean preserved the original red oak hardwood floors, weaving in new flooring where needed.
Browse hardwood flooring
The entry opens to the living room and a view to the dining room and kitchen beyond. Stone walls bring in texture and an element from the exterior. Sean preserved the original red oak hardwood floors, weaving in new flooring where needed.
Browse hardwood flooring
Laura’s father found some walnut slabs he had collected and gave them to the couple. “He knew we’d find a good use for them,” Laura says.
And they did: The slabs inspired her to design this dining table and some shelves and other walnut details around the house.
The couple splurged on beautifully crafted walnut doors. This one leads to the mudroom off the side entry.
And they did: The slabs inspired her to design this dining table and some shelves and other walnut details around the house.
The couple splurged on beautifully crafted walnut doors. This one leads to the mudroom off the side entry.
2 Original Bedrooms Form a Master Suite
The Sullivans combined two small adjacent bedrooms into one master suite. The wall on the left is covered with a composition of trim scraps. The feature brings interest to the room while saving those pieces from the landfill. The room opens to a porch on the back corner of the house.
Four skylights in the higher part of the vaulted ceiling provide natural light during the day and stargazing windows at night. They are outfitted with solar shades for those mornings when they don’t want to wake up with the sun. Sean also designed a tray ceiling around the base of the vaulted section. LED rope lights around the tray provide a nice glow at night. “One of my favorite features of the whole house is the sky tray,” Sean says. “It makes our bedroom feel bigger.”
A custom sliding barn door composed of mirror and walnut leads to the master bathroom.
Window treatments (throughout house): Hunter Douglas
The Sullivans combined two small adjacent bedrooms into one master suite. The wall on the left is covered with a composition of trim scraps. The feature brings interest to the room while saving those pieces from the landfill. The room opens to a porch on the back corner of the house.
Four skylights in the higher part of the vaulted ceiling provide natural light during the day and stargazing windows at night. They are outfitted with solar shades for those mornings when they don’t want to wake up with the sun. Sean also designed a tray ceiling around the base of the vaulted section. LED rope lights around the tray provide a nice glow at night. “One of my favorite features of the whole house is the sky tray,” Sean says. “It makes our bedroom feel bigger.”
A custom sliding barn door composed of mirror and walnut leads to the master bathroom.
Window treatments (throughout house): Hunter Douglas
To create their master bath, “We had to use every inch of space to fit in a 60-inch jetted tub, a separate water closet and a vanity and shower built for two,” Laura says. A walnut door leads to the water closet; its warmth balances the room’s cool finishes. Overhead, a floating ceiling conceals the HVAC supply and Sonos stereo speakers.
Find freestanding bathtubs
Find freestanding bathtubs
Before: The original home had a one-car garage with a crawl space around it.
A New Lower-Level Space
After: The Sullivans reinforced the original foundation and hand-dug out the crawl space to the left of the garage to create a separate living space, utility room, storage room and wine cellar. This space has its own separate entrance through the one-car garage.
After: The Sullivans reinforced the original foundation and hand-dug out the crawl space to the left of the garage to create a separate living space, utility room, storage room and wine cellar. This space has its own separate entrance through the one-car garage.
The 600-square-foot living space contains a full bath and a sofa that converts to a bed, making this a studio apartment for one of their sons when he’s home from college. While there’s not a kitchenette, it would be fairly easy to install one and make this into an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) down the road.
And yes, you’re seeing it right: It looks like there is a jail cell in the right-hand corner. “However, that’s not the way we’ve chosen to go with our parenting,” Sean says with a laugh. The salvaged jail door leads to a wine cellar — and don’t worry, they fixed it so it cannot be locked.
Laura’s aunt and uncle obtained the door when the Asheville jail was being renovated and gave it to the Sullivans as a wedding gift. A stone wall detail repeated from upstairs gives the wine room an Old World feel.
And yes, you’re seeing it right: It looks like there is a jail cell in the right-hand corner. “However, that’s not the way we’ve chosen to go with our parenting,” Sean says with a laugh. The salvaged jail door leads to a wine cellar — and don’t worry, they fixed it so it cannot be locked.
Laura’s aunt and uncle obtained the door when the Asheville jail was being renovated and gave it to the Sullivans as a wedding gift. A stone wall detail repeated from upstairs gives the wine room an Old World feel.
They fashioned a counter from a slab of oak and created wine-bottle holders from plywood. To maintain the right temperature, they ducted in the cool exhaust air from the heat pump water heater in the mechanical room.
Find wine cellar designers and builders on Houzz
Find wine cellar designers and builders on Houzz
After: The addition gave the family 550 more square feet of living space on the main level. It also created 450 square feet of finished space beneath it, which became Laura’s art studio.
Upstairs in the addition, walnut details turn up on the kitchen cabinet doors, and more wood warms the room from overhead. Cedar beams hang from steel rods to bring the height of the ceiling down while preserving the vault.
Another assemblage of salvaged trim scraps covers the island base.
Another assemblage of salvaged trim scraps covers the island base.
The addition includes a son’s bedroom with a steel ladder leading to a lofted fort above a desk nook. The desktop and more of the home’s signature doors bring in more walnut wood.
Laura enters her downstairs art studio via this glass garage door. Using a glass door was the only calculated energy loss to the project. “We felt it was worth it to get light and ventilation into the space,” Sean says. Inside, recycled stained tongue-and-groove paneling provides a wall for hanging art.
The couple decided not to waste space on interior stairs leading to the lower-level spaces. This prevents Laura from being interrupted when she’s on a creative roll. “We splurged on adding the studio on the lower level, but it was so worth it,” she says.
The door to the left leads to the one-car garage and the other lower-level living space.
The couple decided not to waste space on interior stairs leading to the lower-level spaces. This prevents Laura from being interrupted when she’s on a creative roll. “We splurged on adding the studio on the lower level, but it was so worth it,” she says.
The door to the left leads to the one-car garage and the other lower-level living space.
A floor plan of the main level shows the front entry at the bottom left and the new addition along the top.
The house scored a 30 on the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index, which means it is 70 percent more energy efficient than the average new home. Among the energy-efficient moves the Sullivans made:
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The house scored a 30 on the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index, which means it is 70 percent more energy efficient than the average new home. Among the energy-efficient moves the Sullivans made:
- Making smart use of natural light
- Preserving much of the original house and foundation
- Recycling the aluminum siding
- Wrapping exterior walls in 1-inch foam-board insulation
- Saving and recycling materials such as the original wood flooring, trim scraps, walnut slabs, tongue-and-groove paneling and even a jail cell door
- Adding solar panels
- Choosing low-E, argon-filled windows and doors
- Installing a geothermal HVAC system, an energy recovery ventilator and a heat pump water heater that helps dehumidify the lower level and provides cool air for the wine room
- Designing a potential ADU space, which would be considered gentle infill housing
Your Guide to a Smooth-Running Construction Project
Find design-build firms to help with your dream remodel
House at a Glance
Who lives here: Sean Sullivan, who owns Living Stone Design + Build; his wife, Laura Sullivan, an artist and interior designer who owns ID.ology Interiors & Design; and their 11-year-old son. They also have two sons in college.
Location: Black Mountain, North Carolina
Size: The main house has 1,450 square feet (135 square meters) with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. An additional 1,050 square feet (98 square meters) of living space in the lower level is not connected to the interior.