BLOOM has been working on phased interior renovations to a house with a lengthy history as a single-family house, a 6-unit rooming house, and most recently a bed and breakfast.
BLOOM was brought in to convert back to a single-family home again, removing the vestiges of the hospitality use (mini-fridges and bedrooms everywhere), and creating modern interiors within the historic shell, reorganizing the compartmentalized B+B into an open-plan layout for the two families with four young children between them who will cohabitate as a single family unit, along with au paires.
The dining area is an elegant combination of steel framed full-height windows and brass screened cabinetry, creating an airy extension of the garden space year round.
The living room is also a library and site of frequent movie nights, so has several riles to play, all hidden away in intricate detailing. Also in the perimeter screening a slight nod to the couple's history in Hanoi.
The central spiral stair, while no longer a code requirement, was so conveniently placed, that the team decided to keep it, but give it a completely new life as a free-floating sculpture in the middle of the interconnecting living, cooking, eating, entertaining spaces.
The kitchen is moved to a low 1-story section of the main level, skylit with a ribbon of glazing, and opened at each end to take advantage of views to both the public park out front, and the walled garden in the rear.