This post is in partnership with Brizo
We have been working on a personal project in Scottsdale, Arizona, over the past two years. We were really pleased that it was featured in the Arizona edition of Luxe magazine in November/December 2021. It was a huge undertaking and the feature was a great reward for all the effort.
We purchased the home on a bit of whim and ended up falling in love with the area. The home is a 1980’s adobe (mud brick) home. It had great character but had not been updated since it was built. It languished on the market for awhile before we decided to take the plunge.
I know everyone loves “Before and Afters”, so let me start this week with the main entry, dining, and kitchen. Next week we will cover the main living room and new bedroom addition.
ENTRY
Before/In progress
A very dark and tight ‘first impression’ upon entering the home. There is a ‘before’ walk through video linked at the end of this post if you are someone who really loves diving into the whole remodel process!
After
We took out an interior adobe wall to open the flow at the entry and swapped out the front door for a black iron door that would let the light in. The original door we marine varnished and used as the new entry gate! Oh, and the ‘new’ brick driveway is made from the home’s interior brick floor, which you can see in some of the ‘before’ photos.
DINING ROOM
Before
I love architectural character and it was fantastic to have the local ‘vigas and latillas’ in the dining room. We kept those features but removed a wall at the end to open the kitchen into the main living space.
After
New windows, fresh paint and bright furnishings completely changed the look of this room! Wide plank, European Oak flooring also made a huge difference to updating the style and making the home feel current.
KITCHEN
Before
The kitchen was a complete redo, but we managed to keep the footprint the same to control costs.
After
The range stayed in basically the same place, but we relocated the fridge/freezer and sink. We used Calacatta Quartzite on the counters and backsplash. The walls in the whole home are painted Sherwin Williams Alabaster and the cabinets are Benjamin Moore Collingwood.
We’ve been specifying Brizo plumbing for our design projects for years because I love the design and the quality. I was thrilled when they discussed partnering on our remodel plumbing selections. I love the heft and feel of Brizo plumbing fixtures, especially their Litze Kitchen Collection, which has unique knurling detail. We used the Litze Pull-Down Faucet with Square Spout and Knurled Handle in Polished Nickel. I like to keep a clean counter and typically opt for an easy 1-hole installation like this one to avoid having extra holes cut in the countertop.
Another plumbing feature we added was the matching Litze Wall Mount Pot Filler with Knurled Handle. I am not a big cook, so I debated this feature, but I have not regretted it and use it frequently! Even my husband has mentioned several times how much he uses the pot filler.
Another design decision I took was not to use hanging pendant lights over the island. There was no way around it, our range was going to be off set from the island and, being a fan of symmetry, I just couldn’t wrap my head around that. I decided to go with wall mounted sconces instead.
And, with the new kitchen layout, we were able to add a breakfast area between the fireplace and outdoor patio. The perfect spot for a cozy cup of coffee in the morning!
As I mentioned above, if you are someone that really loves the renovation details, check out this video to watch a ‘before’ walk through from the front door to kitchen!
Check back with us next week to see more rooms in our Arizona Adobe home project!