The Vision: We are thrilled to begin a thoughtful transformation on a beautiful two-story Arts & Crafts home nestled in the heart of Ann Arbor’s Burns Park neighborhood. With a forward-thinking focus on aging-in-place, this project balances long-term independence with the timeless architectural integrity of the original structure. Because all existing bedrooms are located on the second floor, our team is converting the current first-floor office into a fully accessible, barrier-free primary suite conversion. Every detail is purposefully designed for future ease—such as swapping a traditional glass shower door for a flexible curtain to accommodate potential wheelchair access—while ensuring the new footprint effortlessly blends with the home's historic character. Upstairs, we are completely renovating the main bathroom including a focus for enhanced safety and comfort for aging, such as replacing an outdated tub-shower combo with a sleek, walk-in shower for easier accessibility. Infused with rich personal meaning, the design draws inspiration from our client’s love of travel, featuring vibrant, hand-painted Mexican tiles that evoke memories of her time in Mexico, balanced perfectly by rich, stained woodwork that honors the home's original Arts & Crafts heritage.

The Scope:

• First-Floor Primary Suite Conversion: Transforming the existing home office into a comprehensive, accessibility-driven primary suite.

• Universal Design Implementation: Integrating forward-thinking aging-in-place features, including a curtained, zero-threshold shower entry for seamless wheelchair access.

• Architectural Integration: Ensuring the first-floor modifications seamlessly blend with the classic Arts & Crafts exterior and interior aesthetic.

• Main Bathroom Renovation (Second Floor): Completely renovating the second-floor main bathroom with a dedicated focus on aging-in-place, replacing the outdated tub-shower combo with a sleek, walk-in shower for easier accessibility.

• Custom Interior Details: Incorporating deeply saturated color palettes, warm wood stains to match original tones, and client-inspired hand-painted Mexican tilework.

We invite you to follow along with our Current Work Updates as we cross each major construction milestone on the way to a gorgeous finish.

Pre-Construction: Where We Are Now

We are officially on-site in Burns Park, starting work on a thoughtful aging-in-place transformation of this beautiful Arts & Crafts home!

Our team has carefully prepped the site—laying down comprehensive floor protection and establishing airtight dust barriers—to ensure a safe, organized, and clean environment that respects the home's shared legacy.

Demolition & Foundation Phase: The Clean Slate

With protection in place, we moved directly into uncovering the "clean slate" of the home's structural foundation. This phase is all about discovery and structural integrity, as our team carefully navigates the historic framing to prepare the footprint for its new layout. Outside, the arrival of the concrete mixer marked a major milestone as we poured the essential foundations that will support the home's future addition.

An initial look at the excavated ground directly alongside the home's historic brick exterior, marked with a yellow string line to layout the foundation footprint. And a concrete mixer truck arriving on-site in the residential neighborhood to deliver the materials for the new foundation.

The team utilizing a motorized buggy to precisely pour wet concrete into the prepared earthen trenches. The freshly poured concrete foundation footings leveling out in the excavation site next to the existing brick wall and basement stairs.

The initial courses of concrete masonry unit (cinder block) foundation walls built up from the footings, secured with anchor bolts and surrounded by caution tape. The finished foundation footprint with fully erected block walls and a freshly poured, smooth concrete slab floor.

Framing Phase: Skeleton & Scale

Following the completion of the foundation, work transitions to framing the new structural layout. This phase focuses on defining the physical volume of the new spaces, modifying the interior footprint to accommodate the accessible first-floor primary suite while preserving the home's original Arts & Crafts architectural lines.

A newly constructed wood-framed wall section sits assembled on the garage floor, ready to be raised into position for the new room structure. Meanwhile, outside, the subfloor and initial framing platform are secured over the new block foundation, tied directly into the exposed exterior wall of the original home structure.