Walls Are Meant To Come Down

Face it: in a lot of older houses, walls separated rooms, and got in the way. That was certainly the case for Gary and Judith. The kitchen would have worked just fine, but they knew it could be so much better. Sometimes you just know your house wants to be awesome, but was thwarted by the original designer, builder, or prior owners. Gary and Judith wanted the trend that keeps on trending: an open floor plan. This 26-year-old house had niche rooms: a kitchen for cooking, dining room for eating, and living room for formal entertaining.

I first met Judith when she stopped in Just Counters & Other Stuff showroom during her lunch hour. She recently moved from Texas to become a newlywed. The young couple purchased a 1989 home. The ink barely had time to dry on the closing papers when Judith started looking for someone to help them take the ordinary kitchen that came with the house, to making it so much better.

Kitchen and bathroom design ideas can be found everywhere, from magazines, to the Internet, to endless amounts of books. It’s easy to find inspiring kitchen and bath pictures but transforming those inspirations into your dream space is not simple. Judith found that out.

During Judith’s lunch hour, I listened to her carefully. I made some suggestions to help steer her in the right direction.

After that conversation, I scheduled a visit to their home, where our new clients asked me to help them bring the kitchen to its glory. I immediately knew in order to combine spaces; two walls would have to come down. They needed to be removed entirely. It was a simple concept and luckily the walls were not weight bearing. I presented my design ideas to the new homeowners on a wide TV screen. I showed them if we removed two walls between the kitchen and adjacent rooms, there would be plenty of room for a huge island. That was exactly what they wanted.

We all know color trends come and go. Am I right? Think of circa 1970 harvest gold and avocado green, or the 80’s mauve and blue schemes. The homeowners wanted to use the latest trend colors: browns and various shades of gray for the walls and cabinetry. They also wanted to replace the wall-to-wall carpet with travertine tile throughout the house.

Long after the designs were completed and cabinets and granite were ordered, I often received late night texts with in-progress photos, along with questions and apprehensions. My client had onslaught of emotions that often are brought on by renovation excitement, nervousness, and sometimes fear. Judith wanted everything to be perfect, as do most homeowners. With a renovation of this size there was the daunting task of choosing each and every light fixture, chandelier, faucets, hardware, reclaimed barn wood, and paint color.

Once those two walls were taken down they had an enormous wide-open room. The vaulted ceiling kept the space light and airy. Gary and Judith wanted a striking focal point in the living room, but they also wanted to bring some character to the space.

I was invited back to see my clients finished rooms. This is seriously the best part of my job. The transformations totally blew me away! The kitchen was beautiful…but oh my…so was the focal point wall in the great room.  They used reclaimed wood on the wall behind the TV. It certainly made a statement!  For this wall, they used a mixture of grey and brown reclaimed wood. All of it came from an old barn. How cool is that? The wood-wall added depth, texture, and warmth. Plus now it has a ton of history on it. They also installed some nice floating shelves for decor. I have to tell you that I was wowed by Judith’s decorating skills! Whenever I get to look at what a space once was and see how some of my ideas and designs transformed into an end result, I’m so proud. Oftentimes after I complete a job, not only are my clients happy, but I’ve made a friend for life. That was truly the case in this home. The team at Just Counters realized the importance of good quality installation. So, they did what they needed to do to make this kitchen happen in this stunning home.