DESIGNS BY HEATHER
Our Home Renovation
We were the original owners of this home. We built it from the ground up and lived in it for 17 years. We chose every finish and made every decision that went into it. Some of the decisions were great, some no so much. And in those 17 years we went through several revisions. A home is not meant to stay stuck. A home is meant to be fluid. So, when a client thinks we can design a home that will be timeless forever, that's really hard to do. People change, styles change, needs change. In our home, we changed a lot. What we chose when we built the home went out of date, and then what we put in to replace it went out of style, and we changed it again. Some things can last and stay forever, but other things just need an update. Or sometimes you just get plain tired of them. Here are some updates and changes we made while living in our home that we sold in 2024.
Goodbye Builder Fireplace
I wish I could say this happened earlier than it did, but sadly this was one of our later changes. We lived with builder tan tile for far too long. (Pics in the before section). Once we decided to make the change, I did some research on what I wanted it to look like, drew it out and my husband started the renovation. He removed all the old tile and the old mantel and then rebuilt and retiled the new one. It was such a more modern and clean look. I was very happy with the new design and the crispness it gave.
An Ever Evolving Shoe Area
This area was right where we came in from our garage. It was the catch all. Originally it was designed as a "butlers pantry" from the builder. No thanks. We needed somewhere to put our shoes and our kids backpacks and coats when we came in. We made some changes and created a new space which was ok. For a while. It didn't function great and the style became dated, so we revised it and came up with this. This was a much better solution. It had much better storage and looked a lot more current.
A Refreshed Kitchen
Our kitchen also had its many phases. It went from honey maple, to dark espresso, to white. The counters have changed, the paint has changed, we've gone through a couple sets of appliances; it's been ever changing. Of course we are like the typical home owner so we work within a budget, so we have to choose modestly. We've always painted the cabinets and have never done a full renovation on the kitchen. But it was what worked for us at the time.
Refreshed Primary Bathroom and Bedroom
Our primary bathroom had a minor cosmetic upgrade where we basically just painted it and added the shiplap behind the sinks. We also changed out the laminate countertops to granite that we found as remnants, and replaced the builder mirror with framed mirrors. And of course we also changed out the Hollywood lights with better lights. These are all pretty easy upgrades, but they made a big difference. Adding the dark blue paint was one of my favorite things. People are generally nervous about going dark on paint, but if it has a lot of light to balance it out, it really is perfectly fine to do. This bathroom had great natural light and also a ton of white still do balance the navy.
In the primary bedroom, we replaced the carpet with LVP and also painted the wall behind the bed with a deep green. Also, one of my favorite things we did. I love a really dark paint color. It grounds a space and creates a great sense of drama and interest.
Our Dining Room
There wasn't too much we did in this room, we continued the same white that we used throughout the home, but there is also a dark charcoal wall that is not pictured in this room. I loved how it created presence in what otherwise would have just been a very white space in this area. I loved the green paint so much from our bedroom, that I painted the piece of furniture in the dining room the same color.
