Publication Date:
Wed, 2011-10-05 11:55
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Whole House $300,000 to $750,000
Maitland, Fla.
Remodeler/Designer: Phil Kean Designs, Winter Park, Fla.
Interior Designer: CRT Studio, Winter Park, Fla.
For a reason lost to history, thousands of waterfront ranch-style homes were built in Florida in the 1950s and 60s that offered little to no view of the water.
So this project had a common goal: to take advantage of the beautiful lakefront setting the home offered.
“It was one of those 50s ranch houses, with walls between all the views,” says Phil Kean, president of Phil Kean Designs.
Kean had undertaken an earlier project for the homeowners to improve the views, but the home still needed more work when they came to him two years later. This time, the clients wanted to not only finish the work of exposing the water views, but also to update the façade, refresh the interiors, add a two-car garage and create an indoor/outdoor living space.
The front door was “underwhelming” and hidden by the rooflines. That problem was addressed by designing a stone wall that brings attention to the entry and replacing the doors with heavy mahogany and glass doors. The façade was further improved by the addition of three more windows, helping to balance the elevation and improving the lake view.
Kean also created a new indoor/outdoor living area by constructing a new lanai and connecting it to the main living area of the home with pocketing, sliding glass doors. The lanai includes dense retractable mesh screens that not only act to keep insects out, but also can hold in up to 90 percent of the home’s conditioned air.
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