Helena Residence: “Before”

walnut cabinet with brass hardware

We recently had the opportunity to return to a project that we finished last year to take some photos. While I’m so excited to share the final reveal, I never do so without showing where it all started. This is a gorgeous midcentury home that our clients had just acquired. We knew we were in for a real treat! You just never know what kind of gems you will find in an older home. Take a scroll down memory lane with us!

a wrongly placed farmhouse style

I say farmhouse, but honestly, I’m just not sure what happened here. When you first walk down the stairs to the basement, you are greeted with several chunky posts and beams, complete with mosaic tiled “shelves.” They were purely aesthetic, but just not an aesthetic that fit with the midcentury vibes the home longed to return to. The brick fireplace had so many layers and levels of design, it was quite busy and just a major beast. The storage next to it was obviously great and convenient but again did nothing for this major focal point opportunity. We were excited to tear it all out and design something bold yet clean here.

dated brick fireplace
brick fireplace with large hearth
LAUNDRY ROOM GOALS

As you walk from the family room down the hall, you eventually run into the biggest blast from the past that I’ve ever seen. And I’m no stranger to original midcentury homes! In fact, it’s where my career all started when working in Denver. I imagine at one point, this was the most stylish laundry room and maybe the most fun for those who enjoyed hallucinogenics. It doesn’t take long in this space to feel like you may have taken a few yourself. The green and yellow on every surface was so overbearing. But seriously, I was in awe over it, in the worst possible way! We like to have fun with these kinds of situations.

70s laundry room
70s laundry room
yellow and green laundry room
bedrooms that are refreshingly boring

After seeing the laundry room, I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect for the rest of the basement, as we were just getting started. To my surprise, the rest of the rooms were refreshingly boring and pretty darn easy to take care of with the remodel. With some new doors and trim, updated light fixtures, a lot of paint, and new windows, they’d be as good as new.

outdated bedroom with dark woods
outdated bedroom with dark built-ins
the half-done bathrooms

There were two bathrooms that would be gutted during this project. Both appeared to have been partially updated at some point. My favorite part of midcentury homes is guessing what color the plumbing fixtures will be and adding it to the long list of colored sinks, toilets, and tubs I’ve seen. I’m also thinking I should start a collection of wallpapers from these renovations! Unfortunately I’ve already missed out on tons of amazing opportunities for collecting these.

Anyway, the first bathroom had a very small shower stall, which was the biggest complaint for our clients. This is a guest bathroom that gets used very frequently, so they wanted it to be a more comfortable size. It was the only part in the basement that we needed to explore a different layout!

The next bathroom would be the kid’s bathroom; the perfect Jack & Jill suite and I wanted to make it extra special for them. Again, mostly just cosmetic changes would be needed. However, I did want to remove the partial wall to make the space feel a tad bigger.

I’ve been filtering through my project archives and it’s been so fun to look back at this project! It’s been almost a year from when I met these wonderful clients. I’m so excited to share the final reveal, but first keep an eye out for the progress post, coming soon!

If you have a Spring or Summer project on your mind, be sure to get in touch! It’s time to start planning your design and booking a contractor to meet that timeline! You can contact me or book online here.

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