Table of contents for 2018 in Before & After

Before & After |2018

FROM THE EDITOR

TRULY SATISFYING MAKEOVER STORIES answer two questions: What made you fall in love with your home—and what would it take to fall in love again? For me, Sarah Callahan and Jason Chalmers’ commitment to their suburban Colonial (“Carefully Curated,” page 66) is more inspiring than any house-flipping drama on cable television. Others would have given up on the bad 1980s reno, but they dug in, reassigned functions to rooms, and layered on style and color until they rediscovered their beloved home. Whether your next project is a weekend update (“10 Easy Projects to Refresh Your Home,” page 6) or a major remodel (“Making Space,” page 76), you’re sure to find inspiration and solutions in these pages to live your own love story. Editor, Before & After™…

1 min

Before & After |2018

KITCHEN & BATH TRENDS

DESIGN TIP “Barn doors are functional where there is no room for traditional doors to swing. They add an architectural element and help fill a vast area of wall space. You can tailor your barn door to the style of your space,” says designer Kim Scodro of Kim Scodro Interiors, Chicago. SLIDING BARN DOORS Reclaimed barn doors in the dining area of artist and designer Carol Schalla’s Wisconsin abode carry out the home’s barn-inspired style. The doors conceal her serving and entertaining items. DESIGN TIP “When doing a kitchen makeover, decide on a budget and be sure to work with a Certified Kitchen Designer (CKD) who can help eliminate costly mistakes. It’s much less expensive to do it right the first time around,” says Elle H-Millard, CKD, of the National…

3 min

Before & After |2018

SMALL-SPACE STUNNER

What does a house-hunting couple do when they find the worst house on the street? If they’re Steve and Dana Miller, they high-five each other. “We had seen a lot of houses that people had tried to fix up or renovate—we wanted a blank slate that no one had touched,” Steve says. Operating on a strict budget and a desire to downsize, Steve and Dana purchased the 1,600-square-foot home for their family of five. The couple then set out to make the most of the existing space—without adding onto the original floor plan. With hopes of giving the home a lighter, brighter feel, Dana and Steve first inspected the attic to see if it could be opened up into a vaulted ceiling. Dana’s father, who had previous renovation experience, helped…

5 min

Before & After |2018

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS

When Kiera Kushlan got word that a sunny two-bedroom unit in an iconic Washington, D.C., building had just hit the market, she thought it must be too good to be true. And it was. While the location was a dream—a handsome pre-World War I structure on a picturesque street—the apartment itself was devoid of character of any kind. “Over the years it had been gutted of all historic qualities. It was really sort of heartbreaking,” says Kiera, who co-owns the D.C. interior design firm Residents Understood. But with a baby on the way (son William is now one), Kiera and her husband, Michael, knew the 1,175-square-foot diamond-in-the-rough was their best shot at more space in their desired neighborhood. (They were living a few blocks away in a 750-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment.)…

5 min

Before & After |2018

A SHORE WINNER

A passion for boating and water sports inspired Larry and Debbie Calhoun to buy a home right on a Coronado, California, canal. But, as they told interior designer Brittney Nielsen, the house had issues: It felt stuck in the ’70s with too many kitschy details, the kitchen was cut off from the living spaces, and there was a lack of sunlight on the water side. “We just wanted the home to feel simple, clean, and light-filled,” Debbie says. As their three grown sons often visit, they also needed a space for gathering with family and friends. Floor plan adjustments opened the kitchen and brought the laundry in from the garage. Upstairs, extending the house over the garage and borrowing space from a bedroom made way for a spacious master suite…

5 min

Before & After |2018

ADDING VALUE

A new kitchen is almost always top of buyers’ wish lists. But before you spend any money, ask an expert. You can sometimes find ways to inexpensively update versus a total remodel.—BETTER HOMES & GARDENS REAL ESTATE 43° NORTH, IDAHO, KERRI O’HARA SPEND FIRST ON CURB APPEAL—BETTER HOMES & GARDENS REAL ESTATE THE MASIELLO GROUP, NEW HAMPSHIRE, JIM JONES IN OLDER KITCHENS, ADD ENERGY-EFFICIENT APPLIANCES, UPDATED LIGHT FIXTURES, ATTRACTIVE NEW CABINET HARDWARE, AND SOLID SURFACE COUNTERTOPS. —BETTER HOMES & GARDENS REAL ESTATE FINE LIVING, FLORIDA, DANA HALL-BRADLEY BUYERS ARE LOOKING FOR FARMHOUSE SINKS, I S LANDS, AND WINE REFRIGERATORS I N THE K I TCHEN, AND BATHS THAT HAVE SPECIAL TOUCHES SUCH A S SINKS INCORPORATED I N TO OLD DRESSERS OR UNIQUE SHOWERS WITH EXTRA HEADS.—BETTER HOMES & GARDENS…

1 min

Before & After |2018

OH! WHAT A CHANGE

BEFORE Plumbing fixtures and mechanical components were the only things adorning the cement walls in the basement of Seri Kertzner’s Long Island, New York, home, until interior designer Lisa Hershman transformed the unused space into a chic hangout for the whole family. AFTER The space is now hardworking, equipped to handle both cozy family movie nights and raucous birthday parties. A half-wall divides a casual gathering area from a kitchenette and dining/crafting area. Chalkboard paint on one side gives budding artists a place to doodle. Ending the half-wall with a floor-to-ceiling column creates a seamless solution for disguising a support beam. On the floor, porcelain tiles are durable and easy to clean. They’re also a great choice for below-grade flooring in case of flooding. Along the TV wall, sleek white…

1 min

Before & After |2018

Nice MOVES

Despite the house’s lackluster appearance, it had exactly what is needed for a successful flip: location. The Heights is one of Houston’s most desirable neighborhoods, and when real estate investor Joe Flanigan and his wife, Marie—an architect-turned-interior designer—turned their astute eyes to this corner property, they knew the 1921 bungalow’s value. They made a plan to remodel it to suit a modern family while preserving its historic character. Along the way—surprise!—that family turned out to be theirs. “We’d been trying for a while to start a family and never expected it to happen while we were working on this house,” Marie says. Joe was midway through helping his dad lay the bricks to support new porch columns when Marie recognized that they had a personal, not just professional, investment in…

6 min

Before & After |2018

Living in LUXURY

Fine hotels are the stuff of dreams. They’re the places we go to relax, rejuvenate, and spoil ourselves. When Newport Beach, California, residents Rita and Michael Purcell travel, they stay in some of the best hotels in the world. When they decided to renovate their own house, they resolved to bring the same luxury home. The Purcells found what would become their personal room-with-a-view in a Mediterranean-style home with vistas of the Pacific Ocean on one side, Saddleback Mountain on the other, and city lights in between. The site was perfect, but the house needed an upgrade. Enlisting the help of architect Steve Stand and Blackband Design, owned by Wendy and Greg Blackband, the Purcells brought a clear list of goals to the table. They asked for large, open spaces;…

6 min

Before & After |2018

CAREFULLY CURATED

Sarah Callahan and Jason Chalmers were facing a dilemma: stick with their current, cramped kitchen or expand it at the expense of enclosing the well-loved porch of their Boston-area home. Then interior designer Beth Bourque of Beth Bourque Design Studio presented the couple with a better option. By reworking the existing footprint of their center-entrance Colonial, Sarah and Jason could create a more spacious spot for cooking and dining that’s brimming with personal style and smart storage solutions—without sacrificing their outdoor space. “The kitchen was tucked in the middle of the house, so it was really dark,” Sarah says. “We always wanted it to be where it is now because it has so much more natural light.” A bad renovation in the 1980s stripped the space of its original character,…

6 min

Before & After |2018

RESOURCES

[T] TO THE TRADE These items or services are not available to the general public. Contact a design professional for help. [P] PAINT COLOR Because of the magazine printing process, paint colors depicted on our pages might vary slightly from the manufacturers’ colors. Use paint color names or numbers, when provided, as a starting point. To get the exact color you see in the magazine, take the page to a paint retailer for matching. ONE BIG WOW PAGES 4–5 INTERIOR DESIGN: Lisa Hershman, Abaca Interiors, Sands Point, NY 11050; 516/398-5643; hello@abacainteriors.com; abacainteriors.com. CONSTRUCTION: Tim Albin, Albin Brothers Contracting; 631/466-1541. Custom built-in storage cupboards and kitchen cabinets—Dune Woodworking; 631/996-2482; dunewoodworking.com. Children’s kitchen table and chairs Mammut, rug at television, woven chair in front, rattan bistro-style chair in back—IKEA; ikea.com. Fabric art Marimekko…

18 min

Before & After |2018

10 EASY PROJECTS TO REFRESH YOUR HOME

DESIGN TIP Use a nail gun to ease installation. Lay out the boards on the floor in the desired pattern. Number them (on the backs) from top to bottom so you know what piece comes next, even if the pieces get jumbled. ► Get the step-by-step how to for building the shelves at BHG.com/PingPongShelves. 1. REIMAGINE PLAYFUL PORCH MAKEOVER Transform a drab back porch into a multipurpose area with dining and recreational space for entertaining. A fresh coat of white paint on the cement block walls and ceiling brightens the room, while dark navy-black paint on the concrete floor is forgiving of spills and heavy foot traffic. Use wood fence slats to create an eye-catching accent wall. To make the chevron shape, block out the design with painters tape and…

8 min

Before & After |2018

DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH

DESIGN T IP Break up a soaring living space into multiple seating areas to make it feel cozier and provide lots of places to lounge and gather. Designer Amy Vermillion and a longtime client were house shopping when they visited the lone contemporary home in the highly desirable Foxcroft neighborhood in central Charlotte. One thing about the house was immediately clear: It hadn’t been updated since it was built—in 1982. “I walked in and, Holy Moses,” Vermillion says. “It was like time stopped.” We’re talking a tiny bathroom tucked in the corner of the laundry room. Sliding glass patio doors behind the kitchen cabinets. Pink carpet (!) in both the kitchen and the bathroom. And a water leak under one toilet that had nearly rotted through the subfloor. It was…

6 min

Before & After |2018

COTTAGE 2.0

Sometimes Charlotte-based designer Hillary Rondero just can’t let things go. Case in point: A magazine page she’s had for years of a handsome townhouse in London’s Notting Hill neighborhood. “It’s a beautiful white brick home with a squared-off bay window that’s painted pitch black. I loved the sophisticated contrast—it felt like a crown for the house,” she explains. More than a decade later, Hillary got the chance to replicate the look in a circa-1940 hodgepodge of a home she and her husband purchased. “Inside, it was a former duplex that had been poorly converted into a single-family home. Outside, it was a mismatch of architectural styles and a drab color scheme to boot,” Hillary says. Still, there was a lot to love about the struggling abode—sweeping gables, charming arches, and…

4 min

Before & After |2018

MAKING SPACE

For a young couple expecting their first child, a traditional brick-and-siding house on a half-acre lot in Northern California seemed perfect. Three kids later, they loved their school district but had outgrown the four-bedroom, 2½-bath home. So they called upon William Wood Architects and interior designer Mary Jo Fiorella to change their home—and their lives. As so often happens, one change led to others. The couple wanted to open the kitchen to the family room and convert attic space to a rec room and bedroom suite—which called for new stairs to the second floor. Adding the staircase required bumping out the first floor 6 feet, which meant moving the pool in the backyard. While they were changing and expanding the floor plan, the couple asked for a style reboot—from traditional…

5 min