Thursday, February 25, 2016

Classic Tudor Bath gets a Vintage Inspired Update




In the Hill Top neighborhood of Denver, our long time clients moved into a picturesque Tudor style home. They have been working hard to update the house while preserving the character they fell in love with. Over the past year, they have enlisted the help of Interior Designer, Corinne Ekle, to update a few rooms while maintaining the integrity of the Tudor style. With so many projects happening simultaneously, the basement bathroom is the first one ready for its close-up!


Basements are challenging to design for. Lack of light, space, and design details leave them left untouched by so many homeowners. This homeowner was determined to make their basement bathroom light, bright, and new with a vintage twist. Between Ekle and the homeowner, a concept was developed to create a vintage inspired bathroom with modern updates.
Before
Before
Before
You can see in the before pictures that the space was very different. In fact, it was half the size! A wall was taken down and opened into a closet that was directly behind the existing bath. The hallway opening on the backside also had to undergo construction to be closed off. From the ground up (literally down to the dirt!) new foundation was poured and walls were put in place. A new window, plumbing, and electrical was important to update as well while remodeling was in progress. The only wall left untouched was the ceiling with exposed plumbing. It was important to keep the pipes exposed to add character to the newly designed space.

Exposed pipes on ceiling
Ekle wanted to add as much character to the space without overwhelming it. She designed white and moss green subway tiles to run along the furthest wall and into the shower itself. The lines lead the eye from one end of the room to the other. A frameless glass panel offers unobstructed views of the tile giving the impression of a larger space. To cap off the eye pleasing stripes, white subway tile climbs up the ceiling giving a clean slated look in walk in shower. Benjamin Moore paint was selected in a similar shade as the moss green tile to complete the color palette. It creates a beautiful background that is both modern and vintage.



The moss green wall color creates a beautiful background for the vanity that was actually an old chest transformed into what you see today. Ornate wood details and iron pulls compliment the Tudor style of the home. To modernize the former chest, Cambria quartz was placed on top in white. The same Cambria quartz can be seen as the bench top in the shower as well. An ornate, wood mirror above the white countertop finishes off the space beautifully.




White mosaic tile was laid on the floor (not pictured) hinting at a vintage era. Oil rubbed bronze fixtures and lighting also blend the old and new world throughout the space. Clean, architectural lines were chosen for the Kohler toilet in a white to compliment the white subway tile and mosaic floor tile.

This bathroom really encompasses the direction the home is taking; modernizing while preserving the character of the home. It has been such a pleasure to see a transformation being done with such thought and respect for design, new and old.

Monday, February 1, 2016

Tudor Style Home Gets a Make-Over!



Kitchen remodels can be a huge undertaking. What about a kitchen, bar and laundry room remodel?! Well that’s exactly the journey we embarked on with a Colorado family at the end of 2015. The final touches were completed this past week and we couldn't be happier!  Here is how it all came to be.

This family of 4 decided it was time to make their beautiful Tudor style home represent their modern lifestyle today. A poor kitchen layout destroyed the natural flow of their living space. Not only did the kitchen physically have tight spaces, with dropped ceilings and a closed off bar area, but visually gave off a less then desirable impression. It is amazing what bad lighting, short cabinets, and out of date finishes can do to a home! Oh, and did we mention there was a huge copper hood in the middle of the ceiling?! Yes, there was a lot going on and not much of it was good.





Our clients wanted to create a space that allowed easy movement from the kitchen, to the bar, to the family room. A love of entertaining inspired the family to rethink the central hang-out spots. Traditionally, Tudor style homes were designed to host guests in other living areas; a more modern approach to entertaining today is in and around the kitchen.

That is exactly what they decided to do; make the kitchen the heart of the home. It was important to modernize the features while keeping true to the characteristics of the homes style. Not only did they hope to gain more storage throughout, but wanted to utilize the laundry room as a drop off point for storage overflow and everyday items.

First order of business; open up the entry to the kitchen! We did this by extending the opening into the kitchen from the foyer to a large 5 feet. This was a challenge. The original paneling, molding and trim had to be replaced to make it appear as if it had never been touched. Fortunately, the experts at Jaguar Construction undertook this challenge along with the whole remodel from start to finish.  


The construction phase of the remodel generally takes up half the time of the total process. In this case, a full wall, upholstered walls and saloon doors that once closed off the bar area, needed to be removed. A new header beam was installed between the kitchen and living room to lend support to the new open area. Once these structural items were taken care of, wide 4” oak floors were laid in the whole space. Working from the studs does come with many advantages. We were able to re-work plumbing and electrical without walls interfering. Our client was able to get all new lighting to brighten every spot of their kitchen and new plumbing to work in their favor.

 

Now onto the second phase of the process (a.k.a. the fun part!) We created a modern space by using 2 color tones for the cabinets. A lighter color was chosen for the uppers and a contrasting dark tone for the base. To incorporate the two colors into the overall space, we choose the lighter putty color for the hutch and the darker color for the bar area. Travertine, beveled subway tile was laid in a herringbone basket weave. This layout was designed to emulate the pattern in the existing brick fireplace located in the living room.




The homeowners chose top of the line stainless steel appliances to compliment the design details. A single steel granite sink was selected in a cappuccino color. It blends beautifully with the countertops. We added more depth and interest to the bar by selecting a stacked stone for the front sides of the counter. This visually connects the kitchen's backsplash to the bar area allowing continuous flow throughout the space.



Bar Area Before:


 


We couldn’t discuss the bar and kitchen without mentioning our clients fabulous laundry room! Just like the other space, we redesigned the layout be more functional. The laundry room door was moved to the hallway by the bar in order to open up space for their new hutch (located on opposite side of wall). Modern 12” x 24” tile was laid on the floor, while granite countertops and a stainless steel sink now grace the new cabinets. A mud bench with hooks (not pictured) finished off the newly designed laundry room.




The time we spent with both our client and Jaguar Construction was such a pleasurable experience. Thank you for allowing us to take on such a huge remodel! We couldn't start off 2016 any better! 

For pictures of the whole finished project, visit our HOUZZ page:
http://www.houzz.com/projects/1542516/tutor-home-kitchen-bar-and-laundry

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