Modern elevated two-story house with a large upper deck, dark metal siding, and surrounding garden in a suburban yard.
Wood staircase leading up to a dining area with a round black table and white upholstered chairs, beneath a gold pendant chandelier in a modern interior.
Modern multi-level interior with a wooden staircase, metal rails, and a seating area visible on the upper level.
Open-plan kitchen with dark grey cabinets, wooden upper cabinets, marble backsplash, and a round black dining table with white upholstered chairs under a gold pendant light, staircase to the right.
Modern open-concept living/dining area with a round black dining table and light gray upholstered chairs, mustard lounge chairs, and a wood-paneled wall featuring a contemporary gold chandelier.
Modern living room with an open wooden staircase, white walls, a gas fireplace, and mustard armchairs around a round coffee table
Modern wooden staircase with black metal stringers in a bright, minimalist interior.
Modern interior staircase with wooden treads and black metal stringers, ascending beside a white wall and large windows with natural light.
Sunlit stairwell with a wooden handrail, black metal balusters, and hanging glass pendant lights beside large windows.
Wooden handrail with black metal balusters along a sunlit staircase, casting shadows on a white wall.
Modern outdoor patio with black metal posts, orange wood ceiling fans, and cream cushioned seating overlooking a suburban yard.
Modern multi-story house with a rooftop deck and glass railing, parked car beneath on a covered level
Modern two-story house exterior with gray horizontal siding and metal-clad upper level, small window, and wooden soffit overhangs along a concrete walkway.
Angular corner of a modern building with rust-colored metal panels, gray siding, and large windows against a blue sky.
Angular view of a rusty metal wall with a large window and wooden eaves against a blue sky
Interior corner showing vertical silver corrugated metal wall panels, warm wooden ceiling, and a black steel post in the foreground.
Rusty brown metal panels with visible screws between dark wooden boards, seen in a vertical strip arrangement.
Modern multi-story house with dark siding, copper panels, large windows, balcony, and a landscaped front yard with two cars.
A modern house with an open rooftop deck where several people chat and mingle, overlooking a forested valley and distant mountains.
Modern elevated two-story house with a large upper deck, dark metal siding, and surrounding garden in a suburban yard.
Wood staircase leading up to a dining area with a round black table and white upholstered chairs, beneath a gold pendant chandelier in a modern interior.
Modern multi-level interior with a wooden staircase, metal rails, and a seating area visible on the upper level.
Open-plan kitchen with dark grey cabinets, wooden upper cabinets, marble backsplash, and a round black dining table with white upholstered chairs under a gold pendant light, staircase to the right.
Modern open-concept living/dining area with a round black dining table and light gray upholstered chairs, mustard lounge chairs, and a wood-paneled wall featuring a contemporary gold chandelier.
Modern living room with an open wooden staircase, white walls, a gas fireplace, and mustard armchairs around a round coffee table
Modern wooden staircase with black metal stringers in a bright, minimalist interior.
Modern interior staircase with wooden treads and black metal stringers, ascending beside a white wall and large windows with natural light.
Sunlit stairwell with a wooden handrail, black metal balusters, and hanging glass pendant lights beside large windows.
Wooden handrail with black metal balusters along a sunlit staircase, casting shadows on a white wall.
Modern outdoor patio with black metal posts, orange wood ceiling fans, and cream cushioned seating overlooking a suburban yard.
Modern multi-story house with a rooftop deck and glass railing, parked car beneath on a covered level
Modern two-story house exterior with gray horizontal siding and metal-clad upper level, small window, and wooden soffit overhangs along a concrete walkway.
Angular corner of a modern building with rust-colored metal panels, gray siding, and large windows against a blue sky.
Angular view of a rusty metal wall with a large window and wooden eaves against a blue sky
Interior corner showing vertical silver corrugated metal wall panels, warm wooden ceiling, and a black steel post in the foreground.
Rusty brown metal panels with visible screws between dark wooden boards, seen in a vertical strip arrangement.
Modern multi-story house with dark siding, copper panels, large windows, balcony, and a landscaped front yard with two cars.
A modern house with an open rooftop deck where several people chat and mingle, overlooking a forested valley and distant mountains.
A Fusion of Architectural Styles

A Fusion of Styles

Do you love the historic character of a 1920’s craftsman home?  Do you crave the unique materials and cutting-edge style of a modern home?  How can you have both?  Madison Avenue is the fusion of bold and modern, with historic and traditional. The design pushes the boundaries of modern architectural elements, while also retaining the character and soul of a century old, craftsman home.  This contemporary modern design is a fusion of styles.

The design approach bucks the standard “pop the top” renovation and addition, where a second floor is added to an existing one-story house and most of the original character is lost.  Instead, the entire existing craftsman home is left intact, and a new modern structure is built behind the existing home.  The existing and new parts of the home are designed to be functionally and architecturally independent of each other, each having their own living and kitchen spaces.  While the exterior material and design of the existing craftsman home remains painted wood siding, the new part of the home utilizes the more contemporary materials of corrugated metal and cor-ten steel.  The new main living spaces are clad in corrugated metal.  The bridge spaces, the circulation areas connecting old and new, are clad in cor-ten steel.

When designing an addition, there are two good approaches.  One approach is to try to make the new parts match the existing, both in style and character, so that the addition looks like something that could have been part of the original design.  The other approach is to differentiate the new parts from the old, both in style and materials, so it’s clear where the original starts and the new begins.  The second approach removes a lot of the design constraints and allows a lot more freedom to explore new directions.

One of the fundamental goals of this project required the existing home to remain essentially intact.  However, the site constraints required a more vertical approach in order to meet the other design guidelines.  A greatly sloping site allowed for a three-story addition at the back to remain mostly hidden from the street.  A stair tower connects a lower level carport, main level living spaces, and an upper level fitness area and roof deck.  The nature of the carport and roof deck require spaces that are open and flat, which are fundamental aspects of modern design.  The main level appears to float above the carport, while still providing a solid base for the roof deck above.  The structure for the upper level roof is exposed and uncompromising.

Year: 2023

Style: Contemporary Modern Addition

Location: City of Decatur, Georgia.
Stats: 5 Bedrooms, 4-1/2 Baths, 3,009 heated square feet

Contractor: Mahfoud Construction

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