I don't understand this obsession of remodeling for your neighbors. If I am going to be redoing the home that I purchased, I wouldn't care what they wanted because it's not their dime.

What about bringing your personality into the design and staying true to who you are and embracing diversity in an urban setting. I don't care if my home doesn't fit in with the overall look of the block. It's like high school all over again where we are told that we have to conform to the styles of the more popular kids.

F*CK THEM!! It's my house!

I wouldn't say it's about pleasing the neighbors or "conforming", it's about respecting the aesthetic and history of a neighborhood. I think this is a fantastic idea.

i'll take the more traditional version. i'm just not a huge fan of this.

keisha, i'm gonna move in next to you, tear down whatever's there, and build a replica of sauron's satanic tower-fortress barad-dûr. it's my house after all.

Keisha clearly missed a key word in the title of this post: respect.

Well put "thebean."

You will always get people that argue "it is my land, I will do what I want." In the end, they will do what they want, but it is refreshing to see people who respect their surroundings and history of a neighborhood.

We are running into the same issue here in Houston, TX. There are neighborhoods close to downtown that are filled with 1930's bungalows. Some people restore them to keep with the local character. Others though are tearing them down and where once stood a single story home with a yard now stands 3 cheaply made four story townhouses with a shared driveway on a single lot.

Keisha, your approach is high school all over again, and guarantees that your neighbors will reciprocate your disrespect.

My neighbor desecrated a 1920's bungalow to make an "architectural statement" in a historic neighborhood, and his family has been ostracized from the block. But it's his house, right?

god bless them for not ruining the historic front of that house with their style du jour. I don't happen to like what they did with the back (aesthetically, I mean--I'm sure it does afford them a lot of nice light for their living space), but I definitely appreciate that they kept it isolated to the back--it's a good compromise if they were aching for this sort of modern space. And ditto what thebean said for respecting the character of the neighborhood.

I think it's interesting to look at but I wouldn't necessarily want to live next door or behind it and look at it all the time. Kind of like a piece of modern art that you like in the museum but not over your own fireplace. Some of it depends on whether the houses in the neighborhood are a mix of old houses and tear-downs/modern houses. If that's the case, then definitely go for the mix. If not, then stick with a traditional exterior even though the style does not necessarily have to stay traditional on the inside - vaulted ceilings, open spaces, etc. We're working on blending our new addition with our 70 year old house, but we chose the house first so we wanted to stick with the traditional style that we still love. www.houseography.net

I like combining old and new and think, if done well, it can be mutually complementary to both styles, but that particular exterior 2nd floor terrace looks clunky, imo. It's more like an interior room that forgot its ceiling - the stucco walls are mimicking drywall too much for me. I'd have preferred it in wood that had more peek-throughs than a "window" opening.

The exterior reminds me of the house remodel in"Beetlejuice". This, of course, isn't horrid. It's actually quite nice in comparison!

beeetlejuice... beetlejuice...... BeeTLEJUIcE!!!

As a historic preservation graduate student I am so pleased that Apartment Therapy is showcasing such a thoughtful renovation that both respects the historical integrity of the neighborhood and allows the owners to reflect their own personal style. Kudos!

I love this, both front and back. The best of two worlds.

If you don't like the style... WHY BUY THE HOUSE? Build new somewhere else. Geez. (Hate the front v. back, it's only point is to be different. Doesn't add anything.)

Keisha Kornbread: Your bad high school experience is eating up your life.

On to the subject. I think it's a great idea respecting your neighborhood while at the same time, bringing out your design sense.

love this approach. both front and back are beautiful :)

The utterly conservative reactions on this post surprise me. I too like the old and the new embracing each other. I too completely tore down my back facade and replaced it by something modern because the old one simply didn't meet the needs of people from the 21st century. Will I be chastised now?

This is the back of the house, which in Chicago is generally different through additions, while the fronts are roughly the same, but in some areas there is little uniformity in front.

Contextualism seems to be the most popular idea here, but sometimes there needs to be a foreign object in a homogeneous area.

I totally LOVE this! It is about respect for history, neighbors and your community. I love history and I love modern and this is such a perfect combination! I've never seen anything like this before. I think I am going to have to copy!