Hey everyone!
I’m excited to share the first of four (possibly five) projects that I’ve worked on over the last few years. It’s been a ride getting through COVID and going through the chain supply shortages/inflation journey with clients. It’s an honor to get to this point, and and inestimable amount of man-hours and patience have are behind every completed project.
This home was unique because it was the second time we remodeled it!
The first time was an interior remodel, mostly the kitchen, and nothing was done to the exterior. If you’ve followed me for any amount of time, you’ll recognize this photo:
It’s a vacation home for my clients, and they reside in California most of the year. After several happy years of them using it, we got a call from them asking if Dave (my husband, who was the contractor on the job) would check on it for them. Wildfires were threatening their home in California and they felt like it would be best to come to Wyoming to stay safe.
It was winter here, and when Dave drove up to the house, he saw ice encasing the foundation.
The worst possible scenario played out…..
As he got inside, he walked into ankle deep water. It had been leaking for MONTHS, and mold encased everything.
Apparently a friend had come to use their home, forgot to shut off the main water line, and a toilet had started to leak.
It was a total loss.
They had to evacuate their home in California, but didn’t have a home to come to here either.
After some insurance battles and a lot of stress, we began the second renovation (after stripping everything to the studs and doing mold remediation). This time, we remodeled everything, including the exterior.
I was tasked with making it look good without changing the roofline (which makes this home very unique). We dubbed it The House of Funk.
I decided that we should embrace its quirks (you’ll notice the doors don’t even line up). I chose to push its asymmetry with windows and different types of siding. My clients embraced the funky too, and I love the result!
Everything on the inside needed remodeling too. I didn’t get tasked with furniture, so today I’m sharing the new kitchen and primary bathroom.
The inspiration came from putting floating shelves across the windows (it’s weird having the entire home be under one giant vault) and the navy blue AGA range.
The sink, faucet, and pot-filler were saved and reused (we tried to do that with anything we could) as well as the counter stools.
We opted to replace the bamboo floors with oak. After dealing with both, I can say I’m not a fan of bamboo flooring. If you have more questions about that, feel free to ask in the comment section.
Another thing we had to really think about was the lighting. The pendants were very close to the structural beams. We encased those beams in an oak veneer to make them match the flooring and island as close as we could (stain on wood is never entirely predictable and will also age differently in different parts of the house. That’s the beauty of wood).
The countertops were man-made Quartz (Calacatta Trento). We were able to save some of the countertops from the previous remodel for the bathrooms.
Here’s a closer look at the range:
Spice racks flank each side. No gas is running to this house, so I was really excited to find a beautiful electric range. I hope it serves them well for many years to come.
Here’s a closer look at the cabinetry on the south side of the kitchen:
As with all design posts, I get asked what paint colors were used.
The white was Benjamin Moore “White Dove”. There was one cabinet that made it out of the flood unscathed, so we kept the same white as before running throughout.
My clients decided they didn’t want an all-white home for the second renovation, so I pulled grays off the tile they picked. We ended up with a variety of Benjamin Moore “Portland Gray”, “Nimbus”, and “Storm” throughout the house. We did keep the lower level entirely white because it didn’t have much natural sunlight.
Here’s a photo of the primary bathroom vanity:
Whenever I am doing white cabinetry, I don’t put black hardware on it. It’s too jarring. Rules can always be broken and there could be times that it works, but overall I opt for a softer finish like brushed nickel. You can mix in your black elsewhere.
Thanks for coming over and checking out this project!
And as a reminder, always turn off your main water line when leaving your home for an extended period of time.
Until next time!
Leave a Reply