Ocotea House Renovation / in situ studio


© Keith Isaacs

© Keith Isaacs
  • Architects: in situ studio
  • Location: Raleigh, United States
  • Lead Architect: Matthew Griffith
  • Area: 3485.0 ft2
  • Project Year: 2016
  • Photographs: Keith Isaacs
  • Project Architect: Mary Conley
  • Structural Engineers: Lysaght & Associates
  • Cabinetry: Dopko
  • Builder: Kemp Harris

© Keith Isaacs

© Keith Isaacs

From the architect. The existing house on Ocotea was a well-loved, 1960’s, low-sloped ranch with a full basement visible from the left side. Over the years, what was originally a clean image of mid-century residential architecture had fallen into disarray – the basement had been haphazardly chopped up to accommodate additional bedrooms, the main floor and public spaces had been reconfigured in an odd way, and a very poorly built sunroom had been added to the right side. Our first effort was to remove this debris and uncover the original form.


© Keith Isaacs

© Keith Isaacs

Floor Plans

Floor Plans

© Keith Isaacs

© Keith Isaacs

The major changes we designed for the house include a new carport on the right side that replaces the sunroom and extends the line of the roof, new front decks that introduce a floating, thin aesthetic to the formerly heavy front facade, a new kitchen and master suite, new stairs that connect the main spaces upstairs to a new, open family room in the basement, new utility systems, and completely new finishes inside and out. The house now sits comfortably in its mid-century neighborhood, a stark alternative to the method of buy, bulldoze, buildout that currently plagues Raleigh’s first-ring suburbs.


© Keith Isaacs

© Keith Isaacs