Main Level Makeover
The Vision
A Home With Timeless Style and Functional Living Spaces
After living in their Ann Arbor home for a few years, these homeowners fell in love with their neighborhood and imagined themselves staying there for years to come. There was just one problem – their house! While they were happy with their location and knew they didn’t want to move, they knew that they desperately needed a home renovation to have a space that worked for them.
This home had many unique features that worked for the previous homeowner but not the current family. The property was custom-designed for a professional athlete and had design features that were out of scale for the current homeowners. It was time for some changes to be made!
We met with our clients and discussed their goals and vision. They wanted to eliminate the heavy craftsman style of their home and create a simplified, modern aesthetic. The project would be a complete first-floor overhaul, including updating the kitchen, entryway, stairs, family room, office, dining room, deck, and outdoor living space, including exterior windows, exterior siding, and stain.
Project Goals
Update the home to accommodate our homeowners and create new, practical living spaces
Collaborating with these homeowners was truly a delightful experience. They had a keen eye for detail and a clear vision of their preferences and what they needed to make their home a joy to live in. Once the project goals were established, our team was ready to tackle the project head-on, ensuring we’d deliver a perfectly catered home to their style and needs.
Foyer and Main Stairway
- Custom smooth steel railing
- Custom door and hardware at office
- Walnut interior trim
- New front door
- Sidelight windows at the sides of the new front door
- Updated and refinished the existing stairs to match the new aesthetic
Living Room, Office, and Dining Room / Play Room
- Restructuring of interior walls
- Base molding and interior trim with square edges
- Contemporary hardware for all of the windows
- Custom built-in banquette seat
- Semi-custom entertainment center with walnut cabinetry
- Raised black concrete brushed quartz fireplace hearth
Kitchen, Coffee Bar, and Power Room
- Walnut trim detailing at the top edge of the tiled kitchen backsplash
- New pantry doors
- Decorative lighting fixtures at the kitchen peninsula
- Semi-custom kitchen cabinets
- Custom walnut detailing, including a built-in cookbook niche and walnut ledge at the tile backsplash
- New kitchen sink and strainer
- Contemporary aluminum pulls and knobs for kitchen cabinetry
- Matte, white kitchen backsplash with custom walnut ledge
- Semi-custom powder room vanity cabinet and mirror
- Powder room counter and backsplash
- New powder room sink with a matte black faucet
Covered Porch and Deck
- Cedar porch and deck
- Steel rod railings in stainless finish
- New windows and large sliders on the covered porch
- Exterior ceiling fan and lights
Exterior
- Kept existing cedar siding so as to not waste the beautiful siding that was only a few years old
- New windows and new paint on existing windows – we changed the dark brown siding stain and forest green windows to a cooler palette to match the new styles
- New shou shugi ban material at the front deck and stairs and the new covered porch space
- New standing seam metal roof at the entry and new cable rail
Renovation Challenges
Large and In Charge Design and Build Features
This home renovation presented us with some unique challenges due to the bulky craftsman style and the complexity of it initially being designed for someone with a large stature. Nonetheless, we were determined to make it work!
By utilizing our expertise and creative problem-solving skills, we overcame these obstacles and completed the project for our homeowners. We transformed the space and created awesome results that exceeded the homeowner's expectations.
Design Selections
New Kitchen Appliances:
- Bosch 24" Bar Handle Dishwasher
- KitchenAid Built-In Microwave Oven
- Miele Built-In 42’’ Refrigerator
- Miele Built-In 18” Freezer with Internal Ice Maker
- Miele 36” All Gas Range with Griddle
- Miele 36” Decorator Wall Hood
Semi-Custom Cabinetry by Holiday Kitchens
- Natural maple veneer cabinets with walnut finish
- Rev-a-Shelf utensil, spice, and double-waste pullouts
- Entertainment center with built-in fireplace
- Powder room vanity with push-to-open drawers
- Coffee bar
New Countertop Installation
- Kitchen perimeter, island, peninsula, and coffee bar - Quartz
- Waterfall edges on the kitchen peninsula - Rugged Concrete Finish
- Powder room - Quartz
- Fireplace hearth - Granite
The
Results
A New and Improved Home to Last Forever
By giving their main floor a significant makeover, we created a home with functional living spaces that made sense for this family. They have children and pets and enjoy spending time with friends, and now they feel they have ample room to make memories in their home for years to come.
At the end of the project, the homeowners were ecstatic with the results. They were left with a spacious kitchen, stunning entryway, aesthetically pleasing living room, and beautiful deck and covered porch.
