Friday, June 17, 2016

2016 Design Excellence Award Winning Bathroom

2016 Design Excellence Award Winning Bathroom 

After moving in, the new owners of a ninety two year old traditional center hall colonial quickly realized it was essential to rework the awkward second floor bedroom with attached bathroom.  The existing bathroom ran directly through the middle of the room, creating two compartmentalized bedroom spaces with a cramped, disconnected bathroom that included a small fiber glass shower stall.  Two floor plan options were presented to the owners.  After careful consideration and collaboration, it was decided that the bathroom would now be absorbed by the front of the house, where the previous owner placed the bed and dresser.  Conscientious of the young families’ needs and future resale marketability, the floor plan needed to include an apron front, cast iron tub to accommodate bathing youngsters.  The original window was in good shape, however its panes were replaced with tempered glass due to its proximity to the bathtub.  Also original to the space is the entrance door, hung using the refurbished brass hinges and hardware retrieved during renovation.  Interest was added to the space with the choice of flooring, Carrara Marble hexagonal tiles, mindful of the homes Colonial Revival backdrop.  Open storage shelving, open sink base and white walls were chosen to maintain a line of sight to every inch of the room’s footprint.  The decor was chosen to add pops of color throughout the room, which resulted in a fun child’s bathroom that plays nicely with the adjoining bedroom’s design.  



Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Designed for Living

Drawn to the elegant simplicity inherent to most Colonial Revival homes, the new owners were eager to modify the small third floor bathroom to accommodate the daily needs of a young child and the occasional guest.  Due to its size, it was imperative to design a space that efficiently utilized every inch of the small bathroom without sacrificing period style.  The overall installation of a shed dormer and squaring off the awkward room helped in gaining the necessary square footage to create a floor plan that increased mobility, both vertically and horizontally.  In its infancy, the design hope was to include the cast iron claw foot tub that was currently housed in the bathroom.  We soon realized that the tub was not in any shape for continued use.  With a clean slate, we were then able to create a nicely sized custom Carrera Marble tiled shower stall, closing off the shower with a frameless sliding shower door.  The added space also allowed for the installation of a 30 inch, period specific sink and base and custom heavy gauge baked on enamel radiator cover for extra table top space.
http://www.northjersey.com/community-news/home-and-gardening/a-colonial-revival-bath-1.1566993

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Client Inspired, Designer Coordinated

Sometimes things are just this easy.  I was contacted through my website to aide in the repurposing of a kitchen table, hand made by a family member.  The desire was to update the table so that it still maintained the intended functionality and craftsmanship at its inception, but looked like a fit in the newly refreshed kitchen.  The client shared her inspiration photos and voiced her vision to me over the phone.  I was able to coordinate pick up, implementation and redeliver remotely.  The traditional table was converted to counter height with the use of large industrial castors and the bottom half was refinished to reflect today’s popular blue/grey palette.  The client could not have been happier with the end result, as it looks beautiful in the kitchen.  

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Refurbishing Hardware

Often overlooked and typical to older homes; high quality, original door and cabinet hardware in seasoned homes is frequently marked by or completely covered with layers of paint.  Many homeowners are quick to replace the hardware with new pieces, creating a clean beautiful finished look in any space.  However, when renovating/restoring an old home it is easy to assess whether or not the hardware is worth refurbishing.  Ultimately, if the existing hardware is of good quality and you have the time, a little TLC will bring the pieces back to their luster of yesteryear.  
This held true during a recent renovation/restoration of a 92 year old Pennsylvania Colonial Revival house.  Using a magnet, the homeowner determined that the homes hardware was made of solid brass.  These items were original to the home and therefore the decision to refurbish was an easy one.  With the support of the general contractor, the time was spent removing, soaking, cleaning and buffing each piece before reinstall.  Great effort was put into this process, but the beautiful restored look throughout the house, undeniably, was worth it!