12 Nov Render to Reality | Elstner Avenue Main Floor Remodel
“Where do we even begin? This area is such a pain in our daily routine. I enter and leave my home frustrated.” It’s the feeling of treading water only to have nothing happen because you are paralyzed by an overwhelming amount of things to consider. Top that normal thought with the fact that this project was going to impact many spaces in the home: entry, laundry, kitchen, dining, living room, and unused space on the second level. While this homeowner found that daunting, we got giddy! Their setting is tranquil so the goal was to focus on the flow of the floor plan along with updating the aesthetic which was driven by resale opportunities in the near future.
Here’s what we did…we took these busy, tired, dark, and dated existing spaces…
Along with our awesome design process, we gave consideration to a little R&R (remove and reuse) with materials that can have new life in a different space. The perfect opportunity was to use the existing kitchen cabinets in the new laundry room on the second floor. Holy did that save some cheddar! A fresh coat of paint on those babies and you’d never know they came from the kitchen. Love that for them!
We considered two approaches to the new kitchen cabinets and mudroom. Ultimately ending up with custom-designed cabinetry in the locker room and semi-custom cabinetry in the kitchen. Both have their time and place for best use. The proposed floor plans were wildly different since we had one that showed the addition they thought they always wanted for additional space and one that utilized the existing footprint of the home. The mom is a teacher and uses the dining room as her office since there isn’t a proper office space. And they host, so the compromise of that beloved dining space ended up being a deal breaker. That is why we love our process, showing you the potential while listening and honoring what is important, paring that with budget goals, all while being able to SEE what that means for your space.
Let’s give kudos for some features that are well disguised in the designs:
- Reusing cabinetry and Keeping mechanicals in the same location
- Keeping the new laundry open to allow loads of natural light to flow down the stairs – see what we did there!
- Enlarging the island to seat their whole family at one time
- Opening up the space to the living room for connection
- A much better lighting plan with layers of lighting
- Materials that act as camouflage between cleanings
We are thrilled to show you what they ultimately chose! After seeing the new kitchen addition, the homeowners weighed out the cost with resale value. They did not find enough value to move forward with that plan, so staying within the footprint was the winner-winner chicken dinner. It fits all their wants, needs, and wishes while being more mindful of the budget. The newly remodeled spaces are bright and highly functional while updating the aesthetic. Additionally, giving them a whole laundry room on the same level as the bedrooms is a GAME CHANGER!
A trip to Magnolia gave vision to their aesthetic, and you will find a few of those Magnolia pieces in these photos. We’ve taken those elements and provided the tie with the palette and with the new designs. Since they could see all of the impacts, they added on a few of our mood boards to complete the full look! Putting the pretty after photos aside, in the end, the amount of time we took on the front end of the design process to understand our client’s pain points and goals, provided them with the plan that steered them away from spending an additional $100K on an addition.
New Image Remodeling did excellent craftsmanship in executing their project. Who knows, maybe they will stay here longer than they thought now that they like coming home!
XO TTDC