Form and Function Home

The Form and Function Home is one of my biggest projects to date. This was my first remodel/addition project I took on as a designer and I couldn’t have asked for a better team on my side. From the home owners to the my contractor and all the subs we used it was such a fun and smooth process. We never ran into a huge hiccup aside from deliveries and I can’t say any of the design elements were compromised which was a huge win for all of us.

We started the design/concept phase a year before construction took off and I am so glad we never rushed a decision. The sourcing for this project was different particularly because my clients let me really start from the ground up with fresh ideas that they put total trust in me for.

So, let’s get into the thought process behind this remodel. The first thing the clients wanted was a new kitchen. As a family of six who love to spend quality time together we had to address the elephant in the room; the wall between kitchen and living. From the get go it was the very first item on the list no matter if it was load bearing or not. My clients were prepared to do any engineering we needed to so that it could happen. Thankfully, that was not the case, the wall came down with ease and no structural issues took place.

Secondly, the kitchen was getting gutted because they were ready for some fresh cabinetry and a larger island to fit them. I had asked the home owners if they ever used the formal dining area that you could access from the front entry way and the kitchen. It was an easy “no” from the both of them with a note that it was basically a catch all space at that time. The space was large so the wheels didn’t need turn for too long before a walk-in pantry was in the mix.

The pantry hosts a beverage fridge, built in water bottle filler, built in shelving, a deep sink, counter area for small appliances, plenty of under counter storage open shelving up top and the stackable washer and dryer we moved from the garage entry. That now holds lockers for the entire family, a cleaning storage cabinet, a charging station for all the families tech items and a doggy food station complete with a pot filler for the water dish.

With square footage that we didn’t need to use all of for the pantry, We were able to place a wall down the middle of the existing dining area to utilize for an office at the front of the house. The original entry to this room was a very large opening that we closed up and added a modern glass door to allow for mom to have some privacy while she is working from home. We flanked the walls with custom book shelves for dads book collection, a wall to wall work space for mom and two more workspaces on the adjacent wall for the kids to do arts and crafts with tons of storage for all.

With all theses changes came the next question. Is the island seating enough for the family or do we need to figure out a new dining situation? You guessed it, we added an addition to the back of the house on the opposite side of the kitchen. This allowed for us to extend the kitchen for an even longer island (12 ft to exact) and more cabinetry on the exterior wall. We did end up taking a window out on that exterior wall of the kitchen that was originally over the sink to allow for a more seamless design. The sink was moved to the island anyways so it wasn’t an element that needed to stay even for natural light. That detail was resolved by adding a massive sliding door to the new addition that leads out onto the deck.

The original deck was the span of the entire back of the house and the boards were getting a face lift with composite decking. We took it one step further and made the entire space on the other side of the new addition to the edge of the house a screened in porch with a gorgeous vaulted ceiling, a ceiling fan and outdoor fireplace. So I bet you’re wondering, how the heck do you get out to that screened in porch if the new giant sliders go out to the exposed deck? Well easy. We also added in a set of large French doors that allow for indoor outdoor living.

We didn’t stop there. We replaced the roof, siding, two front windows, added an egress window in a basement room to create an extra bedroom, new lighting in all the renovated spaces and the living, new exterior light fixtures a new front door, new interior stair railing and gave the garage doors a fresh coat of paint.

We hit all the stops on this home and the family is SO happy. It warms my heart to be able to bring a thought to life for families like this and help make their life style more functional. It takes a ton of trust to have someone come into your and allot your hard earned money to so many different things that can be costly. I am so thankful there wasn’t an ounce of doubt in this family and I was able to execute such a beautiful and functional space.