Journal · October 22, 2026
New work that looks like it was always there
On an older house, the goal for new work is usually that it not read as new. A recent project in Bloomfield Hills is a good example of what that takes.
The house is a brick colonial from the 1930s, with limestone quoins and well-considered proportions. Two things needed attention. The front portico, with its original posts and pavers, was in good condition on the surface but failing underneath: a small leak at the roof, hidden for years, had worked its way down inside the structure. And the breakfast nook off the kitchen was too small for how the house is used today.
The direction from the owners and from CBI Design Professionals, who designed the new work, was that the additions should look as though they had always been part of the house.
The portico
Hidden leaks are difficult because the damage is not visible from outside. Once the trim was removed, it was clear that water had been traveling down inside the posts and into the framing for some time. Repairing the damaged sections would have meant building around compromised material, so we shored the roof, removed the portico down to the house, and rebuilt it.
The new portico has a poured foundation under the steps, a roof flashed and drained to prevent a repeat of the original problem, and paired square columns with recessed panels, sized to the existing pilasters. The profiles of the cornice, frieze and base were taken from original trim elsewhere on the house.
Where new brick met old, we used salvaged brick rather than new. It was sourced locally and sorted by hand against the existing walls for color, texture and size, so the transition between the original masonry and the new work is not apparent.
The breakfast room
The nook was a different kind of problem: it was simply too small, and the house needed a larger room off the kitchen for everyday living.
Enlarging it meant removing it and building out on a new foundation. CBI designed the new room in the same language as the original, at a larger size: a paneled base, pilasters between the windows, a cornice that continues the line of the portico, and divided-light windows that match the rest of the house.
The result does not call attention to itself. The limestone quoins remain the most prominent feature of the elevation, as they should. Inside, the detailing is carried through, and the house has the room it needed.
A general note
When part of an older house is failing or too small, the simplest fix is often to repair the component or add on in the most expedient way. Houses that age well tend to be the ones where each generation’s work followed the house’s own proportions and details, and was done by people who took the original seriously. Done properly, the new work is not noticed, which is the point.
Architecture by CBI Design Professionals.