Before & After: Project Make a House a Home

After several years of renting, our clients had finally decided to take the plunge and buy! They were able to see beyond the dated finishes and tired kitchen to what became a bright, airy and modern space to set down roots. The goal was to update the spaces which would add resale value down the road (hello, kitchen!) and invest in furnishings that would be with them for the long haul.

Before: living-dining

Ohhhh, those floors! Our clients knew they needed to go as soon as they walked in. Fortunately they were able to see beyond the dated finishes to a space with a load of potential. We replaced the existing flooring throughout the house with the most beautiful wide plank engineered hardwood floors, in a white oak finish. Beyond the flooring, we had the existing popcorn ceiling shaved off and updated the lighting throughout. Interestingly, one of the simplest changes with the biggest impact was removing the existing baseboards and replacing them with new, taller boards. A coat of white paint (Benjamin Moore Simply White) throughout was the perfect backdrop to the mid-century furnishings and textural pieces.

After: living-dining

Before: Kitchen

The kitchen was the space that saw the greatest transformation. Given that the space was already compact and laid out efficiently, we kept the existing fixture locations and replaced everything else from top to bottom. We love the simple (and cost effective!) modularity of working with Ikea kitchen cabinet bases, however wanted the doors to have more custom feel. That’s where Kitch came in! They make the most beautiful cabinet fronts for Ikea standard cabinets. Our client fell in love with the blue-grey hue and their ‘slim shaker’ style cabinets we proposed. Brass hardware throughout and a simple white hexagonal backsplash completed the look. We chose to invest in Dekton countertops for their and durability and heat resistance - our clients love to cook so a surface that could take wear and tear was a non-negotiable!

The kitchen and living room were previously separated as you can see in the photo below. We opened this up and turned it into a pass-through/breakfast bar window and added additional storage underneath. The space feels significantly more open with this adjustment.

AFTER: KITCHEN

BEFORE: master bedroom

The entire upper floor of the home was covered in some tired pink carpet - that needed to go! We brought the same light oak flooring from the ground floor onto the second floor and brought in some softness through area rugs. We found the stunning area rug before anything else - and built the palette and furnishings around it. We opened up the wall between the closet and bedroom space to let in more natural light and make the space feel more open. The deep blue shade of wall and warm walnut furnishings evokes the feeling of a quiet sanctuary.

AFTER: Master bedroom

The final product is clean and cozy, exactly what a home should be!

Many thanks to the amazing Lauren Miller for her work in capturing the photos of this space.