Where better to start than the entry?

For this design, we wanted to blend the home’s more traditional features with the clients’ more contemporary style preferences. On the majority of the main level, we replaced the existing flooring with new white oak hardwood, removed the textured ceilings, and updated the walls with a fresh coat of white paint.

In this space we removed a closet, drastically changing the entry to the new office, and also opened up a wall between the staircase and dining room. Losing these walls achieved a much more open, connected feel to the rest of the home. More contemporary stair railing, beautiful new French doors, plus updated lighting and hardware rounded out the renovations in this space.

My clients wanted to keep the more permanent aspects of this home neutral (and, if you have ever visited my shop, you know I could easily jump on board with that). This allowed us to have some fun with color and texture through the furnishings. As we venture into the rest of the home, you will notice a mix of reds, yellows, blacks, golds, wood tones and, of course, more of my beloved neutrals.

Half baths are a personal favorite of mine to design. They are a great place to be bold. And what says bold like an all black room! The use of dark, moody colors has become quite popular in the design world, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

In this half bath, we painted the walls, trim, door, and vanity the same dusty black color. After painting, we replaced the existing tile flooring, added a new natural stone backsplash, new vanity top, and updated the lighting and fixtures. The textured glass sconces are some of my absolute favorites and when combined with this modern swivel mirror… just gorgeous!

Fun Fact: I am obsessed with pocket doors. In this little bath, we were able to save the original pocket door and update it with paint and new hardware.

A lot of homeowners today opt out on formal, separate dining rooms. Not these clients. They love to cook and entertain, so having a space to fit their extended family and friends was a must!

We continued the new white oak hardwood into this space, opened up a wall separating the staircase and dining room (as previously mentioned in our Entry feature), smoothed the textured ceiling, and added new recessed lighting. The room originally had a thin chair rail around the perimeter, but I felt we could do much better. We replaced it with a simple wainscoting detail and brought in the same black paint color from The Half Bath for a touch of drama. Beautiful, acrylic sconces were added to the back wall along with a new statement chandelier to the center of the room.

My clients wanted to seat as many guests as possible in this space. We originally planned on using a round table however, after months of backorders and delays, we swapped options at the last minute. Thankfully, this rectangular table ended up being the perfect solution! We paired the table with comfy upholstered chairs in a charcoal fabric. Along the back wall, we centered a modern metal and glass console piece with shadow box style storage to display some of the clients’ family China. The final touches include a bright (indoor/outdoor) rug, new window treatments, a bold hand-painted art piece, and additional accents.

A home office was a necessity for these clients. Conveniently located off the entry, this room offered privacy and was sized perfectly for a spacious office. For renovations, we continued the clean, white walls and trim, smooth ceiling, and white oak hardwood flooring. Lastly, we added a modern ceiling fan and recessed lighting to the new bright, airy space.

The biggest statement in this space was the beautiful set of oversized prints along the back wall. These prints were a special request from my client. From day one, we knew they would be used somewhere in the home, and I love the personal touch they bring to the new office.

Below the prints, we added a series of glass front cabinets and filled them with both functional and decorative storage options. A new wooden desk paired with a leather chair, a large area rug, neutral window treatments, and a cozy seating nook in the corner complete the furnishings for this room.

Fun Fact: These clients have a house full of the sweetest puppies! Since moving in, the barrel chair in the corner has become the coveted spot to hang out while “mom” is working.

In the laundry room, we started by painting the walls, trim, and ceiling. New tile in a playful, black and white pattern replaced the existing floor, and a new ceiling fan was added. Before renovations, the space had a few small cabinets above the washer and dryer and a plastic utility sink in the corner. We replaced the cabinetry and increased the storage by taking the new cabinets all the way to the ceiling. Additionally, we gave the utility sink space an upgrade by adding a base cabinet, granite countertop, spacious sink, and modern faucet with a pull down sprayer. The final touch on this side of the space was the addition of a beautiful new backsplash.

As mentioned in our “Fun Fact” from the office, these clients are major dog lovers! Because of this, we wanted to create a dedicated space in the laundry room for their furry friends. A custom kennel was built along one wall and painted to match the new cabinetry. We set the kennel’s height to standard countertop height and added a solid wood top that is perfect for folding and sorting laundry items. The countertop was wrapped along the adjoining window wall for additional folding space and created an area for laundry hampers to slide underneath. Finally, we had custom drying racks made for additional functionality.

This sunken living room was built for entertaining. Located off the kitchen, the long room featured a large picture window on one end, access to the screened-in patio on the opposite end, and a brick fireplace in the center. Before the renovations, original built-ins flanked the fireplace. We had planned to refinish these built-ins, but later learned they would be much more work to keep than anticipated, so they were removed.

The white oak flooring and clean white walls were continued into this living space. We updated the fireplace by painting the existing brick and replacing the outdated mantel with a simple, black beam. New recessed lighting and a large, modern ceiling fan finished the renovations.

My clients wanted this space to feel comfortable and inviting. Because of the long and somewhat narrow layout, the furniture placement played a key part in the room’s functionality. We wanted to keep an open flow from the kitchen to the back patio doors in addition to a separate entrance to the garage. Because of this, we used two sofas in an L-configuration on one end and centered the tv over the fireplace. This created a lounge area with room for additional furniture pieces including a large side table, wooden bookshelf, and two coffee tables placed side by side.

The layout also left space for a cozy seating nook between the patio and garage entrances. We used two armless accent chairs in this corner with the idea that they could easily be moved closer to the sofas when needed for additional entertaining seating. An oversized abstract painting, new window treatments, a bright area rug, and various pillows and accents wrapped up the new furnishings.

The hall bath, located upstairs, will eventually serve as the primary bath for my clients’ kiddos. For now, it can be utilized by their guests. The space received a complete facelift. First, the previous shower insert was removed and replaced with a larger sized tub. The shower walls were covered in a light green ceramic tile. We opted to run the tile in a vertical offset pattern for a contemporary twist. A new patterned tile floor was also installed, and all walls, trim, and the ceiling were painted.

A custom double vanity in a gorgeous grey-green color with black hardware replaced an outdated vanity. New leathered granite countertops, modern faucets, sleek mirrors, and two sconce lights completed the vanity area. A brass semi-flush light, custom roman shade, and additional accents finished out the space.

Fun Fact: These clients welcomed their first baby not long after officially moving into this home! We were so glad they were able to settle in and do some nesting before baby boy arrived.

This master suite started out with a few quirky features. Originally, there was a fireplace shoved into a corner of the room, a single stained glass window next to the fireplace, and a small, dated en suite bath. After some careful thought and a bit of reconfiguration, we were able to eliminate these quirks and give the space a much better flow.

The awkward fireplace was completely removed, along with the stained glass window. This allowed us to place the bed opposite the room’s entrance, making it the new focal point. A previous master closet space was reallocated for the master bathroom (we can’t wait for you to see how!) and the doorway closed off. To compensate for the closet removal, we added floor to ceiling custom cabinetry along one wall in a neutral grey color. A small closet around the corner was left intact for additional storage. New carpet, paint, door hardware, and a modern ceiling fan completed the renovations.

Our goal for the furnishings in this space was to create a warm, inviting environment while continuing the home's more clean, contemporary theme. Large wooden chests as nightstands and a coordinating dresser gave us that much needed warmth and offered even more storage. The black bed frame was a personal favorite of mine and added just the right amount of texture with its rattan details and the beautifully layered bedding. A vintage inspired rug, new window treatments, neutral landscape artwork, and various other accents finished out the furnishings in this space.

Our final reveal in this home is the master bathroom.

This previously cramped and dated space received a complete overhaul. The entire layout was reworked, and this drastic change was made possible by one major decision. As noted in our master bedroom reveal, we were able to reallocate space from the former master closet for the new bathroom. We removed the wall separating the two rooms and were able to create a massive walk-in shower! This shower featured a built-in bench seat, extra long niche, two shower heads, AND two handheld sprayers.

On the opposite side of the room, we added a beautiful, custom L-shaped double vanity with an adjoining makeup area that offered plenty of countertop space and storage. New granite countertops and modern brass hardware complimented the warm wood tones in the cabinetry. Above the double sinks, sleek brass mirrors, fun lighting, and a clean nickel-gap paneling detail were installed. We also had a custom linen cabinet built for the space which boasted one of my top favorite details in the entire home- the gorgeous antiqued mirrored doors.

Fresh paint, new tile flooring, and additional lighting wrapped up the renovation side of this space. For the final touch, we went with a mix of clean and textured accessories including both white and glass vases, the rattan vanity chair, plenty of greenery, and a warm vintage rug.

Fun Fact: We originally were NOT going to photograph this space the same day as the rest of the home. In case you missed it, the new shower actually didn’t even have the glass door installed yet! (Long story involving multiple shattered glass panels…) When we walked through the home with our photographer, Allison, I mentioned this room and how bummed I as that we would have to wait to shoot it. She immediately said we could totally make it work and that not having a door yet would actually make the shower so much easier to photograph. I never would have guessed photographing an “incomplete” space would turn out as wonderful as this!