(This article, reprinted with permission,
featuring Ivan Romanoff, class of 1961, appeared in The Columbus
Dispatch on May 15, 2005)
5/29/05
Tailored
to Suit
Owner of
tuxedo shop designs home atop store
By Lee
Stratton
The Columbus Dispatch
A
downtown corner has been home to a tuxedo shop for 20 years.
Now it’s
home to the tuxedo man, too.
In
1986, Ivan Romanoff bought and razed a run-down bar on the southeast
corner of 4th and Rich steets. He replaced it with a
20-by-60-foot one-story building to house Romanofff’s Classic Tuxedos, a
business he has owned and operated at various locations for almost 40
years.
Last
year he topped it off with a two-level home.
A tour
of Downtown condos two years ago sparked his idea for adding a
residence.
“I
always wanted to build a house. I thought it would be fun to build it
above the store, but I wasn’t sure it would happen. I brought in a
builder and an architect. They told me that if the city would let me do
it, it could be done.”
Architect David L. Betz configured the addition to fit the rectangular
store and the city’s building requirements.
The
mixed use building required a fire wall between the residence and the
store, Betz said. Romanoff had wanted a three-story addition, but the
cost of a sprinkler system and other requirements were beyond the
budget.
“We kept
the size to where he got 90 percent of what he wanted,” Betz said.
The
addition contains a two-bedroom loft above the main living level. The
lower level includes a living room, a one-man kitchen and a powder room.
A cantilevered balcony over the Rich Street sidewalk provides an 8-by-16
foot space for outdoor entertaining, people-watching and barbecuing.
The
loft includes a master suite and a guest suite. A floor-to-ceiling
window on the north wall extends through both levels and offers an
expansive view of Downtown. Each level also has a large patio door and
window facing west.
The
interior was designed to meet Romanoff’s preferences: wide-open spaces
with bold colors, lots of light and few walls or doors.
“I hate
little spaces,” Romanoff said. “The wall in the kitchen originally
wasn’t going to be there. But that was where the electrical wiring had
to go.”
To break
up the rectangular shape of the building, a curved, tiled partial wall
defines the living room. Another curved wall sets off the powder room.
Instead
of a bathroom door, a gold chain can be stretched across the hall to
indicate the bathroom is occupied.
“I don’t
like doors,” he said. “I don’t see much sense to them.”
Fabric
covers some of the built-in closets and cupboards but not the windows.
“I never
had a window curtain in my house for 17 years,” Romanoff said.
He did
make some concessions for privacy and comfort.
He
reluctantly agreed to have the full-length window in his shower frosted.
A
vertical blind suspended from the ceiling can be extended to provide a
bit of privacy for anyone using the guest bed.
“My
daughter-in-law said she would not stay here until I put up a wall or
curtain,” he said.
Romanoff
also has warmed to the vertical aluminum blinds that can be drawn to
cover the large windows.
“It’s
like a solid wall of aluminum,” he said. “It looks nice, and that made
it a lot more palatable to me.”
They
also help keep the sleeping areas cool in the summer.
“When
the sun sets in the summer, it gets hot up there, even with the e-glass
and all,” he said.
The
giant light fixtures in the expanse above the dining area were found at
a salvage company.
“They
came from a hootchy-kootchy bar,” he said. “I’ve got three more to get
rid of. There were six and the guy wouldn’t break up the set.”
The
kitchen includes a professional six-burner stove purchased at a
restaurant supply store. “I got the vent on eBay.”
“I sat
in the kitchen when it was catching the sunlight and thought it would be
fun to bring in the stark yellow and orange color of the sunset. It
looks nice with the slate tile.”
The
unusual project created some typical headaches.
“A lot
of things go on in building that take some of the fun out of it,”
Romanoff said.
“We
started March 1 last year, and I moved in mid-October. I kept the store
open the whole time.
“Half of
the time we were without a roof. We had to move everything downstairs to
the basement.”
Creating
the fire barrier required structural changes on the first floor,
including new drywall.
“I not
only had rain and water to deal with; I also had the plaster dust,” he
said.
To avoid
having the building surrounded by construction scaffolding for seven
months, Romanoff bought a second-hand mobile platform hoist in Kentucky.
The roofing, stucco and construction crews used it throughout the
project. He sold the machine afterward and figured the decision was more
economical than renting a similar piece of equipment.
Romanoff
said the new home is just what he wanted.
“I
haven’t had enough nice weather to enjoy the balcony. But the
convenience is just terrific. I get to go out more often and take a
walk. This is a great meeting place for friends of all corners of the
city.”
The
architect also found satisfaction in the project.
“It was
a delight,” Betz said. “I love solving problems like this. That’s the
fun part.”
Betz
said that in his 28 years as an architect, a number of clients have paid
for designs of unusual homes, but none followed through with
construction.
“I just
praise Mr. Romanoff for his commitment to the design,” Betz said. “He
put a lot of amenities in that house that were just gorgeous.”
Although
he lives just up the street from one of the busiest fire stations in the
nation, Romanoff said traffic and noise are almost a nonissue.”
He
speaks with pride of his contribution to the Downtown landscape by
replacing a deteriorated building with a viable business that has
remained for 20 years.
“To move
upstairs and make it a home makes it just that much more enjoyable.”
Talk
about a perfect fit.
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