A young couple living in Leimert Park liked to entertain and have friends over in their recently landscaped backyard. The initial request was simple: convert a non-permitted atrium into a gateway between inside and outside. But after a spirited discussion, the scope expanded into an entire remodel of the rear portion of the house that we coined “the mullet” concept. We developed two concepts — the primary scope and the dream scope.
PRIMARY scope
DREAM scope
project info
type
year built
location
size
residential
(in design)
Leimert Park
2,200 sf
They asked us to replace the structural framing and openings in the atrium that led visitors from the kitchen through the dining room to the outside. The proposed design scheme relieves existing pinch points and allows for open circulation through the house. The goal is to expand the sense of interior space by creating a stronger programmatic connection to the outside. No longer looking at a house as interior versus exterior allowed us to blur the divide and create the perception of a larger entertainment area.
Seeming simple and straightforward, this one-room scope evolved into a request for a second option - a primary bedroom suite expansion. The vision entailed adding a second story with a private and quiet primary bedroom and an ample en suite bathroom. Without overpowering the original house, our goal was to have the addition appear like a natural extension of the original form, yet appear inconspicuous from the front. Hence, the mullet — business in the front, party in the back. Relocating the primary suite to the second floor allowed us to rework the kitchen and dining area while adding a mudroom, laundry, and powder room — the dream scope as we called it. We love dream scopes and were excited to develop both design options.