Before and After Remodel

More photos of one of my remodels.  We went back to shoot a second day, I posted the first day's photos of the kitchen, family room, and master bath HERE. 

Flooring made a huge difference in the feel of these spaces.  It was a big job, we did a sand and finish on site, but it was worth it.  The homeowner is loving her updated home.

After

Before

She hated the "path" created by the tile floor.  It cuts the space in half and made you feel like all the furniture needed to stay on the carpet.  There was no chandelier over the dining table, I felt adding one would give importance to the dining area.  We added new white linen slips on the chairs, she liked the red velvet, but it needed a fresher look and the slips make the chairs look heftier.

After

The house has lots of angles and the flooring was run straight at the front door, as the house turns the floor stays laid the same way.  It appears that we angled the floor boards, but they are run the same way in the whole house, with the exception of two enclosed rooms.

We did some updates to two of the smaller bathrooms as well.

Before

Your basic white builder bathroom from the 90's.  Cultured marble counters, slab mirror and dated fixtures.

Before

After

We refinished the existing cabinets here and added new counter and backsplash.  The finishing was done by Phyllis Palmer of Transformations by Phyllis. The mirror, found by the homeowner, was the inspiration for the finishes in this bathroom.  Love the pillowed limestone tiles on the floor from MCA Systems.  I used limestone in different forms all through this house.  Texture was the story here and limestone provides such nice textural interest.  Sconces are Visual Comfort from Circa Lighting.

Here was that pillowed limestone tile going in.  It added such interest in this small bathroom.

Next is the powder bath/pool bath.

  I know this is a dark before photo!  This was actually a white bathroom. We did new cabinets here at the vanity.  No need for that tall upper to the left of the sink.

After

More limestone here, but one with a linear grain.  I wanted it to travel up and over the sink.  The mirror and sconces are the star here...mirror made by the carpenter, finished by Transformations, and sconces from Visual Comfort through Circa in Houston. I love those knobs on the doors.  Nice and chunky with a great finish that works with the faucet that is one of my favorites.

Before - Study

After

Mr. Kitty is ruling the house from his desk. 

This study turned out great with new floors, paint, and a new wood countertop.

We went back for an evening shot of the master bath.  I just had to get an image of some of that pattern on the ceiling!

I'm so happy to have this large remodel project in my portfolio.  Although these jobs are very disruptive, expensive, and lots of trouble, if you love your location and the bones of your house, they are so worth it in the end. The homeowner is so pleased with the results and is very happy here.  It's amazing just how warm and solid the house feels now.

If you need help with your big, amazing remodel, contact me for an initial consultation! And check out my new blog, Designed w/Carla Aston. See you there!

After photos by Miro Dvorscak


Participating in a link party at No Minimalist Here
Join me for Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style

Project Reveal

Some projects have one element of design that takes charge and is the boss of the project.  In other words, where every decision you make about the design is based on featuring and applying one chosen element to that decision.  That element with this project was texture.

It was really the driving force behind all the material selections, the way the materials were combined, and something we indeed wanted to feature.  It was something we revisited with the design of every room....how does texture play a part in this space?  

After - Kitchen

Some of my photos are complete on this remodel project.  I still have another photo day to schedule in, but I thought I'd share a few of the areas today.  I've got before and afters of the kitchen and family room. 

Before - Kitchen

I shared a bit about this project HERE in a previous post.  The homeowner had all of the furnishings, art, rugs, etc. and I was challenged to remodel the home to feature all of her wonderful things and show them off in their best light.  She wanted the same warm, comfortable feel that many of her antiques and collected pieces possessed.  As an artist, working in textile and jewelry design, she has quite an eye for detail and most of her things had been acquired while living overseas in Pakistan and Kazakstan.  She has collected the things she loves..... antique textiles, beadwork, woven tapestries, and rugs.  The items this homeowner had were all about texture.

The house was built in the early 90's and the whole thing was mauve, paint, tile, counters, exterior, everything, except for the cabinets which had turned orange over the years.  She definitely wanted a warmer, more rustic feel.  New wood floors throughout warmed up the space as did the warm white paint color that was used on everything, walls, ceiling, mouldings, and cabinetry.  I wanted a gallery-like backdrop for her colorful, textural pieces and the wood floor grounded everything.

After - Kitchen

The kitchen was very dated, with an oddly shaped island. I wanted to get rid of the raised bar counter. It served to divide the kitchen and felt like one side was a corridor and the other the kitchen. With the island at one level, it encourages everyone to come to the center "table". We kept the perimeter cabinets and painted them the color of the envelope to minimize them and draw attention to the new, beautiful wood island.  The antiqued limestone counter on the island has an interesting texture with fossils and shells embedded and just feels wonderful to the touch.  Those slabs came from MCA in Houston and they are called coral reef. The bone limestone backsplash, material also from MCA, blends with the envelope and repeats the material.  I love the way the Visual Comfort Goodman hanging lamps punctuate the light colored space with their simple shape.  We purchased those through Circa in Houston. The Rohl faucets add so much to the kitchen too.  They're in the Tuscan brass finish, a living finish, that will age over time.  Again, some visual texture.  

After - Kitchen

Before - Kitchen island

Before - Island

It was definitely time to remodel.  Could the finishes be any more dated??

After - Family Room

This is the family room, beyond the kitchen.  You can really see her collections here. That suzani tapestry is an antique and she's had it for years.  She didn't do this because it was trendy!

We continued all the finishes in to this space and ripped out the old entertainment center built-in.  I felt it needed the richness and texture of the wood here, so the floor material came up on the wall and provided a stopping place for your eye.  The wood grille panels in the cabinet doors were custom made to repeat some of the texture in the room.

Family Room Entertainment Center

Before - Family Room

Check out the grillework on the cabinet doors below.  Great for airflow to the equipment inside and adds so much interest to the large built-in cabinet.

 cabinetry under construction

The counterstools were custom made, really the only new furniture item.  See the worn, textural, comfortable feel they have?  

I'll save the living room and master bath for another post.  The homeowner has a couple of cats that we did not ignore. You should see the special place we made for them! 

One of the most important ways to get continuity in a project is to have that single purpose, style, goal, element always at the crux of your decision making.  When you wander off, distracted by something new and pretty.....revisit that purpose.  It will steer you in the right direction every time. 

All after photos by Miro Dvorscak

A House Designed Around a Passion

I've just done a partial photo shoot of one my projects I've been working on for over a year and half.  It's a whole house remodel that really involved every space, even the exterior.  Above are the flowers I took for styling, loaded in the back of my SUV.  Normally I take at least one vehicle, sometimes two, FULL of stuff to style the shoot.  I have a stockpile of accessories for photo shoots.  Generic items ranging from rustic wooden bowls, assortments of glass vases, crocks and pitchers, white towels, French milled soaps, and beautiful baskets. I didn't take much for this shoot though.  Just flowers and fruit, a few wooden bowls, and the towels.  The homeowner had everything I needed.

One of the best things about working on this project were the collections of art, furnishings, and objet that my client had and loved and wanted to showcase.  Many things were tucked away or just not displayed to be seen at their best. They have lived overseas, in Pakistan and Kazikstan, and have traveled extensively all over the world.  She is an artist, working in textiles and jewelry, and has amassed a collection of antique textile pieces that have incredible detail. Embroidery, beading, weaving, and unique stitching and dying techniques all interest her and are why she purchases the pieces she does.  She also loves a rustic and comfortable feel to her home and has collected and inherited many antique wood pieces that have a worn, textural look.  You can tell from her collection that everything has been curated, carefully considered for their artistic beauty, complexity of detail, or hand hewn finish.  Each item was purchased because of pure passion for the object or was inherited with special meaning behind the gift.

This project was not about filling the space with beautiful furniture, art, and fabrics.  The furnishings and objet were already here.  This project was about creating the subtle, quiet envelope that would bring these things to life and make them feel at home.

Here's a peek at a few of her unique items.

She and I both have bemoaned the fact that prints like these beautiful antique textiles she owns are so popular now.  She's never collected these things to be popular or on trend.  She collected them because she loved them.

She has stacks of great art books about the things she loves.

When I looked in her kitchen cabinet to find some dishes to put out on the counter, I found the most beautiful handmade pottery.  Of course!  All her dishes were works of art as well.

I'm looking forward to seeing the completed photos.  I will share sometime soon!


Please follow me on Google Friend Connect if you haven't done so yet.  I'd love to see you up there on my list!  And if you're a blogger, I'd love to be on your blog roll!