Low-slung ranch houses aren't for everyone, but what to do when they're the only show in town?

That was the dilemma Gwen and Marshall Simpkins faced when they began their search for another home in a suburb west of Boston. The established neighborhood they liked was fresh out of the early farmhouse look they wanted, as well as any undeveloped land for building their vision from scratch. What the area did have in abundance, however, was ranch-style architecture — nothing to thrill either of them with its intrinsic charms, but a solid enough style that Gwen, especially, saw it as chock-full of potential.

The couple wasted no time turning a ho-hum ranch house that measured only 30x50 feet into a spacious farmhouse-style dream home.

"I've been a real estate developer for fifteen years, and I'd had it in my head that this was something that would be fun to do," says Gwen. "I also thought there would be a cost savings to renovating one of the ranches, over tearing one down and starting over."

Despite its faux-brick siding and runaway shrubs, the house was exactly the kind of building block Gwen wanted: "I knew it was a good footprint on which to build. I knew just what I wanted our new home to look like, and within two days I had sketched the first floor plan. I wanted the exterior to look like a farmhouse, with a porch, and the interior to have the warm, comfortable feeling of a Tuscan country house." Architect Joe Artley was hired to implement the plan.

Changing the house's style in such a major way was an impressive feat. But even more amazing, the renovation increased living space by about 2,220 square feet, more than doubling the size of the house — all without building out beyond its existing perimeters. The key to keeping the basic ranch rectangle intact was in looking up and down for space solutions. Adding dormers to the roofline converted 1,200 square feet of attic space into a usable second story, and moving the basement staircase to a central location and installing windows and doors (thanks to a hillside siting) captured another 1,000 square feet of below-ground — but well-lit — space for use as a guest suite.

"We were moving from a bigger house, so it was important to increase the size of this one," says Gwen. That meant completely reshuffling interior walls and reassigning rooms. "Everything in the house is in a different location except for the living room. Those were the only walls we didn't rework, because we wanted to preserve that room for its fireplace," she explains.

The original ranch house included three bedrooms on its single floor. All of those were moved upstairs in the renovation, along with two baths and a laundry room, freeing up the original, vacated sleeping quarters for a new kitchen, a dining room, and a family room. Across the hallway, where the original dining room and kitchen had been, the Simpkins created a home office, a handy half bath, and a mudroom. The new floor plan also provided space for a roomy central hallway that dramatically changed the feel of the home. "Generous hallways make a space feel grand," says Gwen.

Flying in the face of a long-standing trend towards open-concept living spaces, the couple wanted their renovation to include distinct rooms that could provide both privacy and quiet.

"The house we lived in before was one of those in which the rooms all open onto one another," says Gwen. "This time, we wanted a family room where the kids could go and shut the door, and where the dining room would not have a visual connection with the kitchen."

At the same time square footage was being creatively reclaimed, the house received a visual overhaul to acquire a farmhouse exterior and Tuscany interior — a real coup, considering the architectural limitations of the original ranch. The addition of old-style clapboard siding, distinctive dormers, and a picturesque white-railed front porch create a yesteryear look that renders the ranch facade unrecognizable. Relocating the front door to the center of the house for symmetry, then flanking it with sidelights in the style of an old farmhouse, completes the job.

Indoors, heavy glazes on the walls and Italian ceramic and marble tiles on the floors produce an Old World richness that defies unadorned ranch architecture. A floral-and-bird mural hand-painted on the wall leading from the dining room to the kitchen was inspired by a swatch of antique crewel work. A raised fireplace in the dining room — the center of the home — adds a warm, Tuscan flavor. Old Balinese shutters frame mirrors flanking the fireplace, cleverly suggesting more windows.

"We wanted to have a fireplace that you could see while eating, instead of one that was below eye level," explains Gwen.

Rather than using more expected tile or marble, she personalized the living room's original '50s fireplace by facing it with a colorful mosaic of shards — chips and pieces of broken china cups and ceramic pots that she spent a year collecting, as well as some of her grandmother's old costume jewelry — for a one-of-a-kind presence.

Knowing that the results they wanted required decorative as well as structural work, the Simpkins budgeted accordingly. Gwen is the first to admit the project was a major financial commitment, but still contends it was a savings over other alternatives. And she doesn't regret it for a minute. Painted on a wall of her new kitchen is an old Italian proverb, which translates: "Life is uncertain; eat dessert first." Or, as Gwen interprets, "Don't wait years to pursue the house you want. Go for it now, and make it beautiful."

Credits

Text: Candace Ord Manroe

Photography: Eric Roth

Architect: Joe Artley

Regional Editor: Estelle Bond Guralnick