JSI Faves: Before and After Westham Renovation Part 3
I hope you've had a chance to enjoy Parts 1 and 2 of this series where we shared some of the background of this whole house renovation project and some of the dramatic before and after photos of the front elevation of the house and the kitchen. The kitchen transformation was incredible! Today, I'm sharing some of the additional interior spaces and closing with some images of the wonderful work of our landscape designer.
The original foyer was a small unassuming entry with the formal dining room off to the side. We raised the ceiling to create a vaulted area with a loft overlook from the newly added living space on the second floor. We added a classic white wainscoting treatment to the walls for added drama and opened up the views to the back of the house. Figuring out the spacing of that wainscoting was a math challenge. We included a hidden paneled section in the hallway for luggage storage.
The original dining room was adorned with a vintage chinoiserie wallpaper. I've been trying to research the pattern to discern it's age. It's reminiscent of the early de Gournay papers, but the condition of the paper led me to believe that it was older, since de Gournay was started in the late 1980s.
Unfortunately, the wallpaper was not in great shape and also not in keeping with my clients' taste. So, we removed the paper in favor of a nice coat of fresh paint. We also removed an adjoining powder room and added a lovely butler's pantry which is evident through the widened case opening at the back of the room.
The soaring ceilings of new homes were not common in ranch style homes of the fifties, so the entire first floor has 8'3" high ceilings. My clients had enjoyed nice coffered 10' ceilings in their previous home and were hoping to achieve the same look in this house, but the lower ceilings presented a challenge. Instead, we opted to create a more unique geometric design on the ceiling with a shallow 1" deep trim detail.
The original living room was a nice open entertaining space with terrific potential. We removed that Dutch door at the back of the room and re-purposed it for our side-door entrance. We replaced all of the hardwood flooring throughout the house when we discovered how much water damage there was from the drenched foundation.
We restored the original fireplace and created new custom cabinetry to display my clients large sculpture collection.
Having traveled to every continent over the years, my clients have collected some wonderful treasures along the way. They've also enjoyed collecting artwork from local artists during their travels and that artwork fits beautifully on the walls of their new home.
One of the early decisions in this renovation process was that the windows all needed to be replaced. The new windows all have less dividers allowing a more open view to their surrounding property which is wonderful. Another valuable member of our Conception to Completion team was landscape designer, Peggy Ford of Glorious Gardens. When my clients purchased this home, it was overgrown with trees and shrubbery that had been sorely neglected for years. Peggy created beautiful paths, small garden corners and a beautiful pond with a trailing fountain. It's absolutely perfect and will only improve with a little love and age.
I truly enjoyed working on this project because of the combined talents of everyone on our team and because I couldn't ask for better clients. It's very gratifying to breath life back into this neglected home and see it come to life with the energy and happiness of its new family.
