As the saying goes, we are all trying to keep up with the Joneses. In this case the Joneses have been updating their home to reflect their taste and lifestyle. Our primary goal throughout the house is to reduce the visual “noise” from excessive partial wall formations and soffits. Given the era in which the home was built, some of these are architectural style choices and others house ducting and plumbing. Either way, the new design needed to be rid of or disguise these walls.
We split the project into a few phases to allow the Joneses to remain in the home during the remodel, but be as comfortable as possible. This meant updating the guest bedrooms and adjoining bathroom first to allow them to stay in a renovated space while the Primary Suite was renovated. Now the Primary Suite will be a peaceful refuge while the kitchen and first floor are remodeled in further subsequent phases. The Guest spaces were cosmetically updated from the pink and child-height vanity to more neutral tones now that their daughters are grown. We removed a cabinet from the hallway and the wall shifted to bring more useful linen storage to the Jack-and-Jill bathroom. The most dramatic transformation, however, was in the Primary Suite. We worked to optimize space and comfort with clean, soft lines both in the new floor plan and decor.
We reference the efficiency and elegance we had all seen in beautiful European apartments on travels to France and Italy. Most notably we replaced the dark walk-in closet, which once resided inside the bathroom with a full wall of custom wardrobe in the main bedroom space to let more light and air into the experience of getting dressed and ready for the day. The original layout left the doorway between the bedroom and bathroom with no door. While adjusting the shape of the bathroom we centered the doorway and included another reference to old Europe with a narrow swinging door. A nod to antique French doors. Inside those doors, the bathroom opens to high ceilings. We optimized the space with more custom cabinetry and allow your energy to float up by drawing the tile to the highest point in the room. The dated jetted tub made way for a large slab shower in warm whites and brass. A much more pleasant bathing experience than the cube shower that once accompanied the tub. We worked with the original window and skylight to drench the space in natural light. Water closets are a place we can have a lot of fun. They are small spaces set apart from the main bathroom areas. A perfect opportunity for something bold to enliven that room. Here we wrapped the walls in rose-gold branches and adorned it with a bit of glam with ornate accessories and a mercury glass fixture, a favorite glass treatment of Mrs. Jones. Overall the space transitioned from architecturally over-stimulating to warm, soft and ultimately more comfortable. During the photography our clients reminisced about what the space used to be like and noted, “It looks like it was always meant to be this way.” We consider that quite high praise.
*Special thanks to Kyoko Appearson for photography and Stacie Bradford for styling support. Collaborating with talented women makes the process more delightful and the spaces more successful.