The Story
Client Goals
Our clients loved their home because of its proximity to downtown Ann Arbor, but knew that it was time for some structural changes. They came to us wanting to add a first floor bathroom with a shower, and a covered connection to their garage for practicality and for planning to age in place.
They wanted a true mudroom in the back of the house, which is their main point of entrance. They also wanted a bigger kitchen with more storage for entertaining their children and grandchildren.
The Existing Conditions
The original kitchen felt cramped, dated, and lacked natural lighting. Within the existing footprint, there was not space for a mudroom or an expanded kitchen.
There originally wasn't any covering between the garage and the back stairway entrance, making for hazardous conditions especially in the icy winter months in Michigan.
The Plan
We planned for an addition to the back of the home that added space for a mudroom, and extended the kitchen with space for an eat-in area. We added a first floor bathroom directly off of the kitchen, and opened up the wall between the kitchen and dining room for a more open floor plan.
Remodeling the garage, paving the driveway, adding a covered walkway directly from the back door completely changed how the homeowners enter their home.
Keeping A Cohesive Aesthetic
We created a warm and inviting kitchen that includes traditional touches to match the overall style of the home. Specifically the patterned tile in the kitchen speaks to the more traditional elements in the house.
Two-Tone Cabinets
Using two tone cabinets makes this kitchen feel bright, open, and sky-high. The light green color of the lower cabinets plays well with the kitchen tile and the aesthetic of the whole home.
The Outcome
“My husband and I are absolutely delighted by the work that Forward Design has done for us! We have lived in our 1924 bungalow for more than 40 years now, and last year decided to address the laundry list of problems that annoyed us during that time. We had a leaky basement with crumbling floor, a garage rotted beyond repair, a gravel driveway that would be much nicer if paved, icy back porch stairs in the winter, knob and tube wiring, and no first-floor bathroom!
We contacted Forward to help us address these issues with an integrated design, and to manage the legions of sub-contractors. The finished product is fantastic. With a small addition we now have a fine first-floor bath, new kitchen, mudroom with breezeway to the new garage. Our basement is dry with a smooth floor. These changes are nicely integrated and retain the character of the house. The Forward team really opened our eyes to design possibilities that we had not considered. They were spot-on with advice and recommendations. The design process was interesting, and the team very accommodating and easy to work with, particularly when making hardware selections.
Our building phase was not without a few bumps in the road – one large one being the Covid-19 shutdown of several months. Still we were very confident that Forward would provide us a quality build and address any issues. Our site manager, Rob W., did an outstanding job of moving progress ahead, working magic with scheduling subcontractors, and keeping us informed. The sub-contractors all did superior work. (The excavator was particularly impressive). The Forward carpenters saw to all the rest. I was pleased that all the workers on site were pleasant to be around as well as respectful of our home.
To summarize: Forward Design and Build company did an outstanding job for us, meeting all our requirements. Their work meets high standards, is attentive to details, and Forward is very responsive when issues arise. The actual cost was quite close to the contracted amount. Our house is so much more livable now! I would highly recommend Forward for their quality design and workmanship, reliability, and management of subcontractors. I felt very comfortable working with them - they made it easy for us to undertake this project.” - Ross & Jill
