Beauty and the Beast

Good day ladies and gentlemen!

Thank you for visiting us again on our blog. On today’s agenda we are tackling the Janjua’s must-haves for the beautification of the new residence; and with warmer temperatures spoiling us this February, our minds immediately jump to outdoor work. As you all know, we have big aspirations for this beastly building so let's dive right into the subject of curb appeal!

Although the concept of turning a school into a residence is not entirely unique, it still raises a few eyebrows when we mention our plans to people, and understandably so. It is difficult to envision a plain, albeit a well-maintained and structurally sound, brick building becoming a warm and welcoming residence for seniors and furthermore, as our slogan states, “a home away from home”. 

The building must go through an extensive transformation inside and out in order to shed its cold institutional look and feel. Ultimately, our final design goal is to reinvent this school in such a way that it is in harmony with the surrounding landscape consisting of beautifully manicured lawns, tall trees and quaint cottage-like homes. To paint a better portrait of this future beauty, here are some ideas we have so far to spruce up the curb appeal of the building.

As we will need to add windows for all of the bedrooms, we decided on replacing the old windows with tall rectangular ones detailed with white grills. Beautiful radius window toppers will adorn the front of the building serving two purposes: firstly, to increase the building’s charm and cottage-like appeal; and secondly, to optimize the amount of light in each room. Light and cheery is the way we want to go for the interior therefore large windows are crucial to realizing this design. The tired yellow panels around the windows will be replaced with beautiful stone veneer or a fresh coloured siding that will complement the existing brick.

A large canopy will extend out from the building’s main entrance to cover vehicles picking up or dropping off residents. The large parking lot will remain for staff, residents, guests, and church-goers to use.

In the summer, lush flower beds and groomed hedges will welcome our residents and guests as they stroll through the large property. Similarly to the inside, plenty of seating will be available outdoors for residents to enjoy the great weather.

Lastly, the largest and most significant modification we wish to make to the building will be to the roof. The flat industrial-looking roof will be covered with a traditional sloped rooftop. Changing this one detail, if nothing else, will have the largest impact on the appearance of the building and elevate its presence in the neighbourhood. It will also conveniently better resemble our logo!

It may still be challenging to imagine all of this, but we are determined to offer our future residents a home that will make them and the rest of the community proud. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please share them with us. We are curious to know what's on your must-have list!

- The Janjua Family    

Examples of radius windows and mixed materials for the face of the building. We absolutely love the combination of the red brick and the subdued moss green siding in image 4!