The Park Residence is a special project for many reasons! This home is located in a beautiful historic neighborhood and we wanted to really honor the time period while updating functionality to modern day living. Special vintage details can be seen throughout the design, including some heirloom pieces that are original to the home. It wasn’t until we started the project that I discovered another important story. This home belongs to my extended relatives and was passed down over generations from my great great grandparents! So many beautiful stories were shared over the course of the project and I feel truly honored to have played a part in the restoration of this family home.
a classic white kitchen
Bright and airy, warm and timeless. These were some of the aesthetic goals we wanted to achieve for this home. A palette that would fit a 100 year old home while still feeling relevant to today’s design styles. Inset cabinetry played a big role in bridging the gap between “just another white kitchen” and a kitchen that felt like it truly fit the home. We also wanted to include traditional styles of millwork, such as the custom hood surround and the planked ceiling. You see these details carried throughout the other spaces around the home. For example, the wainscot in the laundry room and the vertical planked walls in the stairway.
White oak accents were an important material to keep a bright home from feeling stark or sterile. New wood floors, oak floating shelves, and a custom white oak island with a planked detail brought in warmth and texture. Not to mention the texture from the cane stools! We carried the wood accents into the laundry room with the cabinetry as well as a custom base for the home’s original basin sink.
a vintage touch
One of my favorite parts of this project was sourcing fixtures that looked original to the home. An antique brass kitchen faucet with porcelain handles was shipped in from the UK. It’s natural patina brought a vintage touch that can’t be replicated. The brass pot rail behind the range was the perfect detail with an ode to historic times. But how about those gorgeous copper pots?!
The backsplash tile is a handmade tile that has the perfect texture. We went with a 4×4 size which was another detail to the home’s age. It’s a size that was more common for historic homes and is seeing a resurgence in today’s homes. Variation in the color kept the kitchen from feeling flat and was a nice addition to the overall palette.
Kitchen Details: a cozy corner
We made a lot of changes to the kitchen floor plan to open up the space! Increasing functionality was critical from a storage and circulation standpoint. Just go back to the before photos if you want to see how much it was lacking! The tricky part was finding a solution for the windows with a sill height just a bit too low for a counter to fit underneath. We dropped the cabinet height to work around this while still maximizing storage. We then changed the material on the top to a painted finish so the whole thing felt like an authentic built-in. Plus, how cute are the little round knobs that are carried throughout? The brass sconces above the windows on the left (peeking out in one of the photos from the photos earlier) added some nice detail along the wall.
A fresh take on a DIFFICULT stairwell
Around the corner from the kitchen’s open shelves is the stairway. The stairs were originally tucked behind a series of doors that made them feel like a cave. With a few minor changes to the floor plan, we were able to open it up. This brought in some natural light and a better flow. We also added some safety measures like a new oak railing and new solid wood stair treads. The white vertical planking brightens the space and makes it feel much more open!
Upstairs, a little nook next to the stairs originally was closed off. Again we wanted to visually open the stairs up as much as possible. We removed the wall and added black metal spindles and a white oak newel post to tie everything together.
the workhorse: Laundry room
Some of my favorite details can be found in the laundry room! This space glows with natural light! Making the switch to white oak cabinets felt like the right choice to warm things up a bit. Wainscot with a few peg hooks brought in some historic details as well as functionality for a room that needs to work hard. The porcelain tile floor is durable, has a beautiful tumbled texture, and was installed in a traditional layout. The cherry on top for the entire room is the basin sink! This cast iron sink is original to the home but we freshened it up by reglazing, adding a custom white oak base, and a new brass faucet. It’s a workhorse for this family but who says that can’t be beautiful, too?
a new primary bathroom
One of the major goals for the renovation was updating the upstairs bathroom. The long term plan is to make it part of the primary suite of the home. The challenge in this space was getting all of the desirable features of a primary bathroom while working with difficult angled ceilings causing restrictions on head heights. To fit in a shower, it would need to be almost in the center of the entire room! With this realization, a walk-in wet room started making the most sense. We would be able to tuck the tub under one of the lower head height areas. The rest of the necessities like the vanity and toilet would fit perfectly in the other corners and nooks of the room.
The clawfoot tub is another original to the home, which we reglazed just like the laundry sink. We also sourced a tub filler and handheld fixture that looks like an original but with all the functionality of modern day plumbing.
LAYERING IN THE details
The bathroom vanity is one of my favorite parts of the bathroom! Its warmth and texture is exactly what the space needed! A marble countertop ties into the other finishes, the brass faucet with porcelain handles echoes the details found throughout the home, and the cane detail is hands down just my favorite thing. Plus we were able to incorporate the same detail downstairs with the kitchen stools! Touches of brass throughout provide a subtle yet impactful layer of charm in the bathroom, and the room just wouldn’t be the same without it!
This project was just so good. Despite navigating the challenges of job site shut downs in the middle of Covid, we persevered with patience, knowing it would all be worth the wait in the end.
Make sure to check out the before images here as well as the progress. It’s always fun to see that transformation! You can also watch the final video reveal here. As always, if you like what you see and have a project of your own that you would like to discuss, we’d love to hear from you! Check out our services and let’s chat!
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