Living Room Addition In Lakeville

(continued ...)Take Tim and Kristen Kraft of Lakeville. The family home was purchased ready to have an elevated deck built off the back, but the Krafts had bigger plans in mind.

When they met Matt Schmidt, head of AMEK's Design-Build Division, at the 2010 Remodeler's Showcase they struck up a conversation about what they sought for a living room addition to their home.

Matt said what emerged was the concept of "something old and something new" in a room connected to the kitchen and family room and eating area.

The Krafts sought a large, open space to act as a living room and entertaining space wanting the addition to have a rustic feel.

After ongoing consultation and draft living room designs, AMEK provided a final draft for a room that included vaulted ceilings, a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace as the room's focal point and tall windows on all exterior walls. The fireplace included built-in seating on either side providing a direct view to the touch of modern in the room: a flat-screen television with built in speakers.

There were design details crafted from reclaimed barn timbers:

• The fireplace mantel was built from the deep, richly stained reclaimed barn timbers, including the mantel supports.
• A serving window between the kitchen and family space included an oversized shelf, also made from the timbers.

The dark, rich "Northwoods" feel of the timbers was carried through to the dark-stained walnut floor and windows and window trim that dominate most of wall space not taken up by the stone fireplace.

What had been a doorway installed to lead off the kitchen on to the deck once it was built was converted into the entrance to the new living room, further lending to the feeling of "escape" the room offers.

Given the original intent of the space off the back of the house, a deck was added from the addition and a stairway added down to an existing patio space off of the basement walk-out sliding glass doors.