15 Apr
Home additions are a great way to enhance your everyday living and increase your home’s value. However, there’s often a little bit more to the average luxury home addition than you think. Luxury home renovations aren’t just about creating more space; they’re about ensuring that the new addition blends effortlessly with the original structure.
Herein lies the challenge: How do you preserve the architectural beauty of the original home while introducing more modern comfort and sophistication? Consider the following planning tips:
Understand Your Home’s Existing Architecture
Ensuring that your new home additions tie in with your original home begins with understanding the existing architecture. Whether your home is classic colonial, mid-century modern, contemporary minimalism, or a combination of them all, understanding the elements will help you match them or choose additions that feel like a natural evolution.
Pay particular attention to the trim details and moldings, roofline and pitch, window proportions and placement, and exterior materials and finishes. You can then create a plan for how you’ll reinterpret these features in a new space.
Prioritize Flow and Function
While luxury home additions mean beautiful, high-end finishes, they shouldn’t be at the expense of everyday conveniences. That’s why you should always prioritize flow and function. The goal is to create intuitive transitions between the old parts of your home and the new areas.
Where possible, align floor levels to avoid awkward steps and maintain consistent ceiling heights throughout. To guide movement naturally throughout the house, you should also position doorways and sightlines. These are all things that a design-build business can help with during the planning phase.
Choose Materials with Care
One of the hardest parts of completing a home addition is choosing materials. If you can’t find flooring or wall materials that are exact matches for the original parts of your home, you have to get creative about creating cohesion.
Since you’re aiming for luxury in your home addition, opt for high-quality, natural materials. When you can’t repeat materials, such as hardwood flooring or stone, use complementary ones instead. You should also ensure that your color palettes transition smoothly from one space to another.
If you would like to introduce new materials, tie them back to the original design through shared tones or subtle details.
Embrace Modern Enhancements
Your goal is to ensure that any home additions you complete don’t look out of place based on their age. However, that doesn’t mean you must shy away from modern features. You simply need to be subtle with how you integrate them.
For example, if you’re embracing smart home technology, conceal it where possible. With any upgrade, be it radiant heating, energy-efficient glazing, or something else, ensure they enhance your comfort without dominating your home’s design. You should also still aim to maintain your home’s clean lines and an uncluttered aesthetic.
Pay Attention to the Small Details
The reality is that the materials, fixtures, and finishes used today as standard are far different from those used decades ago. That wouldn’t matter in a new build, but it matters when you’re aiming for cohesion in luxury home renovations.
Pay attention to the door handles and fixtures that you may need to match or coordinate. Trim profiles and baseboards may also be different and need to be custom-made or sourced. Where fixtures, fittings, and materials can’t be sourced new, contact stores that specialize in reclaimed building materials. Alternatively, opt for contrasting elements that complement the original home’s finish.
Blur the Lines Between Old and New
You’ll know that great care has been taken during a home addition when you can’t tell where the old house ends and the new one begins. While it might seem challenging based on your unique home plans, it’s achievable through a few clever style and design choices:
- Extend an existing hallway into a new area
- Connect spaces with large openings or glass transitions
- Design focal points like feature walls and fireplaces to anchor old with new
Respect the Home’s Proportions
The whole concept of a home addition is to provide more space for the home’s occupants without having to relocate. However, it’s important to ensure your home can retain its original charm while still benefiting from expanded spaces.
This can mean that the new rooms you add are in proportion to the existing ones. Oversized spaces can create a sense of disconnection.
Upgrade the Entire Home, Not Just the Addition
Even with thoughtful colors and materials, perfect cohesion can’t always be achieved. This can be frustrating when you want the most seamless look possible. In that case, explore the possibility of whole-house luxury renovations. Rather than trying to blend the new additions in with the original home, add fresh features throughout. No one ever has to know that you added square footage later.
Work with a Design-Build Team
There can be a great deal of problem-solving associated with a luxury home addition, and no room for error. One mistake could mean you don’t achieve the refined, cohesive final product you hoped for. That’s why working with a design-build team is recommended. They bring the design vision and construction expertise to the table that the average homeowner lacks.
A design-build team consisting of architects, designers, and builders also aligns on every detail, from the structural considerations to the final touches, to achieve architectural harmony and a home you’re proud to call yours.
Complete Home Additions with Roxy’s Renovations & Design
If you’re ready to transform your home with a new addition or a complete luxury home renovation, talk to the team at Roxy’s Renovations & Design. From thoughtful remodeling to luxury construction and outdoor spaces, we are your one-stop shop for high-end renovations and design. Contact us today, and let’s discuss your vision. We can’t wait to help you create the home of your dreams.