For some people, the path to Florida is clear and straightforward, like a line from point A to point B. Others however arrive here via a more winding road, accumulating a wealth of varied whereabouts along the way. Kevin and Suzanne fell in the latter category.
By the time I met this wonderful couple, they were living in an approximately 959 sq. ft. mobile/manufactured home. The home contains 2-bedrooms, 2-bathrooms, and offers an efficient layout for years to come. They love this house with great neighbors and a short distance to downtown North Port.
Right after Kevin and Suzanne moved into the home, they knew there was no reason to take immediate action, but they knew eventually they would make changes to two rooms. The dining room buffet and kitchen were both in need of small-scale renovations. Four years later, they were ready to make the upgrades.
The existing dining room buffet wasn’t in terrible shape, but it looked somewhat dated. The clue was the mirrored backsplash. If I’m not mistaken, the first time this trend came around was in the late ’70s and early ’80s. It was popular for a brief span of time. Back then, mirrored backsplashes made the space seem so much bigger, and the room appeared fancy, in a late-70s glam kind of way.
As an interior designer, I spend a lot of time walking around clients’ homes hearing what they love, or don’t love, about their rooms. Generally, the number one item on the “don’t love” list is lack of storage space. This was the case with Kevin’s and Suzanne’s eclectic home, built in 1978, was sorely lacking in cabinet space. These homeowners were looking at hiring Just Counters & other stuff to add additional storage space. The cabinets didn’t extend to the ceiling and were wasting lots of usable space that could be filled with taller cabinets for extra storage. So, the homeowners asked me to extend the cabinets to the ceiling in the dining room buffet and kitchen. Taking advantage of dead space above cabinets is always a great way to gain storage.
When I visited our wonderful customers for the first time, I saw that there was too little storage besides the pantry, in this smallish kitchen. It probably works for two people who only use the house for a few months each year. But Kevin and Suzanne live here year round and they desperately needed more storage. Our new customers wanted their kitchen to be minimally updated. They wanted new a new pantry, upper wall cabinets, countertops, sink, and backsplash tile, but wanted to keep the existing lower base cabinets.
As you can see in the “after” pictures, we installed two tall pantries to act as anchors on both ends of the new buffet. Inside these shaker-style beauties are adjustable shelves on the upper half and deep roll-out drawers on the large lower cabinet half, offering tons of storage space. The shaker-style cabinet doors created the modern, polished look the clients were hoping for, with clean lines and a high-end aesthetic.
The tall custom pantry in the kitchen was a challenge because it had to cover a return vent (a hole in the floor), as you can see in the “before” photo. Also a light switch and thermostat had to be mounted on the outside of the pantry. The upper cabinets in the kitchen were extended up to the ceiling as well, to create additional storage space and make the walls feel taller. The same Elysium white gloss backsplash tile, brushed satin nickel round solid knob hardware, and solid surface countertop used in the dining room buffet were also incorporated in the kitchen.
The finished dining room buffet and kitchen is just what the clients had in mind. The maple cabinets painted crisp white with a partial overlay, the Tambora color countertop, and the hardware flow perfectly with the rest of the updated eclectic style home. They now can be proud of for years to come.
Nowadays any interior that cannot be defined into one particular style is usually called eclectic. If you’re scratching your head and asking what is eclectic style is, let me tell you. It is one of those home décor looks that can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. But at its core, eclectic style is all about filling your home with personality.
Suzanne did a wonderful job with decorating their home. She seamlessly mixed old and new and doesn’t have too “matchy-matchy” or pristine items. In this case eclectic style was a great way for Suzanne to decorate their home with a bit of, well, everything. Suzanne made their home fun, funky, and full of visual interest. Who says quilts have to stay on the bed? Hanging them on walls is a clever way of decorating with handmade quilts, just as Suzanne did. Kevin’s and Suzanne’s home is fun and energetic and filled with beautiful eye candy! If you like a lot of design styles and aren’t one to follow the “rules” eclectic is probably right up your alley.
I’d like to thank everyone on our team that worked on this project that helped bring this task to life: Bill Rice, Cindy Kohls-Brophy, Tommy McCaffrey, Sam Zwack, Aaron Shaffer, and Pucci Tile.
Whatever this summer has in store for you—from block parties, to family vacations and reunions, to beach or poolside relaxations—I hope these blogs fills you with inspiration. Please note: instead of posting a weekly blog, I’m switching to a bi-monthly (every other week) blog publishing schedule. That’s all for now. See you in two weeks.
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