Renovations and Additions

New Life for a Mid-Century Legacy

A couple asked for guidance in house selection, and for design of renovations. For its outstanding views and mid-century design, Randy Hudson advised buying this house. The owners wanted to connect to the steep site for outdoor living, and to modernize while respecting the house.

The living (middle) floor received a new kitchen, family entry and rebuilt deck. On the top floor, Hudson combined 2 bedrooms into a new master suite with panoramic windows. The lower level has an office, recreation area, and patio. The house received new baths and doorways. Paneling and oak floors were refinished. The owner air-conditioned the house via a split system added to existing radiant heating, upgraded with an ultrahigh-efficiency boiler.

Mahogany siding was repainted and partly replaced with cedar, and roof/wall insulation added; windows and doors were replaced. Nodding to the house’s soft modernism, its “ladies’ white glove” board railings were maintained.

A new 1-car garage is set off from the house by outdoor stairs and a view slot to the mountains. The front yard’s boldly graphic driveway and lawn contrast with the lush, private rear yard.
Renovation and Addition 3100 sf

Hudson Valley Vista

A 19th-century house in the Hudson Valley village was in a walkable village location. But while it faced its street, it ignored the big views to the rear. There, a panorama extended over village rooftops to the mountains overlooking West Point. The couple, with a growing family, wanted both to gain living space and to open the house to the views.

A simple three-story addition was added to the rear. On the lower level is a home office and a studio, on the first floor is a new living room, and above it a new owners' suite. A large dining porch hosts family activities. Above, a rooftop deck offers private getaway space for morning coffee or evening cocktails for two.

Stone Manor Addition

A stunning 1930s stone house, designed in the popular prewar Tudor Revival style, was perfect except for its dark, cramped master bedroom. HUDSON was asked to design a new owners' suite. The new rooms are given their own small wing projecting into the English garden. Clad in stone and dark timber, the addition balances the round stone tower on the opposite side of the garden. A south-facing sheltered bedroom terrace is perfect for reading morning news and pondering the world.

Origami Folds for an A-Frame

High on a wooded mountain slope, this dramatic residence overlooks a lake. Unlike many A-Frames, it is a full-time home. The owners, a professional couple with grown children, loved the fore-and-aft views, but desired side views, daylight and improved headroom for kitchen and living/dining areas.

New "origami folds" continue the bold geometry of the original. The side additions take their cue from the original peaked-roof prow and from the standing seams of the recent re-roofing.

Hamptons Cottage Interior Remodel and Energy Retrofit

The architect’s family house on Long Island’s East End had been neglected, but it was attractive and well-built. With a limited budget, priorities were set: Phase One was to restore the home for comfort and attractiveness: Replace kitchen and bathrooms; provide new window treatments; repaint interiors. Phase Two was replacement of the oil furnace and hot-water radiators with an energy-efficient geothermal HVAC system with internet-monitored functions. This entailed significant wall patching and repair in all spaces.

Several partitions were removed for better daylight and furniture layout. Simple design, and a minimal material and color palette, reflect the house’s New England origins.

Older trees and plantings were selectively edited out and replaced with new native and flowering species.
Renovation 1500 sf