White Victorian house at Chautauqua Institution with a row of steep Gothic gables above a wrap around porch
Projects  /  Chautauqua Institution

Victorian renovation

Chautauqua Institution, New York·Renovation·Three apartments to one family home

Where
Chautauqua Institution, New York
Building
Three apartments, now a five bedroom family home
Work
Victorian Gothic roof with steep peaks on every side, new floor plan, rain garden
Service
Chautauqua Institution
The problem

The house stood as three apartments under a low, flat roof.

Three apartments, made one house under a Gothic roof.

The house stood on the grounds as three apartments under a low, flat roof. The owners wanted a single family home, and they asked for a Victorian Gothic style roof with steep peaks on every side. The new roof gives the house its row of peaks over the porch, and it was framed to leave room for living space to expand into later.

Inside, the ground floor and first floor were laid out again, turning the three apartments into one home with five bedrooms. All the major rooms have a direct view of Chautauqua Lake.

Chautauqua Institution requires each property to keep its rainwater on its own land. Here that is done with a rain garden in the back yard, a planted area that soaks up the rainwater and cleans it before it reaches the lake.

The back of the house with its new gables, seen across the lawn and the planted rain garden
The finished house

Steep peaks outside, lake light inside.

The front of the house from the street, with twin Gothic gables over the long porch
The side of the house and its wrap around porch, with the row of steep gables above
Entry with double doors and stained glass, a gallery wall of framed prints, and a striped settee
Living room with white furniture, a wood floor, and windows across the far wall
Open family room with a dining table and the kitchen beyond, under a wood plank ceiling
Kitchen with white cabinets, a wood plank ceiling, and a small island on a wood floor
Second kitchen with a navy wall, white wainscot, a white island, and red chairs at a white table
Bathroom with a glass walled tile shower and two wood vanities under framed mirrors
Bedroom with pale blue walls and tall windows in a bay
Bedroom with a tufted headboard, white paneled walls, and a sitting area
Before

The house as three apartments.

The front of the house before the work, a single story with a flat roofline over the porch
The back of the house before the work, with a flat roof and a screened porch
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