A+ Addition

For Tina and Todd Neu, purchasing a 1940s Kirkwood home with “good bones” – but lacking improvements and updates – would prove to take the family on a “remodeling whirlwind” that would result in the home they always wanted. It was Todd who tackled the job of coordinating all the parts of a renovation plan that would expand the home to allow space for a mud room, first-floor laundry adjacent to the kitchen, and second-floor office above the mud and laundry rooms. And after one meeting with architect Donna Boxx, the plan took flight. “Donna hit a home run with the design of this project,” says Todd, owner/president of Neu Construction Services, Inc.

Before

“Doing the house in five stages required the marrying of each stage to the next stage – the existing with the new. Materials were ordered by thinking of future stages,” explains Todd. Using part of the home's footprint (the center rectangle of the first floor), the renovation included the expansion of the kitchen and a hearth room addition. Expanded by 250 square feet, the home's galley kitchen was a gut remodel, and opens to the addition of a 560- square-foot hearth room with a 19-foot-tall dry-stack fireplace, 10-foot side walls and a dramatic vaulted ceiling using reclaimed wood beams. Tongue-and-groove hand-scraped and hand-finished hardwood floors with the look of “an old bar floor” give the room a comfortable, relaxed look, leading to an exquisite outdoor living area.

For months, the renovation project would require cooperation and a bit of ‘‘time juggling” for the couple. With two sons, Parker and Corey, and busy schedules, the couple undertook the challenge – and luckily, they were able to use the existing kitchen through parts of the first three remodeling phases. “The space was finished just in time for Christmas. It was fun to be entertaining within the newness of it all,” says Tina. Furnishings and accessories from local shops and from travels around the country lend a warm, personalized feel to the space – with meticulous attention given to each decision. According to Todd and Tina, “The success of the entire project can be attributed to the industry associates who devoted their time, expertise and energies – culminating in the home of our dreams.”