2025 Best Remodel, Best Bath, Best Outdoor Living and Best Curb Appeal

About the project:
The Kozlowski Residence in Hardy, Virginia, is a transformative addition and renovation of a historic homestead originally built in the 1700s as part of the Noell Family’s “The Oaks.” Preserving the original log cabin and 19th-century farmhouse while introducing a bold contemporary volume, the project rethinks a fragmented, centuries-old house into a cohesive, light-filled family home that honors its 300-year legacy yet fully embraces modern rural living on 32+ acres

This comprehensive remodel dramatically improves circulation, connectivity, and openness while maintaining the intimate scale of the historic structures. A new two-story addition—clad in natural cedar, standing-seam metal, and expansive storefront glazing—creates a deliberate dialogue between old and new. The original rear of the house becomes the primary front entry, reorienting arrival through a covered stone patio that serves as outdoor living space. Interior thresholds dissolve with soaring vaulted ceilings, exposed historic logs washed in uplight, and a glass-lined circulation spine that slips past the 1700s cabin. Strategic demolition and rebuilding eliminated awkward additions, unified disparate floor levels, and future-proofed the home with future elevator addition and expanded mudroom/support spaces essential for active farm life. The result is a respectful yet fearless remodel that transforms a disjointed historic property into an elegant, highly livable 21st-century residence.