A Whole House Remodel

This story takes us back to September, 2022. There was this 2003-built home that was move-in ready. The grassy front lot stretches across and away from the street. Mother and daughter instantly fell in love with the place and saw its potential. The house had everything they had wanted. It featured a sunroom (Florida room), three bedrooms, and two full bathrooms. It also featured architectural details that Sarah and Tammy had been looking for. After purchasing the home, mother and daughter barely had enough time to get situated in their new home when Hurricane Ian hit just a month later. After the winds died down and the horrific storm ended, many hours later, the homeowners came out of their “safe” shelter: a walk-in closet. The new homeowners were stunned to see so much water inside their new home. “It was everywhere,” Sarah said. Here, there, everywhere, so Tammy scattered bath towels all over to help absorb the water. But things became much scarier when water from inside the interior walls poured out! If you missed the previous blog, you can read it here: Disaster Strikes 1/25/2023.

This house is where mother and daughter’s hearts were. So, they knew how important it was to take the right steps in remedying the damages that occurred. A catastrophic event like Ian, water will find its way into every crevice in your home. This was hurricane sewage-infused water. Yuck, nasty water came inside the home through the builder-grade windows, the front door, and through the soffits and roof. All the flooring had to be removed. And every wall in the house had to be stripped down to the studs and re-drywalled. After Ian, mother and daughter lived in a small camper trailer, parked in their driveway.

Tammy, a talented kitchen and bath designer, grew up in Delaware. Many years ago, Tammy’s parents owned a cabinet showroom. Tammy having the same heart for wood grain, sawdust, and a knack for working with her hands, she purchased the company from her parents. Father and daughter worked together for many years. Some of Tammy’s favorite memories with her dad were spending time with him in the shop surrounded by piles of sawdust as they built things together. So, even for experienced designers like the mother/daughter duo, updating their home was an enormous undertaking including sacrificing time, finances, and a little bit of their sanity. The renovations in the entire home have finally been completed. The journey was painful, but the end result is gorgeous. The home is unique, warm, and inviting.

Today, if you were to drive down Sarah and Tammy’s Punta Gorda street, it would be hard to miss their newly painted stucco home. To revive the home’s original charm, Tammy hired Olancho Painting LLC to paint the exterior. Their workmanship was exceptional! They were knowledgeable and professional. Tammy would not hesitate to recommend them.

There are a lot of factors to consider when choosing exterior paint for a home. After all, every color has a story to tell and an emotion to evoke. Tammy knew that she wanted the house painted with shades of blue. But then came the tricky part: choosing which shade of blue. She ultimately decided to go with Sherwin-Williams paint. She narrowed her choices down to three final colors: Wondrous Blue SW6807 for the exterior of the house, Celestial SW6808 for the band around the house, and Lupine SW6810 for the garage and exterior doors. Tammy loves the depth of the colors and how they look in different light.

Let’s say we go inside and take a little tour, shall we?

Three things immediately caught my eye as soon as I entered the charming home. Throughout, the ceilings and walls, were painted soft blue. Tammy selected Sherwin-Williams SW6806 Rhythmic Blue. But it wasn’t just the color that caught my eye; it was also the furnishings and floor tile.

“I grew up in a house full of antiques – my parents, grandparents, great grandparents, and Aunt all had antiques for years – so they feel like home to me,” Tammy said.

The 1,566-square-foot time capsule is filled with relics from the middle of the century. And despite all the treasures at every turn, it didn’t feel like a stuffy museum. The antique furnishings represent cherished belongings of the homeowners’ late relatives. They’ve collected the pieces over time as their lives took them from house to house and state to state. The treasured furnishings are a truly multi-family affair. Each piece has been given a place of honor in their home. Just about every item had a story behind it. It was really fascinating to listen to Tammy and Sarah’s stories. “This piece belonged to my great grandmother; my great grandfather did this; my grandfather built that, etc.”

Walking through this lovely home felt like a Norman Rockwell experience. There were many framed paintings which Sarah had painted many years ago. And there was an antique needlepoint created by Tammy’s grandmother. Imagine growing up with such artistic parents and creative grandparents. “There wasn’t anything my grandmother couldn’t do with a needle and thread,” Tammy stated.

“The reason why we bought this house was the ledges,” remarked Sarah. That’s when I looked up. Tammy pointed out the 1930s prewar train set. There were many items on that ledge that one could relive the age of rail travel passenger cars. Some of the trains had lighted interiors. The opposite ledge had various ingenious buildings: church, store, barn, and houses. They were made out of cheese boxes by Tammy’s late grandfather and great grandfather. There’s a replica of the church that Tammy’s parents got married in. The church even has miniature windows with lighting and church pews inside.

The flooring was the third item that caught my eyes. Pucci Tile & Marble installed Carrara White Marble tile 12″ width x 24″ length throughout the home. The tile installers were very competent, highly efficient, and detail-oriented.

Tammy works for a firm, Just Counters & other stuff, which specializes in building new homes and renovating houses, so she knows a thing or two about designing. Many builders and customers are familiar with Tammy’s work and they trust her talented design eye. Although the previous kitchen was unapologetically functional, Tammy mentioned there were some small problems within the prior kitchen. Issues like a poor layout and lack of storage space were on top of her list. Tammy changed the primary layout by relocating the refrigerator. This change allowed for a large pantry cabinet with deep drawers. This relocation of the fridge now provides easy access and prevents unnecessary traffic through the cooking area. Tammy used frameless white Mission door style from American Collection by Koch Cabinetry throughout the kitchen. Deep drawers flanking the stove provides convenient storage for pots and pans.

The magnificent blue reflective countertops are called Blue Pearl. Blue Pearl Granite is a captivating natural stone known for its striking appearance and shimmering blue hues. The “after” pictures show how fresh, bright, and beautiful the kitchen is.

There are others who contributed to this whole house renovation and helped bring Tammy and her mother’s whole home restoration. Roof: Galloway Roofing. SunMAC Stone Specialists templated, fabricated, and installed countertops in the kitchen and two bathrooms.

Tommy McCaffrey from Just Counters installed all the cabinets and trim throughout the home. He did an amazing job and was always very helpful. Tommy is friendly, tidy, very knowledgeable, and has an eye for detail.

The gut remodel where almost everything inside had to stripped down to the bare structure and rebuilt from scratch is now a vibrant, welcoming home for mother and daughter. It’s safe to say Tammy and Sarah are very pleased with all of the finished projects and are beyond thrilled to be living in their “new” home.