Since they are built vertically, that can mean that split-levels have more square footage in the yard. Written by Our primary goal was to re-imagine the main level of the home and create an open flow between the space. Since tri-level homes generally dont look symmetrical, adding additions to it will be challenging. Not a lot of homeowners who own this type of home realize that there are actually workarounds or hacks when it comes to updating the look and feel of a split-level home. Split Level Renovation Strategies - Jones Pierce Studios Anything you do on any floor of a split-level home will affect the other floors. Look for ideas in your neighborhood. Pruning the trees, trimming and planting the same type of grass on empty spots on the ground, and removing the installed trellis instantly transformed the entire backyard, making it look a lot brighter. Check out another split-level project by Jones Pierce Studios: https://jonespierce.com/marietta-split-level-facelift/, 400 Plasters Ave. NE, #225 Atlanta, GA 30324 Unleashed by production builders in the 60s and 70s, split level homes are the most difficult type of house to transform into the way our customers want to live today. Transfer your coat rack or closet from the landing to the top of the stairs instead, creating room for you to welcome your guests as soon as they step inside. Using bricks or decorative stones attached to the walls as accents, Adding more windows to balance out the elements of your home. While its rare that a person requests to have a split level house built today, it can be a great house for a new family breaking into home ownership in the suburbs. We will not contact you with anything else. Here are some concepts and ideas you can use for your own home. The cape cod style originates in 17th century New England and was built with total practicality in mind. Recessed lighting, also known as can lights, can be an excellent addition to ergonomic, modern kitchens. Get new garage doors. This may involve a major structural overhaul, but its worth considering. New columns replicate the original style, so the addition looks like it's always been there. A split-level home has a few great places to start. If you prefer a home that still separates the living space from the bedrooms, but doesnt require a full flight of stairs to reach, you may consider a side split style house. Consider all of the pros and cons of the different types of split-level homes before making a final decision. It is for information purposes only, and any links provided are for the user's convenience. 7 Extraordinary Split Level House Remodel Before and - JimenezPhoto Split-level homes are built in a simple style that lends itself well to many different appearances: Tudor, Victorian and ranch. Now we know why Art Deco is popular in Miami! Some split-level homes use an open-plan layout, which can feel overwhelming for some. Magazine pictures of modern homes tend to make them look almost sterile; recessed lighting offers more light without it becoming impractical. Walk in the front door at ground level, and you climb a flight of stairs to reach the living room, dining, room and kitchen level . Surprisingly, this style of home was developed not due to aesthetic reasons but out of necessity. But times have changed, and modern garage door designs can transform the look of the front of your home. This is because it offers both ambient lighting and a focused illumination. After all, this is what split-level homes are known for. Any split-level modernization project should look very closely at ways to make those exterior walls smooth. Its also nice if you just prefer to have everything on one level. Split-Foyer Conversion Interior - Owings Brothers Contracting Skylights are a great modern addition that can bring a split-level home into the 21st century. The separation of the floors means that youll be less likely to be awakened by the sounds happening on the lower levels. Je peux rejeter les cookies non essentiels en cliquant sur Grer mes prfrences . Common features of split-level houses include large living areas, low-pitched roofs, and multiple attics with ample storage space. It also helps to ensure that the drainage is properly taken care of. A split-level home has a few great places to start. How to Modernize a Split-Level Home to Match Your Style - Neighborly Despite all that youve read about them being outdated, split-level houses do have some positives to them. Oftentimes, this floor will have a bedroom, bathroom, and possibly a laundry room. Meanwhile, the topmost level is where all of the bedrooms and bathrooms are. This home was transformed from a split-foyer into a french colonial The bedrooms would be upstairs, and the basement or garage would go down. You can see the appeal here. Consider these options for altering the exterior: This isnt as simple as yes or no. Snow can pile up, causing damage and its harder for rain to drain off. By replacing current windows with something that let in a lot more light and are more efficient, you can bring in more natural light to the home, making the space feel bigger, and help to cut down on energy costs over time. The remodel welcomes a covered front porch that was absent in the original. Taken fromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKS8AnI6Ahk. Conversely, you can consider adding in a window or two to really allow more natural light to permeate the space. You can add a number of design elements, such as siding, tiles, wood, stone, and other decorative pieces to give it a new look. Updating the look and feel of your home, including the appliances like those in the kitchen above, will dramatically change the interiors. The home will include many sets of stairs, or in some cases, just a couple of steps, but the entry is generally at ground level. The trend these days is to minimize , and cottages do just thatkeeping heating and cooling costs down and making maintenance chores a breeze. Houzz Pro: One simple solution for contractors and design pros, Split-Level Main Floor Remodel in West Seattle. If this fits the bill, you can construct a detached garage at the back and use the space on the side as your driveway. Whether architects like it or not, the split-level may be the "it" remodel of the future. They were an off-shoot of the post-war modern movement. Get Ready to Have No-Obligation Talks With Contractors, 2023 All rights Reserved Contractor QuotesDeveloped By ITVolcano. The top floor typically features taller ceilings and houses the main rooms, such as the kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms, dining room, and living room. Step inside the house and youll see polished flooring, shiny appliances, freshly-painted walls, and so much more. Think of Frank Lloyd Wrights Fallingwater, and take note of the contrast between perfectly smooth wall surfaces and the texture of natural stone used intermittently throughout the design. Split-level exteriors tend to be a bit bland. It is not just about giving this type of home a fresh coat of paint every time you can actually make structural changes to a split-level home to add more space inside, or add partitions if you want more room. Each style has unique features, but all split-level houses consist of multiple floors connected by short flights of stairs. Ryan Shaw is the founder of Real Estate Witch, which he created to help consumers avoid unnecessary expenses when they buy or sell a house. Connect with top-rated agents near you and save thousands on commission fees. Again, as with the cape cod , the siding may need regular maintenance. Read This Before You Pay For a Flat Fee MLS Service. The major disadvantage to split-level homes is the staircases that youll have to climb. Split-Level | Remodeling Have questions about buying, selling or renting during COVID-19? What made this transformation was raising the entrance to the main level, building out the attic space for an added level, and relocating the staircase to access all 3 levels. However, that was also the time of the post-modern "colonial" movement. Split-level homes are great for those who want to conserve the space on their property, without sacrificing room inside of the home. In this idea, you must pay more attention to the front door of the house. AFTER: Our design includes a new entryway gabled roof along with a combination a shake and lap siding, cultured stone, Pella craftsman style garage/entry doors and Pella 450 Series Casement windows with decorative flower boxes below. You can use our list to help you make sure that your remodeling project will be a resounding success. That allows for expansive decks to be put on or to simply enjoy the extra yard space for kids and pets. We were so excited to help these new homeowners re-envision their split-level diamond in the rough. Over the years and more recently, we, as architects, have been more involved due to the riddle of the split level being so hard to solve. In todays world many people find the formal areas of a colonial to be a waste of space. The second exterior wall surface, which can make a huge impact and is easily retrofitted, is a natural stone of some sort. Ryan also loves hockey and a lifelong Buffalo sports fan. Split Foyer Conversion to Two Story Exterior 16,244 views Oct 26, 2018 60 Dislike Share Save owingsbrothers 222 subscribers This Plain Jane split foyer was given more than a facelift, it was. Some split-level homes have ample space at the back and on one side. You dont have to concern yourself that much with how it will blend in with the rest of your home, compared to having the additions done at the sides. Ideal Agent: Learn the Truth About Its 2% Fees. Zillow (Canada), Inc. holds real estate brokerage licenses in multiple provinces. 442-H New York Standard Operating Procedures New York Fair Housing NoticeTREC: Information about brokerage services, Consumer protection noticeCalifornia DRE #1522444Contact Zillow, Inc. Comments (39) Oh, we added 1100 sq ft. We converted the old garage into the living room, moved the front door, made the old living room into the dining room, opened everything up and gutted the kitchen. Adding additional spaces to your home will require you to sacrifice either your backyard or the remaining space at the sides of your home, if they are available at all. Exterior update of a split entry, two level home with board and batten, brick wainscot, and white trim. The functionality and cost-efficiency of split-level homes made it a hit for families that prioritize practicality over aesthetics. Unlike conventional floor plans, when you walk into the front door of a split foyer home, youll be greeted by the two sets of stairs. | All rights reserved. Light colored paint will reflect light better and gives a brighter feel to the interiors of any home. So, we started by converting the existing single car garage into their living room (complete with a new fireplace) and opening up the kitchen to the rest of the level. One of the major concepts of the modern home is that it has an open floor plan. There are 6 main split-level house designs, including standard-split, split-foyer, stacked-split, split-entry, back-split, and side-split. As a result, everything should be carefully thought out; you have to keep in mind that all the floors are interconnected. The roof lines create an interesting look and this style never seems to be out-dated. Updating a split-level home is hard. Brokerage. You just have less freedom to do whatever you want with it and you need to generally work with whats already there. Design-wise, it is also much easier for you to work with new home additions that are placed at the back. This question is important and your answer will serve as your guide when it comes to updating your home. Some roof colors simply wont work with a contemporary design an old shingle roof usually looks anything but clean and smooth. The Cape Cod is truly a no frills style home. Cape Cods are a story and a half high with a steep, pitched roof designed to keep the snow from piling up on the roof. The dining room had once been the homes living room, but we had other plans in mind. This way, the new addition is not that visible from the front of your home. Ryan Womeldorf has more than a decade of experience writing. If you are moving from a large house to a cottage or a bungalow, you really need to plan out what you can take and what you need to leave behind. This can come in handy for those who want to rent their extra space out for additional income to a potential roommate. While split level homes can be gorgeous, with their high ceilings and efficient use of space, they can also seem outdated and not reflect your unique taste in design. Two bedrooms are combined to form one big bedroom, the living room is adjusted to get a bigger kitchen and dining room, or vice versa. This can be confusing to those who dont know the difference. The addition of Colonial-style features, from the cupola on the garage roof to the dramatic front porch supported by traditional columns, lends antique intrigue . The story and a is my favorite, especially if the children in the house are a bit older and dont need to be close to the adults,or if you have out of town company. With a split-level house, you could have at least three bedrooms and still have plenty of space for backyard recreation. Photo Credit: Mid-Century Split Level Addition/Whole House Remodel, Front Yard . Now that we are living in them, what are some split level strategies that we can use to improve the experience. With standard split homes, inhabitants and visitors enter the house from the ground level. This makes the entryway quite narrow and the easiest solution is to move the storage somewhere else. This works well if your house has other trappings of colonial style. Zillow Group is committed to ensuring digital accessibility for individuals with disabilities. Split-level homes can be beneficial for those who are light sleepers easily awakened by noise or night shift workers who sleep during the day. Because of all these inconveniences, consider scheduling the work at a period when its effects on your household will be most minimal. Exterior accessories such as light fixtures and house numbers can make a huge difference. In most cases, the garage will sit on the ground level and the bedroom area will be stacked above it. Updating a tri-level home is not a project that you can just DIY your way to completion. If you live in a suburban area and your home has been around since the 1950s, 1960s, or 1970s, chances are you are living in a split-level home. Even if the contractor promised to deliver the work at a certain time, you still need to make allowances for possible unforeseen delays that may happen. A split-level house is essentially a variation of the conventional ranch-style house, but split-levels make much better use of the space. Typically, split level homes are good candidates for an architectural intervention. A roof is far more than a utilitarian way to keep precipitation out of the house its an important design element that can make or break an exterior remodel. The original kitchen had been on the small side and cut-off from the rest of the home, but after we removed the coat closet, this kitchen opened up beautifully. To make sure that your split-level home is remodeled successfully, you need to keep these in mind: Again, drawing up plans to renovate or update the appearance of this type of home is a challenge even for professionals. This information makes it easier to coordinate with pros. We continued the warm wood touches into the master bedroom, but went for a rich accent wall that elevated the sophistication level and sets this space apart. So, that means sprucing up the curb appeal becomes important. The master bathroom aesthetic quickly became all about the textures. The reason is to prevent on-foot postal carriers from having to climb stairs to deliver the mail. Modern floor plans put an emphasis on open space to make the entire area seem bigger while also granting more freedom for the homeowner to decorate. The south roof slope of the home hosts a large solar array, barely visible here. The split level house design has evolved in the world of production builders following the ranch home. It also doesnt hurt to make sure that the gardening is tended. To put it simply, the split-level home is a design from the 1950s. After all, you dont have to spend a single cent for it. Mid-Century Modern Split-Level Exterior Home Ideas - Houzz There is plenty of new storage in this space (that ties in with the kitchen finishes), but the real gem is the reading nook with two of the most comfortable armchairs youve ever sat in. It is not only the planning stage that you need to focus on the execution is equally important. The most significant change done to this space is removing the small room in the middle of the floor that housed the kitchen. Clever: Are Those Commission Savings Legit? Split-levels are cool on the inside. While we know that the design of a split-level house can vary, many of them will have a set of stairs outside that lead to the front door instead of a flat sidewalk. With proper drainage, you can keep the yard dry and clean, making it more appealing for potential suitors. The trademarks MLS, Multiple Listing Service and the associated logos are owned by CREA and identify the quality of services provided by real estate professionals who are members of CREA. In the early 1960s, for instance, no floor plan concept seemed better suited to the demands of modern life than the split level . Modern home designs tend to focus on lighting details. We removed two walls to open up this kitchen to the adjacent dining and family room area in this classic Split Level style home. Aside from the differences on the exterior, both back split and side split houses have roughly the same design. Create low cabinets that can also double as window seats, which allow you to save space and makes for a unique piece. This open-plan layout made the space look a lot bigger. The Empire State Building is a glowing example of the Art Deco style and its reach for the sky ethos. Split-levels, also sometimes called "tri-levels," are an architectural dead end that were built in abundance from the 1930s to the 1970s. Landscaping is new. He's an authority on the Florida real estate market, as well as selling a house by owner. It is the literal antithesis of the modern floorplan. Facing a set of steps every time you enter your house can get old, especially when you are doing stuff like bringing groceries in the house. Raised ranch homes flip the expected configuration upside-down. Tri-level homes already look unbalanced and adding extensions to its sides makes it look even more unbalanced if not done properly. The old backyard used to have some trellis installed and the entire garden looked unkempt. She grew up surrounded by constant home improvement projects and owes most of what she knows to helping her dad renovate her childhood home. People want more bedrooms, more bedrooms, more bedrooms at the expense of the communal space. If possible, have your skylights customized to fit the theme of your home to complement the entire space. Using a solid paint color ended up making the entire room look a lot more spacious than when wallpaper was used. You can also turn it into your home office and place all your filing cabinets, bookcase, and other similar items there. You can add a number of design elements, such as siding, tiles, wood, stone, and other decorative pieces to give it a new look. [Our Clients] In todays world many people find the formal areas of a colonial to be a waste of space. A front porch was added, siding and stone are new, as are all the windows. Commonly, however, the term is also used to denote split-level homes. Although each type of split-level home is different from one another, they all share the same characteristic of having multiple floors that are connected by short flights of stairs. You can find the majority of colonial style houses in the northeastern and southern U.S. Always consider even the most extreme ideas if youre planning to be in the home for a long time. Maximize this by getting larger windows for your home to allow more light inside your home during the day. Moreover, the proper windows can play an integral role in the energy-efficiency of your home. By adding skylights into the master bedroom, it can give an entirely new dimension to the space. A new paver pathway, planters, and landscaping add curb appeal. The original spec was probably a steel door with very little curb appeal. 12 /18. The idea with the Split level is that you can accommodate a large family on a modest budget. However, like most things, split-level homes are gaining in popularity again. Jessica considers herself a home improvement and design enthusiast. Lets explore the numerous variations of this ubiquitous architectural style. Most types of split-level houses will feature several staircases that lead to the different levels of the house. By sumitting this form, you agree to be contacted about your project by Homeadvisor and / or other service partners using automated phone technology and / or email. If youve seen one, youve seen them all. Horizontal sliders can also provide a more modern look. Even if your dream is to have a log cabin-type of home but you live in area that gets a lot of rain and snow all year, using even the sturdiest kind of wood may be the worst decision you can make in your life. Whereas, with split-level homes, theres usually a one-story section that connects to a two-story section instead of being right on top of each other. It can be difficult to downsize and there are challenges with smaller spaces ,storage etc. But you might be struggling to figure out what kind of paint to use on garage walls. Required fields are marked *. 11 of 68 Balodemas said real estate developers saw them as a way. We designed the rest of the space to be a clean and bright white, and really let the lovely blue of the floor tile pop. The ranch has no stairs, the entire house is on one level. Being a Los Angeles resident, Jessica spends a lot of her time looking for her next DIY project and sharing her love for home design. Updating the siding, materials used in the lower faade, or simply giving it a fresh paint job are some of the easiest ways to renovate a split-level home, but can also make a big impact. While some styles create space with doors, the colonial does it with staircase. You can use the following materials or do the following to make noticeable changes outside, while looking neutral enough to complement everything else: If you recall, we made a list of remodeling ideas for the faade and front entry in an earlier section. One set of stairs leads to the upper level, while the other leads to the bottom level. The aesthetic lends itself to an imaginative use of color, glass and circles. To remedy this without putting up walls, visual breaks can be used. Split-level houses feature an architectural style that was most popular in the 40s and 50s, and each type of split-level house has distinct features. With a little landscaping, you can really jazz up your ranch! Split foyer to French colonial. You need to consider if the changes you plan to make to your home will have a negative impact in terms of your entire homes functionality. You can choose from stacked-split, split-foyer, split-entry, back-split, standard-split, or side-split. Residential inquiries: 404.446.3881 Commercial: 404.446.3882 Contact Us, Split level homes are efficient machines of 60s and 70 living, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window). For ranches, this can extend off the main house and connect to a garage that was once completely separate from the rest of the home. With that said, here are some ways that you can modernize your split-level home and make it more suited to your style preferences: While ultra-modern can mean different things to different people, it generally means getting more natural light into the home. Our specialists are currently reviewing your case and will get back to you shortly. There was so much potential in those walls, and we couldnt wait to delve in and start transforming spaces. Benefits The story and a is my favorite, especially if the children in the house are a bit older and dont need to be close to the adults,or if you have out of town company. Skylights allow for natural, warm lighting to permeate the room. Garage doors are clad in metal. As prices in close-in suburbs inch toward the stratosphere, split-levels are often the only house types left that younger buyers can afford. This additional floor either becomes the highest floor or is the cellar or basement located just below the floor where your main living space is. You'll usually find the bedrooms stacked above the foyer with stairs coming off the kitchen or dining room. Please seek the services of a legal, accounting or real estate professional prior to any real estate transaction. The biggest challenge for Sun Design Remodeling is the mid-level front door. The difference is remarkable and it not only looks better, but this growing family can stay in the neighborhood of their choice and still have room for their expanding lifestyle. Even better, that natural light will light up just about every corner of the room.