Renovation work construction and contractors

RENOVATION WORK
At Fox Design Studio we enjoy renovation work. Some of the best design is born from a challenging project. Old houses in particular force a designer to be creative. Uneven ceilings, structural issues and large spaces pave the way for interesting details and detail.

Here we show how adding a simple header and cutting a hole in the wall could free a significant amount of space while adding an interesting detail. The original fish tank restricted the room to a smaller dining table. Building the tank into the wall allowed for storage at the opposite wall & a means to hide the wires, filters and equipment. Picture framing the opening transformed a tank of water into a piece of art.

This was a door that needed to be filled in to add separate living quarters in the rear of the home. Instead of filling the opening we celebrate the existing opening by using the space as an entertainment area. This before and after picture shows clearly how color, trim and lighting can enhance any space.

The photo on the left shows a good example of problems you find in an old home. Mis-matched trim and different doors were mixed over time. It is very costly and time consuming to match original trim. Over the years different owner's patch problem areas resulting in random patterns & materials throughout an older home. As seen on the right, It is better at times to demo & start from scratch. The new arched ceiling & doors cleaned up the mess and provide a simple look.

Lowering the soffit in the bay windows helped hide old lathe and plaster that was patched from a previous leak in the roof and helps show off the height of the tall windows. The area is still open however the lower ceiling separates the spaces and adds detail to the room. Not only are the ceilings now level with clean lines, the reduced ceiling height helps to lower the cost of heating this space.

We built soffits with recessed lighting in the kitchen along with natural oak cabinets in place of the old built in knotty pine cabinets. The island base in this photo was not finished at this time. However, you can begin to see how everything works together. The horizontal lines of the soffit, track lighting, tile and counter top accent one another from the floor to ceiling while providing detail. Notice in the picture on the left how too much detail in knotty pine can take away from a space and feel cluttered.

Above in the photo on the left we have a door with triangular panels that fight with the rectangular panels under the side lite. The ceiling had dropped over 5 inches from left to right due to structural issues and there were a mixture of trim, paneling and fixtures. On the right, an offset curved ceiling hides the 5 inch drop while leaving head height for the stair case. Although difficult to see in this photo notice the use of bull nose drywall corner (trim-tex) at the opening to eliminate the amount of wood trim required to finish the space. Simple and clean design, let colors set off the detail.