we got brave and actually went to brookfield zoo by ourselves! i’m usually not one …
2012
cottage style: kitchen & great room remodel
We just completed construction on phase one of living room and kitchen remodel project! To give you some background, our client bought an early 90’s style home in a great location (Ogden Dunes…yep, near the beach!), always dreaming of updating the interior but having a hard time getting things moving. She was open to just about anything…which was very exciting for us.
They wanted to open up their existing kitchen (see image below) which was small, closed off and a little awkard. They also wanted update their living room fireplace and foyer area. She had a picture cut out of a magazine she had been carrying around for awhile which showed the style she was looking for. It was a modern cottage/beach style interior…which we totally loved as well. It was very fitting for the area they lived in and since their home had great “bones”, we really had a lot to work with.
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| existing kitchen…not a lot of counter spaceand very closed off |
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| existing kitchen bay window…wasted space and not really used |
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| existing living room…nice cathedral clgs and large windowsbut not a lot of character at this point |
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| check out this curved fireplace mantle…made of drywall! |
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| existing foyer and stair |
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| existing foyer light |
Design Concept:
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| Floor Plan |
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| Rendered PerspectiveEntry view from Foyer to new stone fireplace |
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| Rendered PerspectiveView from Fireplace to new open kitchen bar |
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| Rendered PerspectiveEntry into Kitchen with island and coffered wood ceiling |
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| Rendered PerspectiveView from Kitchen bar to Great Room |
Finished Great Room (Phase 1)
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| Finished Great RoomLook at those beautiful wood floorsand the the new fireplace w/built-ins! |
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| Updated FoyerNew wood treads on stairs, woodwainscoting and chandelier |
little designer
i think rowan has been watching me a little too closely. she seems to think …
what we did this summer
whooo– –hoooo! daddy doing his best to hose the kids down rowan running for cover …
sweeties pies
my good friend liz watched the kiddos for me one afternoon and took some really …
kitchen & living remodel – conceptual designs
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:
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| Floor Plan Design Concept |
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| Rendered Perspective of Kitchen & Living Room |
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| Rendered View of Kitchen Entry to Living Room |
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| Rendered View of Living Room Client Viewing Wall |
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| Rendered View of Fireplace with Built-ins |
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| Rendered View of Chalkboard / Wainscot Wall |
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| Rendered View of Kitchen with Island |
Before and After Photos:
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| existing oak cabinetry |
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| painted cabinets! |
no wall paint, backsplash or cabinet pulls just yet
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| close up of painted cabinets with pulls…looking good! |
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| existing wood and brass cabinet pull…eeek |
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| silver spray painted cabinet pull! |
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| wood wainscot under way |
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| chalkboard wall |