Jim and Sue Harnden’s stone and cedar home in Muirfield Village is big on the outside, but inside, it’s more like a ranch home for the empty-nesters.
That’s the result of a subtle, but significant, first-floor remodeling.
With two sons grown and gone, the Harndens took stock of their home of 22 years with 5,800 square feet on three levels, weighing buy and remodel options so living would be more convenient. Jim’s a retired emergency room physician while Sue is in her 30th year teaching gifted children, currently in Olentangy Local Schools.
When they bought the 10-year-old, custom-built home in 1992, it met their criteria, which included a walkout lower level, a screened porch, ample bedrooms and a three-car garage.
“We fell in love with the kitchen,” Sue says, noting the large island, abundance of space and vaulted ceiling.
Large windows give the Harndens and their guests a panoramic view of the 11th fairway on Muirfield Village Golf Club. And theirs is a friendly neighborhood, situated so their sons could easily attend Dublin City Schools.
Moving, Sue suggests, was not really an option. “We love where we live,” Jim says.
A major landscaping project in August is a testament to that.
The second-floor master suite was an unusual feature. The first floor had three typical bedrooms, two connected by a partial Jack and Jill bath – partial because the sinks and vanities were in the boys’ adjoining bedrooms rather than the connecting bathroom.
The bedrooms became the focus of the Harndens’ remodeling goal to create a first-floor master by combining the rooms, complete with a larger bath and a big, comfortable walk-in closet.
One remodeler developed a plan, but it didn’t fit their vision, so they bought the plan and moved on. By word of mouth, they found Pat Sullivan of Westerville, a hands-on remodeler who works largely by himself and helps conceive custom projects such as the Harndens’.
Sue praises Sullivan’s thorough, methodical approach to analyzing the two rooms, the structure and the water, sewer and electrical lines. He advised Sue on searching the Internet for ideas – she found House.com to be particularly helpful – and modified the plan to fit their wishes and budget.
“I didn’t want a decorator,” Sue says. “I had my own ideas.”
One example: an arched entry that opens to the new, expanded bath from the master bedroom.
“I wanted a doorway, not a door,” Sue says.
Sullivan endorsed the concept and suggested the same type of opening to an existing wall closet that remains.
The Harndens visited a company that designs bathrooms, including cabinetry, sink tops and hardware. A representative devised a plan that, deep down, the couple didn’t like, largely because of the suggested cabinetry. The cabinets had more lines than Sue would have liked, and at Sullivan’s urging, the couple chose what they wanted so they would be “100 percent satisfied” with their significant investment. They turned instead to simpler cabinets displayed in the company show room.
“We’re bland transitional,” Sue says. “We like clean lines.”
Their new bedroom, for example, has little furniture in it other than a chair and end table and lamp. Clothing is kept in the walk-in.
Their bath reflects the same simplicity. Vanities with bowl sinks are on opposite walls. There’s a plain white soaking tub and a large walk-in shower with tile walls on three sides. It has a door-width opening Sullivan suggested in case they decide to add a glass door. It has whale tail-shaped hooks to hang towels. It’s of ample size, but “is not a car wash,” Sue says.
She was especially pleased that a supplier of lights, fixtures and other items provided design options via the Internet so she could choose f
rom home.
Countertops in the bath and on a cabinet in the toilet room are manufactured marble with a tan base and darker contrasting shapes embedded. It’s quite durable and a bit more affordable than the real thing.
Sue’s ideas for the walk-in closet – Jim estimates it takes about half of one original bedroom – include three walls of low-level cabinets with big drawers. The remaining wall is bead board with clothing hooks for recreational clothing. The hooks are more convenient than hangers for informal attire.
The renovated house does leave largely unused the old master suite, as well as a large bonus room with a full bath upstairs. It could be a nice guest suite, Jim says.
Sue says advice she once got from her mother is at the root of the project: “‘Don’t save your house for someone else.’ I’ve always remembered that.”
Hence, they have what they want for more convenient living in a large house.
“We turned our house into a ranch,” Sue says, joking that “sometimes I’d like to cut it in half.”
Duane St. Clair is a contributing editor. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
