Case Study

The client of our Elegant Feminine Estate project was the daughter of a past client who came to us for help transforming the home she just purchased. When we first arrived to the home, she told us that she wanted every room to be touched so the home’s style reflected her own and would not only function for her and her son, but also as a home for her parents someday.

She had a transitional design style with touches of glam and she wanted the color pallet of the home to have accents of corals, blues, and greens. The home not only had to be comfortable for the multiple generations living there, but also to many pets, so life-friendly fabrics and finishes were a must. This, in short, was the brief we were given by our client. By the end of the design process, everything from the door hinges to room layouts had been transformed into our clients perfect home.

With that in mind, we would love to show you how we went about transforming this house into our client’s dream home, and hopefully this case study will give you an idea of what you can expect when you hire us to make your dreams a reality.

Entry

Most of the updates in the entry were cosmetic. We replaced the tile with new hardwood flooring that matches the flooring in the rest of the home. This update created better flow between the entry and the adjacent spaces. We also updated the door trim and baseboards to a more contemporary style, and replaced the faux wall texture with our favorite light neutral throughout paint color. We also added furniture, window coverings, a new light fixture, and completely redesigned the stair railing, and voila! – a new entry that not only reflects our client’s style, but also functions flawlessly. 

Dining Room

The red walls and faux texture had to go to transform the space into one that fit in our client’s design style. We replaced the faux finish with custom geometric wall moulding that adds character and charm to the space. You KNOW you are in a formal dining room when your wall looks like that! We echoed the geometric pattern in the dining chair fabric and rug. Last but not least, the old light fixture (which had to have been custom – we’ve never seen anything like it before!) was replaced with a more contemporary fixture.

Kitchen and Dining Nook

The original kitchen, like the rest of the house, was colorful and full of texture. The cabinets altered color, seemingly willy-nilly, and little climbing men acted as cabinet pulls! We updated all of that for a light and bright kitchen with wooden lower cabinets, and white island and upper cabinets. The new triangular marble backsplash ties in the new marble finishes throughout the rest of the house, and adds a timeless quality to the kitchen. New lighting, window treatments, and appliances round out the rest of the kitchen design. Not much changed in the dining nook other than the paint color, trim, and lighting. We did select the furniture for the space though and we love the way it perfectly compliments our client’s art!

Living Room

The living room got new paint like all the other rooms, but the main update and star of the living room is the fireplace wall. The fireplace surround was updated with a simple slab of marble and we added wall moulding to elevate the space and give it a sophisticated feel. Another favorite detail from the room is the pink animal print side chair, which is the perfect feminine touch!

Below are the original elevation drawings we gave to the contractor for the living room and family room. As you can see, little details like the fireplace surround design shifted during the design process, but we were there throughout construction, overseeing and approving these changes. The end result is perfectly in-line with our design intent for the space. This drawing also gives you a peak at what we did in the family room,  adding built-in cabinets, shelves, and a desk space for our client’s son! 

Downstairs Bathroom

The downstairs guest bathroom was one of the most unassuming places in the original house design, but we updated all the finishes, vanity, lighting and mirror so it ties into the rest of the new home design. This bathroom was primarily going to be used by our client’s father who isn’t very mobile, so we also made ADA-inspired updates with a curbless shower, grab bars in the shower, and a fold-down shower seat. The new shower niche is also an important added detail as we believe every shower needs good shampoo storage!

Son’s Bathroom

Below, you can see the original floorplan (on the left) and the new floorplan (on the right). The original bathroom was a Jack and Jill bathroom that serviced a loft and an upstairs bedroom. The bedroom was going to be our client’s son’s bedroom, and the loft was going to be transformed into a suite for her mother. This meant it wasn’t ideal to have this bathroom be shared by these two rooms!  

To address this, we decided to close off the doorway to the loft (located across from the original vanity) allowing us to rearrange the layout of the existing bathroom to accommodate a larger tub/shower and gain storage. Closing off the wall to the loft also allowed us to create a separate bathroom for the suite. 

Below you can see a picture of the original Jack and Jill bathroom, and the final product! Because this is our client’s son’s bathroom, we painted his cabinets his favorite color – green. We also added tile wainscotting, basketweave marble floors, and the arched tub enclosure with accent herringbone tile, which has become one of our favorite details!

We do elevation drawings to illustrate our design to clients and tradesmen alike, and this is the drawing we did for this particular bathroom. 

In Conclusion

We hope you enjoyed this special peak at our Elegant Feminine Estate project. You may not have the same design style as this client, but we hope the attention to detail and thought we put into this home shines through in this case study.

We also hope it illustrates the possibilities and transformations that are possible when you hire a designer! If you want to see more of this project, you can view all the images here.  

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