School House Renovation

This project was just featured in the Baltimore Sun!

The Granite Public School #3 was built in 1879 and designed by Thomas C. Kennedy, a prominent Baltimore architect. The school house, now a private residence, is part of the Granite National Historic District, a rural quarrying community located in the Patapsco Valley of western Baltimore County, Maryland.  The original roof slope had been altered to a steeper pitch and multiple dormers to accommodate a second story in the 1930s. The original bell tower had been covered, perhaps altered to a second chimney. The attic was previously used as storage space for an antique shop. It had been previously renovated to include four bedrooms and two baths.  The arrangement of the owners’ bedroom and bath was tight and cramped due to limited height and narrow access. The knee walls at the perimeter were very low, making those spaces unusable.

While maintaining the same roof and ceiling profile, the south side of the attic was rearranged to create a functional owners’ suite, where dressing, bathing and main circulation take advantage of full height space. A relocated second bedroom serves as a guest bedroom with bath. Elegant, well-crafted built-ins and cabinets make full use of the roof eaves for storage and offer a rich wall texture to the bedrooms. The white bead-board built-ins offset the ebony cabinets, these reminiscent of the old schoolhouse charm. Artfully selected lighting, hardware, and plumbing fixtures reinforce the schoolhouse theme. The master bath evokes a sense of Tuscan villa retreat with its elegant clawfoot tub, stone tile and old-world stained vanity cabinets.