JSI Faves: Before and After Westham Renovation Part 2
Part 2 of our Westham Renovation Blog series features the dramatic transformation of the most important room in the house ... the kitchen! Check out how we captured more space and brought the kitchen out of the "golden" era of the 50s.
In this second installment of our blog series featuring our renovation of our client's home in Richmond's Westham neighborhood, we're focusing on the most important room of the house ... the kitchen! We knew when we walked in and saw the original kitchen, we were going to have to test the limits of our clients' imaginations. The original cabinetry with the lemon colored formica countertops and matching walls was quite a throw back to an era gone by.
Original Kitchen
The room was not that small, but the actual work triangle, where most of the culinary magic happens, was quite cramped. There was also a lot of dead space in the middle of the room, yet no place for a breakfast table or casual dining.
Don't you love those yellow countertops?
We knew we would need to capture more space from the back of the house to make this kitchen function better for our clients. Luckily, the kitchen was settled back into an alcove on the back of the house which gave us some room to grow.
Original back of the house showing the kitchen window and door
The door to the left of the kitchen in the photo above was a great old Dutch door that led into the living space. We removed that door and relocated it to the side entry.
Original Dutch door restored and relocated to the client's side door
We removed the door to the patio from the kitchen and relocated that to the newly renovated sunroom off the side. We were then able to capture some of that courtyard space and push the kitchen back. We specified a large 8' wide window over the sink which floods the room with lovely natural light. By moving that wall out we were able to square up the room a little more and include a nice large kitchen island with seating.
The After!
Our clients' previous home had cherry cabinets, so they wanted to lighten things up this time. But, they have a house full of treasured furniture pieces with some very traditional darker finishes. A bright white kitchen, as is all the rage these days, would have looked too cold and out of place in their home. Instead, we opted for a soft linen white cabinet from Brookhaven mixed with a walnut stained island.
A dramatic contrast to the original kitchen!
We found a good light and neutral granite for the countertops and mixed it with honed travertine subway tiles on the backsplash. My clients now have ample cabinetry storage and lots of counterspace to make nice big family meals. A big thank you goes to Matt Gunn of Classic Kitchens of Virginia who collaborated in our kitchen design. He was a terrific partner in this team effort!
Tomorrow, we'll take a peak at some of the other interior transformations in this home. Stay tuned...
JSI Faves: Before and After Westham Renovation Part 1
Excited to share a whole house renovation of a home in the historic Westham neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia. Part 1 of the series shows some before and afters of the front elevation along with the newly added second floor living space.
We've recently finished up one of my favorite renovation projects with some of my favorite clients. I had worked with this couple on their home in Williamsburg and shortly after we finished that house, I was surprised when they called to inform me that they were moving to Richmond. They decided that they wanted an older house that needed to be renovated and they wanted to find something in the hottest real estate market in Richmond. They asked if I would accompany them on their house hunt so that we could make some on the spot decisions on the design potential. I recruited Joe Fowkes from Wateredge Construction to join us in our hunt so that he could weigh in on renovation opportunities and challenges. It was a fun process and I felt like we should have an HGTV camera following us from house to house!
Front of the House - Before
After several houses and bidding wars, my clients found the perfect house in the very popular Westham neighborhood. The house was a ranch from the 1950s that had never been renovated. It definitely needed a lot of love! Joe and I brought in Mark Spangler of Mark Spangler Architecture to help us figure out how to take this house apart and put it back together in a way that better suited my clients.
The original house was a very long rambling rancher with a mixture of siding, stone and brick. It had good bones and looked like it was going to be a fairly straight forward renovation. Hidden beneath that facade were broken plumbing lines creating a small river flowing below the house, rotted foundations, asbestos tiles, and a myriad of other renovation curses. The one saving piece was that the original slate roof was in beautiful condition and could be preserved.
The second floor had a servant's bathroom and bedroom, but the remainder was just attic storage space with 7 foot tall ceilings. We decided to "raise the roof" so to speak by popping up a section in the middle of the house creating a large rec room with 10 foot vaulted ceilings. With this raised roof section, we were able to create a larger shed dormer on the front of the house and we added windows all along the back of the house to flood this area with terrific natural light.
Not only did this provide additional living space inside the house, but it also really helped balance the proportions on the front elevation of the house. The larger shed dormer and popped up roof section broke up the long boring line of the original rancher and gave the house much more presence.
Once we raised the roof in the middle of the attic space, we were able to create a great entertaining game room with a wet bar. We also created an exercise room at one end of the second level and a guest room and full bathroom at the other end.
The front elevation also benefited greatly from all new windows, new siding and all new trim, fresh landscaping and a new stone path to the street. The curb appeal of the newly renovated house is tremendous!
This has been an incredible experience and a terrific example of the success of our "Conception to Completion" approach. With the help of Wateredge Construction and Mark Spangler Architecture, we were able to create our client's dream home. Stay tuned as I continue to share more of the before and after photos from this fun project over the next several days. We'll go inside the house and see the amazing kitchen transformation, as well as several of the other living spaces. We'll also explore more of the exterior and grounds to share the amazing work of our landscape designer, Peggy Ford of Glorious Gardens.
JSI Raves: Romo's Black Edition Spring Launch
Explore one of our favorite fabric and wallpaper collections to launch this season from Romo's Black Edition. It's a poetic blend of romantic prints, luxurious textures and contemporary weaves.
The new Spring launch from Romo of their Black Edition collection is breath taking and so in line with the current fashion trends. Our last blog highlighted the latest bohemian trend that has been popular in fashion and now in interior design. As we come out of years of economic stagnation, fashion and interior design are embracing bolder and more optimistic design directions. This Black Edition collection blends historic and romantic influences with contemporary moments. It's a poetic blend of brilliant colors, imaginative patterns and lush textures! There are three fabric collections - Herbaria, Zkara and Kaleido which include boldly colored patterns and stripes, luxurious textures and contemporary weaves.
The collection also includes Herbaria Wallcoverings. Romo describes this collection as "modern design with a sense of history". I'm dying to find a great project to use one of these beautiful papers!
If you just want to infuse a small pop of this bold look into your space, consider one of their ready-made pillows from the collection. There are multiple patterns and sizes available by special order. They're all down filled with solid backs and they can be ordered through us.
Romo has long been one of my favorite fabric and wallpaper lines, but this season they've really outdone themselves. I'll be sure to share photos if I can find the perfect project to incorporate one (or several) of these beautiful patterns!
JSI Raves: Sarah Rowland Custom Wallpaper and Textiles
Jennifer Stoner Interiors is raving about Sarah Rowland's custom wallpaper and textiles! Sarah has melded her graphic design talent with her love of art and design and created a line of wallpaper and textiles that are unique yet classic with a funky vintage bent.
This week, I'm happy to introduce you to my very talented friend, Sarah Rowland. We're raving about her line of custom wallpapers and textiles!
Sarah graduated with a BFA in Communication Arts & Design from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. From Richmond, she headed to Tokyo to work under Tsuneo Taniuchi on the design of a paper sculpture book for a year.
Once back in the states, Sarah worked in-house and freelance as a graphic designer for agencies in Boston, Los Angeles, New York and Richmond. Sarah’s graphic design portfolio includes work for some of the largest companies in the world such as Architectural Digest, Walmart, UPS, PetSmart, Hanes, SAAB, Pacific Bell and Reynolds Metals Company. She also helped launch the magazine 64, a regional arts and culture publication.
Sarah studied Textile Design and Printmaking at the Royal College of Art in London. Today, she designs textiles from a mid-century ranch house on the banks of the James River in Richmond - a place of river rocks, antebellum architecture, and rich natural beauty that are a constant inspiration to her work.
Sarah has melded her graphic design talent with her love of art and design and created a line of wallpaper and textiles that are unique yet classic with a funky vintage bent.
Sarah has also been experimenting with printing her designs on some unique textural substrates which creates an entirely different vibe.
Pattern: Graham
A perk of working with Sarah ... her ability to customize her patterns to your installation needs! She can change the scale of the pattern, the colors and the substrate to create a paper that is uniquely yours! We worked with her to customize her Graham pattern in the home we designed for the 2016 Richmond Homearama. We changed the background color and printed the pattern in metallic gold. The result was an elegantly subtle ceiling that perfectly complemented our master bedroom.
Sarah lives and breathes pattern, color, and the natural world. “I love mother nature and get most of my design ideas from her. She really is the best designer and colorist out there. She also happens to be very generous with her advice!"
Most of all, Sarah loves beauty: Seeing it, experiencing it, creating it, and sharing it with others. So, we're happy to share Sarah's gift with all of you! You can visit her online at www.sarahrowland.com or you can purchase her papers and textiles through the Bradley design showrooms.
