Dunedin Road

Whole House Remodel - Columbus, Ohio (Clintonville)

The Kitchen+Mudroom

Well, this is my own house!  My husband and I are both Architects.  He specializes in private-sector commercial work.  On this project, though, it was a joint collaboration.  "How was making decisions together since you're both so opinionated", you ask?  ...Oh, it was a challenge for both of us!

I'm going to preface the "before" shots you're about to see by saying that I am completely embarrassed to share them with you.  We lived in this horrible kitchen for nine years (we thought it would only be two).  

 Click HERE to see a "Before" Shot!

Our home is a smaller one, built in 1928.  As with many of the homes that I do, it was extremely important to me that the quality of finishes, scale of spaces, and character of the details were consistent between the old and new spaces.  We wanted to connect the dining area with the kitchen more, but we wanted to make sure we kept the original "look" of the house without modernizing it too much.

Click HERE to see a "Before" Shot!

We wanted to use a mixture of colors and materials in the spaces.  Soapstone is an authentic, natural stone that was used a lot in furniture in the early twentieth century.  So, we incorporated it on the counter-top.  It was also important to us that we incorporate the same stained woodwork that exists in the rest of the house into the new spaces; evident on the windows and island.  The island is something that I designed and the cabinet company graciously agreed to make for us.  We absolutely love it.

We used a hand-made subway tile all the way to the ceiling, but this subway tile is a bit longer than vintage subway tile.  We mixed oil-rubbed bronze finishes with the pops of copper, too.

Click HERE to see a "Before" shot!

In order to conceal a plumbing pipe, we needed to thicken the wall behind the range.  However, this allowed us to do two really great things: create a spice niche with beautiful etched tile above the range and cookbook shelves to the right of the small arch.  You can see that we mimicked the original arches that already existed in our home.

Cabinetry is such an important part of any project.  It's even more important when you have an old house that already has custom cabinetry.  It's important to match and complement what's already there.  Also, in smaller houses like ours, it allowed us to maximize our space as much as possible.  As in, my husband's favorite cabinet above - elegantly named, "the random-grilling-utensils-cabinet".

This was a portion of the original breakfast nook in the house that we really wanted to keep.  We absolutely love this cozy space!

The powder room is pretty well-hidden behind a wall of paneling in the mudroom; which was entirely the intent.  The paneled wall hides all of the "stuff" and becomes a fun accent wall at the same time.

Clients always ask what my favorite style is.  I really don't have one...what's important to me is that whatever is done to each home respects and enhances what's already there, functions well for the people living there, and is beautiful, of course!  I don't want to try and make a house something it's not.  We tried to do that with our house.

The Master Suite

This space was originally one large (but narrow) room with two tiny closets.  Once we determined the best location for the bed, the rest just fell into place… even providing a larger walk-in closet!

Click HERE to see a "Before" Shot!

The main goal was to design a master bath in this room.  This space ended up only being about 3’8” wide by 10’, but it functions just perfectly for a small space.  A pedestal sink was selected to make the space feel more visually open and a custom-made built-in was designed behind the toilet.  Guess what else?!  This built-in is built over a raised ceiling above the stairwell, but you’d never know it!  …maximizing every inch of usable space.

The finishes are simple, but clean and classy.  We selected grey grout (for easier maintenance in the shower!), which blends seamlessly into the grey cabinetry.  We chose to do white subway tile from floor to ceiling to simplify the overall “look” and make the space feel bigger.  Larger, hexagonal marble tile was selected to maintain a more vintage style, but also to increase the scale a bit for the size of the room.

The Hall Bathroom

This is the perfect example of taking an existing space and maximizing the efficiency and function.  Each fixture was relocated to provide more vanity space and better tub access for a growing family.  This was accomplished by moving the door more towards the middle of the wall; freeing up the shorter sides of the room.  The door aligns with the window, bringing in valuable sunlight to the hallway.

The wall behind the vanity was thickened to provide a built-in medicine cabinet and unique lighting niches.  Since this is an older home, every detail is modernized, but continues to be consistent with the character, quality, and style of the existing home.

Click HERE to see a "Before" Shot!

Contractor: Fry Contracting and MB Construction

Interior Selections: Jamee Parish