Kirtland- Whole House Remodel
We have worked with these clients 10 years on various projects; they owned a
home in Shaker Heights for 25 years and we remodeled the entire house over the
years. They decided that they wanted to retire, downsize, and move to the country.
They contacted us after they found this house in Kirtland, to which they fell in love
with the wooded 8 acres but hated the house. It was a Cape Cod style home in need
of tender love and care. They could not visualize what potential the house had, and
that is where we came in to help them. We explained that the house needed a more
open floor plan to give it a larger feel and a more practical flow. They wanted a new
modern bathroom, transform the kitchen, updated hardwood floors throughout,
update the paint, and a working fireplace as a centerpiece in their living room.
We started the process by moving the north wall in the kitchen 18 inches to
give more room for the renovated kitchen and less room in the adjacent bathroom.
We removed a small wall from the dining room to give that open feel and recessed
the beam between the kitchen and living room to give a clean flow through the
house. We removed a wall in the living room, next to the staircase to continue that
open floor plan, and now they can see into the living room from all angles of the
house. And while doing this, our clients wanted more closet/pantry space, and to
achieve this, we moved the closet that was existing in the house and created the
custom storage area while not taking away from the room. We also removed a
header next to the family room that had cable lines and electrical lines strung
through it, adding to the open floor plan feel. We discovered that the fireplace did
not have a firebox, so this had to be address along with the remodel. We constructed
a firebox in the existing chimney to save cost, and we added a brick facing and
custom woodwork to make the fireplace look more traditional and give them the
accent piece they wanted for that room. We removed the slate tile in the foyer area
and toothed in hardwood to make it look like it was always there.
We installed white cabinets, granite counter tops with a leather finish, and a
custom butcher block island to the kitchen, along with the complementing stainless-
steel appliances, and above cabinet led lighting enhanced the kitchen in the evening.
The much-needed bathroom was modernized with a new tub, custom tile surround,
new tile floor, and a white vanity with marble top to give our clients the modern
look they desired. We refinished all the hardwood floors and staircase to give a
warmer tone to the whole house. The paint colors were chosen for the country flare
they were looking for to modernize the dated 60’s house they first saw.
The homeowners told us after moving that “they can’t believe this house is
there house!” They walk around the house and yard and are so happy that they live
there, and not waking up to the morning rush hour traffic next to their house. Next
year they decided will be the second phase, the upstairs bathroom and sun room!
