Artisan Constructors recently completed an extensive renovation on a 1929 Tudor home in the Clayton area. The project spanned nearly five months, including a full remodel for the master bathroom, kitchen, and living room areas. In addition, the unfinished basement was also transformed into a play/rec area complete with a ladder that allows the children to climb up the side of the wall and a swing hanging from the ceiling.
Tudor Homes Reflected The Wealth of the Roaring '20s
The popularity of Tudor-style homes surged in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
According to an article in House Beautiful, the Tudor earned the moniker "Stockbroker Tudor" as affluent stockbrokers built the expensive home design.
The architectural style is noted for its high-pitched roofs, stately masonry details, and stucco facades accented with rustic wood panels. The design details and the solid construction meant that these homes were not affordable for the mainstream home buyer. Historic Tudor homes featured sprawling square footage with built-in bookshelves, wood flooring, arched doorways, and other luxury details. They were built in up-scale neighborhoods across the country.
The sturdy construction of the Clayton Tudor posed several challenges for Artisan Constructors. Instead of a standard wood subfloor, the home had a cement subfloor. Heavy masonry walls and lathe and plaster construction (a standard practice in the 1920s and 1930s later replaced by drywall) led to more complex renovation work for the team.
The Dramatic Kitchen Remodel
Renovating and remodeling Tudor's kitchen required more work than anticipated. Beneath the kitchen floor was a concrete subfloor that required a jackhammer to remove. Artisan Constructors installed a standard subfloor and new flooring to align with the flooring in the rest of the home. A masonry wall also closed off the kitchen from the rest of the home;
Artisan's crews demolished the wall, creating a more open floor plan.
New plumbing, new paint for the cabinets, new fixtures, new lights, and new backsplashes transformed the kitchen from a modern design that disrupted the antique appeal of the home to a more vibrant vintage aesthetic. The kitchen's small pantry also was expanded for additional storage.
The open floor plan of the renovated kitchen now flows seamlessly into the adjoining great room. Artisan also updated the great room, integrating a new staircase that joins the great room to a newly renovated finished basement.
"What I love most about our renovated space is the open space from the great room to the kitchen. It's so nice to be in there as a family. My daughter and husband can be watching T.V. or doing something, and we can float in and out of the kitchen, grab something to eat, or sit at the table as a family," noted Stephanie. "I just love how it makes the space feel so much more grand and big while still being really comfortable and cozy for us."
A Finished Basement with a Kid-Friendly Design
The Tudor's unfinished basement required a major renovation. Artisan Constructors transformed the bland basement into a kid-friendly retreat. The team removed the old asbestos tile and installed all new flooring. A climbing ladder was installed along the wall and ceiling, encouraging play and gymnastic fun. A swing hangs from the ceiling to create an indoor playground. The basement includes a reading nook, storage nooks/compartments under the stairs, and a small craft table.
"It's still really light and bright and flows nice to the space that my husband and I are in all the time," Stephanie said. "I feel like sometimes kids are sequestered to the basement, but it's like they're far away or they don't want to go down there or it's dark. But the flow is so nice and I love that we can use all of the space. There's not really a room that we don't utilize functionally. The spaces are not only beautiful, but they're really functional."
On the other side of the basement is an adult game area with a large fireplace, built-in bookshelves, a hallway leading to the laundry room, and direct access to the garage. The Artisan crew enclosed the hallway ceiling, ensuring that all electrical wiring was no longer visible.
A Modern Master Bathroom
The master bathroom was completely renovated, and the entire room was taken down to the studs. Artisan added new black and white checkerboard ceramic floor tiles and installed a large deep soaking bathtub. The Artisan Constructors team aimed to preserve the historic beauty of the details of the bathroom, including the antique door knobs and backplates—the late 1920s hardware integrated small rosette designs. Tom, with Artisan, helped the homeowners understand the beauty of preserving these details and integrating modern vintage hardware and details for a period-appropriate design.
"Tom helped to push me to kind of preserve those details. I would have maybe been like 'oh no, let's do new wood doors where we can do like the hollow ones. They're cheaper and they're easier to come by,' but it's the details of the door, of a solid wood door that makes it feel like it's always been there. Or the real brass hardware that mimics the old style," explained Stephanie. "His nod to an appreciation for original materials was a good push. You know, at first I was like 'do we have to do that?' But I'm so glad we did. It's going to last longer, it's going to be beautiful forever. It's quality craftsmanship versus just updating it. And so I think that definitely pays homage to the original style and craftsmanship."
Additional Renovations to the Historic Tudor
The renovation and remodel project of the Tudor extended throughout the home. Other updates included:
Installing new windows in the living area
Exposing an original historic masonry wall in the living area to integrate the original design (this involved removing drywall)
Building a new back deck with a staircase and outdoor lighting off the living area
Adding new siding to the home
Improving the gutter systems and the outdoor drainage system (to reduce hydrostatic pressure)
Transforming the old cedar closet into a modern, spacious master bedroom closet
Painting all upstairs bedrooms and hallways
The entire renovation and remodel of the home spanned around five months, and Stephanie and her family were thrilled with the end result of the Artisan process.
"Not only was Tom extremely good at what he does, he was also really good at taking on my requests, and my preferences, and my style," she explained. "He was a great listener. I think that's a really important part of this whole thing. He let me achieve what I wanted out of this space. It was very affirming, it was easy, it was…it was wonderful."
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