A period-appropriate remodel, with room to make music
Birkemeier homes are unique to the Pacific Northwest, and highly coveted by mid-century enthusiasts. Designed and built by Kenneth Birkemeier throughout the 1950s, the houses are innovative and extremely well crafted. When our client approached us for design services, they wanted to honor the purism of the original mid-century home while renovating areas in the basement into a music recording studio, restoring the bathrooms, choosing exterior colors, and adding a general design touch into each room of the home. We worked with the client to ensure that all of the details reflected the craftsmanship that is characteristic of Birkemeier homes.
This custom wall unit was designed with mid-century influence. Its wall-to-wall placement in the home office offers a handsome arrangement of storage.
A new music recording studio was added to the lower level. The study of acoustical engineering was used in a recording studio for good sound mitigation. This was carried throughout the rest of the home: older windows were replaced with new triple-paned and louder functioning mechanicals, such as the furnace, were moved to the garage.
The kitchen was restored to its 1954 glamour with the original birch plywood cabinets, vintage hardware, and ceramic tile countertops. Modern upgrades were worked into the design with subtlety—the new built-in Leibherr counter depth refrigerator (left) was faced with the same plywood as the rest of the cabinetry.
