Sun rises on redesigned Chestnut Hill house

A first glance doesn't do it. Nor does a second.

The house that comes into view off a narrow street in Chestnut Hill requires at least several glances - and some orientation.

Its contours seem straightforward enough, but there's a surprise around every bend, both indoors and out.

"Sunrise," the 1964 residence designed by architect William Washburn as a simple, symmetrical house with mansard roof, was transformed three years ago to include an additional bedroom, an enlarged master suite and family room, and a third-floor studio - an expansion of 2,000 square feet.

The reason for its metamorphosis: J. Rudy Lewis, a metalsmith and custom-jewelry designer, and Elie-Anne Chevrier, a former registrar for the Philadelphia Museum of Art, were coming from a three-acre farm in Blue Bell. Still, they were searching for a sense of community, and Chestnut Hill provided that.

"We knew we wanted this house," says Lewis, "but we also knew that it needed more space, and that some important changes had to be made if it was going to work for us."

That, and patience. The couple hired Stephen Verner, founder of Stephen Verner Architects in Fairmount, to help turn this two-bedroom/11/2-bath home into a suitable space for them and their children, William, 9, and Claire, 6.

Verner, who spent five years on a nuclear submarine in the Navy before he trained in architecture, knows a thing or two about spaces.

"The home was almost a complete square when we began," says Verner, noting that there wasn't an instantly recognizable and obvious site for the addition.

Some projects can be immediately executed, but this one took a lot of time and study. Explains Verner, "We ultimately decided to use the back of the house, but there were land issues, aesthetic issues, complicated approvals, and structural issues to be resolved."

Besides the bedroom and studio work, Verner extended the dining room, added a terrace just beyond it, and put a roof deck on the third floor. Preserving the extensive mature vegetation on the sloping site and harmonizing the old with the new - with minimal disruption to the old - were the great challenge.

So was maximizing the glorious views of Pastorius Park, which starts just beyond the family's property, and of the Esherick House next door. Architect Louis Kahn designed it in 1961, and it is regarded as a landmark of modern design.

Eighteen months later, the project was completed in 2008, allowing the family to finally move in and make the house its own.