remodels

I’m finally posting some before and after photos from the cottage style kitchen and great room renovation we did. The project really turned out beautifully! Our client purchased this home years prior near the beach and had always envisioned transforming the 80’s style decor/layout into an open concept cottage style interior. Our client also loves to cook, so the function and layout of the kitchen played a major role in the new plan.

We were so glad she chose us to help bring her dreams to reality!

Existing Plan:

Conceptual Plans:

Kitchen:

The existing kitchen was somewhat dark and closed off (see photo below). The photo on the left shows a wall behind a peninsula island; we completely removed that wall to open up the kitchen to the dining and living area beyond during the renovation.

A lot of older homes like this have little nooks and crannies that become seemingly useless space over time. In this renovation, we made sure to take advantage of every bit of the interior… transforming those wasted areas into useful, functional space!

In the photo below, you’ll see a bay window that faces a beautiful wooded back yard. Unfortunately no one ever really used that window… even the loveseat faces away from the view!

We ended up replacing those tall windows with shorter above counter windows and locating the kitchen sink there to take full advantage of the view. I know it sounds “sad” to remove those tall windows…but I assure you the extra 12″ of glass did no good if no one used them!

Great Room:

The living and dining areas of this home also needed some major updating. Take a look at the existing rounded drywall fireplace mantle below…very unique to say the least!

Living Room after – what a transformation!

Dining Room:

To help define the dining area, we added a chandelier above the table, wainscoting, and the homeowner also purchased a rug. We also added decorative beams to the vaulted ceiling above, and by placing one central to the table, we were able to hide wiring for the chandelier.

Dining before – the wall to the left behind the china cabinet was a shared wall with the kitchen. This wall was removed and a bar peninsula was added.

Dining Room after!

The main foyer of the home also needed updating.

I love how it turned out!

This summer we completed a conceptual design for a kitchen and living remodel. Our client was originally just asking for help with paint colors…and of course I had to laugh! Not that we couldn’t help with just colors (we do that from time to time), but we could do so much more! I really just wanted to get a feel for what she really wanted for the space…what she loved about her home, what she didn’t love, and ultimately what sort of design aesthetic she was attracted to.

Design Concept:

repaint existing oak kitchen cabinets black

paint all existing cabinet pulls silver

repaint all wood trim white

install wood flooring thru-out

add a white wood wainscot with a chalkboard wall

built-in shelf for coffee display

install a tile backsplash

add a drum pendant light over kitchen table

a rug to “ground” the table

add a furniture style island with pendant lighting

(there is so much wasted space in the middle of the kitchen)

remove all existing drapery and install white blinds

remove all wood chairrail and wall covering borders and repaint walls

add white wood bookcases on both sides of fireplace

install track lighting to accent photography in specific locations

keep existing lamps, just replace the shades

add a shag rug to living room

buy one accent chair for reading in living room

and finally, a paint scheme of dark gray, tan, white, yellow and coral

Well, at first she was a little shell-shocked at all of the ideas…especially since she was just asking for paint colors. But she was also very much in love with all the ideas and the possibility that her home could actually be something better than she ever imagined! She also didn’t think her husband would ever get on board…especially with the idea of painting the kitchen cabinets.

A few days later she called me from the paint store and they were already buying the paint! I think in the end her husband really came around because we were able to visually show him our intent thru our conceptual designs and images. And if you look back at our design concept, there isn’t a whole lot of new and expensive items…besides the built-in bookcases, wood floors, and painting the cabinets. I don’t think they ever went thru with the wood floors either. But the rest was enough to completely change their space anyway!

Conceptual Drawings: