D'Andrea family project

The story of how the D'Andrea family came to be such fans of the sweltering Summer of 2010 starts in the winter of 2008, when they were working with Richard Buchanan of Archer and Buchanan Architecture to fully renovate the exterior of their home to enhance their enjoyment of the tree lined property outside the walls of their home. The plan that emerged was not just to add a pristine pool and in-ground hot tub set in natural stone, but to create an entertainment area that could be enjoyed early in the spring, through the summer and long after the leaves depart the trees in the fall.

The collaborative approach between Beth and Archer Buchanan Architecture yielded a screened in patio that offers excellent views of the entire property. Family and guests are shielded from the intensity of the summer sun, and in the spring and fall they can extend their enjoyment of the room warmed by the dancing flames burning in a real masonry fireplace. From the screened in area, you can see the open stone patio with a sheltered grilling space. Take a few steps down and you are at the pool area which features a pergola with a retractable awning which offers yet another bit of protection from the sun. Walk a little behind the pool area and you will see that we took advantage of the all the excavating required by the pool project to carve out and build up a small level football field for the family to enjoy on their sloping property.

A few final touches such as the addition of a governor's circle driveway make the home more inviting to guests while the addition of a stucco covered garden wall allows for more privacy in the newly built garage area. Which reminds me, our client did take the opportunity to make a few interior changes as well. A revised mudroom layout increases the chances that the kid's things will end up in the right spot as they enter the home from the garage. We also extended the kitchen eating area by an additional seven feet to better serve a growing family.

So what makes a project successful? It helps that the D'Andrea's had lived in their home for 13 years prior to this project and had created a long list of issues that they wanted to correct, before starting the design process. Archer and Buchanan Architecture did a great job of crafting all the "corrections" and wish list items into a gorgeous coherent project which we could easily understand. But in the end, success came from a client who made good decisions, an architect with the resources and ability to answer questions thoroughly, and Rittenhouse Builder's desire to listen and then execute.