Think Big! What does your space say about you?

Labor of Love

August 26, 2011

In March 2010 we were recommended by a Wilmington, NC architect, who is obviously very thoughtful and wise, to help a California couple renovate a 100 year old house in Lumberton, NC. Lumberton, NC? As it turned out the husband grew up in Lumberton, the house had belonged to his grandparents and it was the same house his father grew up in.  What a house and what a project!

 

The design team, consisting of Joe and Yumie Britt (homeowners), Big Sky Design (interior designer Leslie Stachowicz), Mark Saulnier (thoughtful and wise architect), and Dave Thomas (DPT Construction specializing in historic restoration and renovations), worked together to bring this once grand old beauty back to life.  Aside from the structural, water, and aging issues, the interiors demanded lightening and brightening. My only direction from the Britt’s was to keep it simple, “do what you think” and be thoughtful about the cost impact. This was not a home they were going to live in, this was a home that, we at Big Sky realized, they were restoring out of love, and this is how we approached the project.  The Britt family set the tone of this project by the way they completely trusted us as interior designer, builder, and architect, to do what we do and I believe we all took this trust as a gift and worked in that spirit.

Our approach to the interior design was to “keep it simple” but keep in mind the “grandness” of the home. We removed all the wall to wall carpet to expose the hardwood floor beneath it which we had refinished and stained a dark tone.  We salvaged, at the owner’s request, a portion of Granny’s carpet to bind into a rug to be reused in the Music Room.  The Entry foyer flows up to the grand upstairs hall so we had a faux finisher come in and add a beautiful pattern to the walls, based on a wallcovering design, that would help manage the scale of the space while adding subtle color and pattern.  The first floor ceilings were 11’6″ so we wanted to emphasize the height of the rooms by bringing the custom window treatments above the windows to direct the eye upward. As self-described “tile junkies” we were in heaven selecting the tiles and stone for the nine fireplaces as well as the for the renovated bathrooms. I could go on and on…..

When interior finishes started to go up, Dave Thomas emailed the Britts that the “Grand old lady is getting her lipstick on!”  I thought that was great!  Well, after 14 months of renovation we completed the interiors and are so proud of our work! We lightened and brightened, we updated, we refinished and faux finished, we reupholstered and even did some dusting and washing, and “Granny Alma’s house” came together beautifully.  Everyone was thrilled with the results!  It was truly a “labor of love.”

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