OUR WORK
Dormer Addition and Primary Suite in Ann Arbor Hills, Ann Arbor
An unfinished attic became a full primary suite under a new dormer: bedroom, bath, dressing room, sitting room and office.
THE STORY
What the homeowners wanted, and what we found.
WHAT THEY WANTED
A private primary suite with a bedroom, a full bathroom and real closet space, plus somewhere to read and somewhere to work. They wanted it to feel like it had always been part of the house, inside and out.
WHAT WE FOUND
An unfinished attic with a steep roof, low headroom along both sides, a single half bath on the floor below and no insulation to speak of. The existing roof structure could not simply be finished; it had to be reshaped to make the space livable.
HOW WE DESIGNED IT
We raised a shed dormer across the back of the roof and built an entire primary suite into the attic, with a full bath, walk-in closet, sitting room and office.
THE INSPIRATION
The house itself: a classic Ann Arbor Hills home with painted trim and a steep roof. Inside, the homeowners wanted warmth and pattern, so walnut, grasscloth, botanical wallpaper and unlacquered brass set the tone.
THE PLAN
A shed dormer along the rear roof adds standing height and a run of windows across the bedroom and sitting room. The bathroom takes the center of the plan with a walk-in shower, a double vanity and a makeup counter. A dressing room with floor-to-ceiling built-in closets sits behind paneled doors with recessed brass pulls. Built-in bookcases run the length of the hall into a small office tucked under the eave.
THE OUTCOME
How it turned out
The attic is now the best floor in the house. The bedroom sits under the new dormer windows with walnut dressers built into the knee wall. The bathroom has a marble-look walk-in shower behind a waterfall glass door, a double vanity and a makeup counter with globe pendants. The dressing room hides behind paneled doors with brass pulls, the sitting room has a skylight and a reading chair, and the office waits at the end of a hall of built-in bookcases.
FINAL PHOTOS
The finished space.
AT A GLANCE
A Dormer Addition and Primary Suite in Ann Arbor Hills
A dormer addition and primary suite.
Ann Arbor Hills, Ann Arbor.
Shed dormer, bedroom, full bath with curbless walk-in shower and double vanity, dressing room with built-in closets, sitting room, office, built-in bookcases, walnut built-ins, wallpaper, brass hardware.
THE FLOOR PLANS
What changed, and why.
We raised a shed dormer across the back of the roof and built an entire primary suite into the attic, with a full bath, walk-in closet, sitting room and office.
BEFORE
AFTER
WHAT MAKES IT WORK
Three details that carry the design.
FEATURE 01
The new bathroom takes the center of the plan: a curbless walk-in shower with marble-look porcelain, a teak bench and niche, brass fixtures and a low-iron glass waterfall door.
FEATURE 02
The dressing room sits behind full-height paneled doors with recessed brass pulls. Inside, built-in closets run floor to ceiling so no storage was lost to the sloped roof.
FEATURE 03
Built-in bookcases line the hall from the bedroom to the office, with a skylit sitting room off to one side. Walnut shelving and a small desk under the eave turn leftover space into the most-used corner of the floor.
THE PROJECT
A Dormer Addition and Primary Suite in Ann Arbor Hills
AT A GLANCE
A dormer addition and primary suite.
Ann Arbor Hills, Ann Arbor.
Shed dormer, bedroom, full bath with curbless walk-in shower and double vanity, dressing room with built-in closets, sitting room, office, built-in bookcases, walnut built-ins, wallpaper, brass hardware.
THE STORY
A private primary suite with a bedroom, a full bathroom and real closet space, plus somewhere to read and somewhere to work. They wanted it to feel like it had always been part of the house, inside and out.
HOW WE DESIGNED IT
A shed dormer along the rear roof adds standing height and a run of windows across the bedroom and sitting room. The bathroom takes the center of the plan with a walk-in shower, a double vanity and a makeup counter. A dressing room with floor-to-ceiling built-in closets sits behind paneled doors with recessed brass pulls. Built-in bookcases run the length of the hall into a small office tucked under the eave.
