The homeowners had just purchased this home in El Segundo and they had remodeled the kitchen and one of the bathrooms on their own. However, they had more work to do. They felt that the rest of the project was too big and complex to tackle on their own and so they retained us to take over where they left off. The main focus of the project was to create a master suite and take advantage of the rather large backyard as an extension of their home. They were looking to create a more fluid indoor outdoor space. When adding the new master suite leaving the ceilings vaulted along with French doors give the space a feeling of openness. The window seat was originally designed as an architectural feature for the exterior but turned out to be a benefit to the interior! They wanted a spa feel for their master bathroom utilizing organic finishes. Since the plan is that this will be their forever home a curbless shower was an important feature to them. The glass barn door on the shower makes the space feel larger and allows for the travertine shower tile to show through. Floating shelves and vanity allow the space to feel larger while the natural tones of the porcelain tile floor are calming. The his and hers vessel sinks make the space functional for two people to use it at once. The walk-in closet is open while the master bathroom has a white pocket door for privacy. Since a new master suite was added to the home we converted the existing master bedroom into a family room. Adding French Doors to the family room opened up the floorplan to the outdoors while increasing the amount of natural light in this room. The closet that was previously in the bedroom was converted to built in cabinetry and floating shelves in the family room. The French doors in the master suite and family room now both open to the same deck space. The homes new open floor plan called for a kitchen island to bring the kitchen and dining / great room together. The island is a 3” countertop vs the standard inch and a half. This design feature gives the island a chunky look. It was important that the island look like it was always a part of the kitchen. Lastly, we added a skylight in the corner of the kitchen as it felt dark once we closed off the side door that was there previously. Repurposing rooms and opening the floor plan led to creating a laundry closet out of an old coat closet (and borrowing a small space from the new family room). The floors become an integral part of tying together an open floor plan like this. The home still had original oak floors and the homeowners wanted to maintain that character. We laced in new planks and refinished it all to bring the project together. To add curb appeal we removed the carport which was blocking a lot of natural light from the outside of the house. We also re-stuccoed the home and added exterior trim.

Ashland kitchen/laundry renovation

© Cindy Apple Photography

Laundry closet on second floor of custom home by Boardwalk Builders. Rehoboth Beach, DE www.boardwalkbuilders.com photos Sue Fortier

Jonathan Danforth

CABINETRY: The Ladbroke kitchen, Cue & Co of London, painted in Cornforth White, Farrow & Ball SPLASHBACK: Polished plaster, Cue & Co of London WORK SURFACES: Polished concrete, Cue & Co of London FLOORING: Engineered oak, Cue & Co of London SINK: Stainless steel Claron 550 sink, Blanco TAP: Oberon mixer tap with a C-spout in pewter, Perrin & Rowe APPLIANCES: All Neff Cue & Co of London kitchens start from £35,000

In this project the Rochman Design Build team renovated an old 2 story, farmhouse-styled home nestled among mature trees in the Water Hill neighborhood of Ann Arbor. The major renovation of the project happened on the 2nd floor with a complete overhaul of the space including an addition. What was a small room and kitchenette is now a spacious and bright 1 bedroom apartment where our clients can gather and entertain family and friends.

Chambers + Chambers Architects Amber Interiors Tessa Neustadt, Photographer

Harry Taylor

Converting the old family room to something practical required a lot of attention to the need of storage space and creation on nooks and functioning built-in cabinets. Everything was custom made to fit the clients need. A hidden slide in full height cabinet was design and built to house the stackable washer and dryer. The most enjoyable part was recreating the new red oak floor with grooves and pegs that will match the existing 60 years old flooring in the main house.