Over the next few weeks we are going to take a tour of a large family home that was built-in the “Texas Tuscan” Style.  Our clients had been looking for a new home and could not find the just right combination of outdoor living (pool, patio and yard) with the style house they wanted.  After searching for well over a year, they found this house, with the perfect yard, and decided to take the plunge.

The interior, however, was not light, happy home our busy wife and mom wanted.  She has such a bright, energetic personality and the house was very dark and very brown.

BEFORE:

The house had a lot of architectural character, with wood beams, stone accents and vaulted ceilings.  However, the dark beige paint, bronze light fixtures and busy granite with darkly glazed kitchen cabinets made the home feel ‘heavy’.

AFTER:

Our homeowner has such a vibrant personality, her home needed to reflect her ‘shine’.  We selected all new light fixtures, an off white paint color, new paint for the kitchen cabinets and Taj Mahal quartzite countertops.

The entry received a lovely, washed, antique-look rug which was paired with silver candlestick lamps and a mirror that has been passed down for generations.

The entry opens into the ‘formal’ dining room.  But, this family is not ‘formal’.  Think loads of kids, dogs (3 at last counts) and lots of running in and out from the pool.

We recommended a casual but stylish two-tone farm style dining table and paired it with an eclectic mix of side chairs, head chairs and a bench in practical sunbrella fabric.

The dining room flows into a butler’s pantry and the ‘refreshed’ kitchen.

The kitchen looks dramatically brighter, bigger and very welcoming.  Some people think a lot of white can be cold or unwelcoming.  If everything is sparse, I can see that being the case.  But this home is so filled with warmth the idea of white paint being cold never enters your mind when you are inside.

The major changes in this room involved simply the counters, cabinet paint and light fixtures.  The counters were expensive (unfortunately they always are, especially in a big kitchen!), but swapping out the light fixtures was easy, as was painting the cabinets and some wood trim on the range hood.

No longer dark, but still ‘warm’.  These updates managed to be cohesive with the style and architecture of the home, but still address our client’s concerns.  There is always a solution!  Next week we will move onto some of the living spaces, including a fun family game room and extra large family room.  We can not wait to show you!